www.bbc.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.0.81  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

BBC Homepage
 * Skip to content
 * Accessibility Help

 * Sign in
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * MenuMore

Search
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

Close menu
BBC News
Menu
 * Home
 * War in Ukraine
 * Coronavirus
 * Climate
 * Video
 * World
 * US & Canada
 * UK
 * Business
 * Tech
 * Science

More
 * Stories
 * Entertainment & Arts
 * Health
 * In Pictures
 * Reality Check
 * World News TV
 * Newsbeat
 * Long Reads

 * Tech


AMAZON RAINFOREST PLOTS SOLD VIA FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE ADS

By Joao Fellet & Charlotte Pamment
BBC Brasil

Published26 February 2021
Share
close
Share page
Copy link
About sharing

This video can not be played


TO PLAY THIS VIDEO YOU NEED TO ENABLE JAVASCRIPT IN YOUR BROWSER.

Media caption,
WATCH: On patrol with an indigenous leader trying to protect the Amazon from
land grabbers

Parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest are being illegally sold on Facebook, the
BBC has discovered.

The protected areas include national forests and land reserved for indigenous
peoples.

Some of the plots listed via Facebook's classified ads service are as large as
1,000 football pitches.

Facebook said it was "ready to work with local authorities", but indicated it
would not take independent action of its own to halt the trade.

"Our commerce policies require buyers and sellers to comply with laws and
regulations," the Californian tech firm added.

Image source, Brasil2
Image caption,
The Amazon has been described as being the lungs of the Earth - and it is being
destroyed

The leader of one of the indigenous communities affected has urged the tech firm
to do more.



And campaigners have claimed the country's government is unwilling to halt the
sales.

"The land invaders feel very empowered to the point that they are not ashamed of
going on Facebook to make illegal land deals," said Ivaneide Bandeira, head of
environmental NGO Kanindé.


NO CERTIFICATES

Anyone can find the illegally invaded plots by typing the Portuguese equivalents
for search terms like "forest", "native jungle" and "timber" into Facebook
Marketplace's search tool, and picking one of the Amazonian states as the
location.

Some of the listings feature satellite images and GPS co-ordinates.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Cattle are often put to graze on land that is meant to be protected

Many of the sellers openly admit they do not have a land title, the only
document which proves ownership of land under Brazilian law.

The illegal activity is being fuelled by Brazil's cattle ranching industry.




'NO RISK'

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is at a 10-year high, and Facebook's
Marketplace has become a go-to site for sellers like Fabricio Guimarães, who was
filmed by a hidden camera.

"There's no risk of an inspection by state agents here," he said as he walked
through a patch of rainforest he had burnt to the ground.


Image caption,
Fabricio is using Facebook Marketplace to sell land he has grabbed from
indigenous communities

With the land illegally cleared and ready for farming, he had tripled his
initial asking price to $35,000 (£25,000).

Fabricio is not a farmer. He has steady middle-class job in a city, and views
the rainforest as being an investment opportunity.

The BBC later contacted Fabricio for his response to its investigation but he
declined to comment.


GOING UNDERCOVER

Many of the ads came from Rondônia, the most deforested state in Brazil's
rainforest region.



The BBC arranged meetings between four sellers from the state and an undercover
operative posing as a lawyer claiming to represent wealthy investors.



One man, called Alvim Souza Alves, was trying to sell a plot inside the Uru Eu
Wau Wau indigenous reserve for about £16,400 in local currency.

It is the home to a community of more than 200 Uru Eu Wau Wau people. And at
least five further groups that have had no contact with the outside world also
live there, according to the Brazilian government.

But at the meeting, Mr Alves claimed: "There are no Indians [sic] there. From
where my land is, they are 50km [31 miles] away. I am not going to tell you that
at one time or another they are not walking around."


Image caption,
The Uru Eu Wau Wau people are trying to protect their land from invaders

The BBC showed the Facebook ad to community leader Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau.

He said the lot was in an area used by his community to hunt, fish and collect
fruits.

"This is a lack of respect," he said.

"I don't know these people. I think their objective is to deforest the
indigenous land, to deforest what is standing. To deforest our lives, you could
say."

He said the authorities should intervene, and also urged Facebook - "the most
accessed social media platform" - to take action of its own.


CHANGED STATUS

Another factor driving the illegal land market is the expectation of amnesty.

Mr Alves revealed he was working with others to lobby politicians to help them
legally own stolen land.

"I'll tell you the truth: if this is not solved with [President] Bolsonaro
there, it won't be solved anymore," he said of the current government.

A common strategy is to deforest the land and then plead with politicians to
abolish its protected status, on the basis it no longer serves its original
purpose.

The land grabbers can then officially buy the plots from the government, thereby
legalising their claims.


Image caption,
Alvim Souza Alves told a BBC undercover agent that he was selling indigenous
land but did not show a legal land title

Mr Alves took the BBC's undercover reporter to meet a man he described as the
leader of the Curupira Association. Brazil's federal police have described the
group as being an illegal land-grabbing operation focused on invading indigenous
territory.

