Angela Rivas Gamboa and Mateo Echeverry Ángel August 2010

This report is based on the review of relevant documents and a brief field visit that was conducted between July 26th and August 1st, including visits to the municipalities of Apiay, Villavicencio, Acacias, Puerto Lopez and Puerto Gaitán in the Meta Department…It included interviews with a range of local stakeholders, including local community members and key actors...The following pages present an analysis of the information collected during fieldwork and through relevant documents… The report is divided into three parts. The first, Meta, provides an overview and contextual frame that is based on the voices of the interviewees who pointed out different social problems that affect the region. The second, Palm, captures the point of view that different actors have on oil palm companies that are in the region. The third, Oil, captures the voices of different regional actors and their opinions regarding oil companies that work in the area. [Refers to: Alianza Oriental, El Palmar del Llano, Inversiones La Mejorana SA, Oleaginosas Santana, Palmeras la Margarita Díaz Martínez, Hacienda La Cabaña, Plantaciones Unipalma de los Llanos, Sapuga SA, Aceites Manuelita, Extractora La Paz, Extractora La Reserva, Extractora El Morichal, Oleaginosas San Mateo, Entrepalma, Palmares San Pedro, Agropecuaria Santamaría, Hupecol, Metapetroleum, Hucol, Petrominerales].