- Brazilian prosecutors asked the Amazonas state government to suspend carbon projects in 21 conservation units.
- According to the lawsuit, the government had failed to consult local communities.
- The filing mentioned Mongabay’s investigation linking some of Amazon’s largest REDD+ projects to an illegal logging scheme.
Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed a lawsuit Nov. 19 requesting the suspension of carbon projects in Amazonas state, in the Amazon Rainforest, arguing the administration had failed to consult the traditional communities living in the areas.
The filing followed a recommendation along the same lines that was ignored by the state government, which plans to grant carbon credit projects in 21 state conservation units — summing up 12.4 million hectares (30.6 million acres) — to five private companies.
These corporations would generate the credits by protecting areas that could otherwise be deforested, in a system known as REDD+, short for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
One of these companies is Carbonext, which took part in Fortaleza Ituxi, Unitor and Evergreen projects, targeted by a probe in June. Ricardo Stoppe, the owner of the projects and the leader of the criminal organization, was arrested alongside four others.
The case was first revealed in May by Mongabay, which published an investigation showing the links between Stoppe’s group and a major illegal logging scheme. On the occasion, the company told Mongabay it wasn’t involved with the forest management carried out in the area.
The Federal Police didn’t target Carbonext, responsible for estimating the project’s deforestation baselines and conducting all the bureaucracy around the registries and audits.
“At least one of the companies ‘pre-selected’ by the Amazonas Environment Secretariat in the call for tenders to work in the state’s conservation units [Carbonext] was also implicated in the aforementioned Federal Police operation,” the lawsuit stated. “This scenario of irregularities citing the company had already been reported in the press months before the operation,” the prosecutors added, citing the Mongabay investigation.
Among the areas to be granted by the Amazonas administration is the Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) Mamirauá, which overlaps with four Indigenous territories: Acapuri de Cima, Uati-Paraná, Jaquiri and Porto Praia.
According to testimonies heard by the prosecutors, representatives of the private companies are already entering the territories and causing conflicts and divisions within the communities.
In an email sent to Mongabay, the Amazonas administration stated that nocarbon project has been initiated so far, since they are still in the consultation phase. According to the state government, the initiatives will be executed only “if they strictly follow what is decided by the community and the parameters set out in the public notice.” Read the full statement here.
Banner image: Blackwater oxbow lake in the Peruvian Amazon. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
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