The two men told the reporter that high-profile politicians were helping them
set up meetings with government agencies in the capital Brasília.

They said their main ally was congressman Colonel Chrisóstomo, a member of the
Social Liberal Party, which Mr Bolsonaro used to be a member of until he founded
his own party in 2019.

When contacted by the BBC, Colonel Chrisóstomo acknowledged having helped
arrange meetings, but said he did not know the group was involved in land
invasions.

"They didn't tell me," he said. "If they invaded [the land], they don't have my
support anymore."

When asked if he regretted setting up the meetings, he said: "No."

The BBC contacted Mr Alves for his response but he declined to comment.

Image source, Ignacio Palacios
Image caption,
The Amazon rainforest is home to one in 10 known species on Earth

The BBC also approached Brazil's Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles.

He said: "President Jair Bolsonaro's government has always made it clear that
his is a zero-tolerance government for any crime, including environmental ones."

The government has cut the inspections budget for Ibama, the federal agency that
in charge of regulating deforestation, by 40%.

But Mr Salles said the coronavirus pandemic had hampered law enforcement in the
Amazon, and that state governments also bore responsibility for the
deforestation.

"This year the government has created operation Verde Brasil 2, which seeks to
control illegal deforestation, illegal fires, and to join efforts between the
federal government and the states," he added.

However Raphael Bevilaquia, a federal prosecutor based in Rondônia, said the
situation had worsened under the current government.

"The situation is really desperate," he said. "The executive power is playing
against us. It's disheartening."

For its part, Facebook claims trying to deduce which sales are illegal would be
too complex a task for it to carry out itself, and should be left to the local
judiciary and other authorities. And it does not appear to see the issue as
being serious enough to warrant halting all Marketplace land sales across the
Amazon.

Ivaneide Bandeira, who has been trying to combat deforestation in the state of
Rondônia for 30 years, said she was losing hope.

"I think this is a very hard battle. It is really painful to see the forest
being destroyed and shrinking more and more," she said.

"Never, in any other moment in history, has it been so hard to keep the forest
standing."

Our World: Selling the Amazon will be broadcast on BBC World News at 2330 GMT,
and on the BBC News Channel this Saturday and Sunday at 2130 GMT. It will also
be available on iPlayer.


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Brazil's Amazon deforestation 'highest since 2008'
   
   30 November 2020
   

 * Amazon fires doubled in October year on year
   
   2 November 2020
   

 * Deforestation link to Amazon soya and beef exports
   
   18 July 2020
   


RELATED TOPICS

 * Amazon rainforest
 * Brazil
 * Facebook





TOP STORIES

 * Live. 
   
   Russia strikes Kyiv flats as talks resume

 * Pregnant woman dies after Ukraine hospital shelled
   
   Published17 minutes ago

 * Oscar-winning actor William Hurt dies
   
   Published10 hours ago




FEATURES

 * Aerial attacks hit city that is corridor to Kyiv
   
   

 * The woman who was kind every day for a year
   
   

 * 'Every woman is capable of becoming a leader' Video'Every woman is capable of
   becoming a leader'
   
   
 * 

 * Deep listening: 'We all share the same feelings'
   
   

 * The surfing tech making waves
   
   

 * How wild tomatoes put commercial tomatoes to shame
   
   

 * How sanctions have changed everyday life in Russia
   
   

 * Russia faces brain drain as thousands flee abroad
   
   

 * Uni to uniform - 3-day training for teens to fight
   
   




ELSEWHERE ON THE BBC

 * Banish that brain fog!
   
   Simple ways to boost your attention and memory
   
   

 * 'I felt shy, but now I am able to be myself'
   
   How Polish children and schools are helping young Ukrainian refugees
   
   

 * Life, relationships and ageing...
   
   Michelle Visage sits down for a one-to-one encounter with Cameron Diaz
   
   




MOST READ

 1.  1US warns China against helping Russia in Ukraine
 2.  2Tips on how to spot Ukraine fakes
 3.  3Oscar-winning actor William Hurt dies
 4.  4Pregnant woman dies after Ukraine hospital shelled
 5.  5'Reselling PlayStations keeps a roof over my head'
 6.  6How sanctions have changed everyday life in Russia
 7.  7Campion's cowboy film wins top Bafta Award
 8.  8Squatters occupy Russian oligarch's London mansion
 9.  9NFL great Brady makes retirement U-turn
 10. 10Russia faces brain drain as thousands flee abroad







BBC NEWS SERVICES

 * On your mobile
 * On smart speakers
 * Get news alerts
 * Contact BBC News

 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

 * Terms of Use
 * About the BBC
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookies
 * Accessibility Help
 * Parental Guidance
 * Contact the BBC
 * Get Personalised Newsletters
 * Why you can trust the BBC
 * Advertise with us
 * AdChoices / Do Not Sell My Info

© 2022 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read
about our approach to external linking.