by DIMITRI SELIBUS
- A new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals that about 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) of Amazon forest in the Peruvian regions of Loreto and Ucayali have been cleared after being purchased by several palm oil and cacao companies between 2012 and 2021.
- The investigation stresses that systemic failures in Peru’s governance, particularly in land title allocation, have allowed corporations to acquire land unlawfully, deforest without permits, disregard environmental rules, avoid fines and violate community rights. Between 2012 and 2018, almost all deforestation in Loreto and Ucayali had no legal permits, the report says.
- Some of the palm oil from these companies has been shown to enter the supply chains of major multinational companies, including Kellogg’s, Nestlé and Colgate.
- Peru’s recent approval of its new forest law, which pardons all historical illegal deforestation on rural properties or areas cleared for agriculture, will only give a license to these companies to continue damaging the environment, the EIA warns.
Several palm oil and cacao companies operating in the Peruvian Amazon have systematically contributed to clearing at least 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) between 2012 and 2021 in the country’s most forest-rich regions of Loreto and Ucayali, shows a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
The investigation “Carving up the Amazon” claims that deforestation happened with impunity under the eyes of the Peruvian state, which has put forests at risk through irregular titling practices and by allowing companies to continue their practices despite obvious legal infringements. Almost 100% of deforestation in Ucayali and Loreto between 2012 and 2018 had no legal permits, which is part of a larger trend in which 2.7 million hectares (6.7 million acres) of forest have been cleared in Peru over the last two decades, the EIA stresses.
The EIA identifies six cases of illegal land titling, three cases of unauthorized deforestation and two cases of violating the rights of Indigenous and local communities. The report also details how Peru’s flawed legal framework for assigning land use and poor monitoring have given companies the chance to buy vast tracts of the Amazon and illegally clear forests.
Mongabay for more