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Several companies registered in Latin American countries claiming to have U.N. endorsement have persuaded Indigenous communities to hand over the economic rights to their forests for decades to come, a Mongabay investigation has found. The companies share commercial interests across various jurisdictions, and have not been able to demonstrate experience in sustainable finance projects.
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Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were promised jobs and local development projects in exchange for putting on the market more than 9.5 million hectares (23.5 million acres) of forests. According to community sources, the claims of U.N. backing were the main selling point for agreeing to put their forests on the market.
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All three U.N. entities cited by the companies have rejected any involvement. Mongabay has found that the methodology employed for valuing natural capital has not been used before; there are no public details regarding its scientific and technical basis; and the company that created the methodology refused to share information about it.
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Experts have raised concerns that a lack of regulation in the fast-growing sustainable finance industry is allowing abuses against communities that act as guardians for critical ecosystems.
IQUITOS, Peru — On the Peruvian side of the Yavarí River, overlooking the lush Brazilian shore, a weary Matsés man deletes the latest anonymous threat he received on his cellphone. He thought he and his people had seen it all: invasive logging and oil giants; the marauding cowboys of the first carbon credit rush; the quiet encroachment of illegal fishing and drug-trafficking rings into the Amazon. But then came a new disappointment.
“The hopes for jobs, stipends, study grants, were high,” he said of the scheme that promised to bring connectivity, income and opportunities to his community. He requested anonymity to avoid reprisals.
As pressure increases on governments and companies to boost climate action, sustainable finance initiatives are on the rise. But so are actors looking to profit from forest-dependent communities, well-meaning investors, and companies looking to meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments.
In Peru, Bolivia and Panama, entities purportedly specialized in sustainable and climate finance have falsely claimed United Nations endorsement to talk Indigenous communities into handing over the economic rights to their forests for decades at a time, a Mongabay investigation has found. Since 2022, the companies, which share commercial interests across various jurisdictions, have presented the forest communities with promises of the life-changing benefits that commodifying their forests and respective ecosystem services can bring.