Mongabay investigation exposes fraud aimed at exploiting Indigenous communities across Latin America

3 Jun 2025

As sustainable finance gains traction in climate mitigation portfolios, a lack of oversight has opened the door to exploitation. A Mongabay investigation in early 2024 revealed that several companies with no experience in sustainable finance projects had persuaded Indigenous communities across Latin America to hand over the economic rights to their forests for decades, by falsely claiming the schemes were endorsed by United Nations agencies. 

Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were promised jobs and local development projects in exchange for placing more than 9.5 million hectares (23.5 million acres) of forests into the ‘ecosystem marketplace.’ According to community sources, the claims of U.N. backing were the main selling point for their agreement to commodify the ecosystem services that their forests provide, like carbon sequestration.

But Mongabay’s reporter found that all three U.N. entities cited by the companies denied any involvement, and that the methodology these entities employed for valuing natural capital has never been used before.  There were no public details regarding its scientific and technical basis, and the company that created the methodology refused to share information about it.

 

Traditional Matsés homes that are part of the largest Indigenous community in Peru. Image by Mongabay.
Traditional Matsés homes that are part of the largest Indigenous community in Peru. Image by Mongabay.

Experts Mongabay spoke with raised concerns that a lack of regulation in the fast-growing sustainable finance industry is enabling abuse like this against communities that act as guardians for critical ecosystems.

Impact

Mongabay’s findings didn’t just expose misconduct; they also informed community-level action. In Peru, the Matsés community, the largest Indigenous nation with more than a million acres of land in the country, terminated its agreement with the company after learning of the fraudulent claim of U.N. ties. In March 2024, a spokesperson of the community’s new directive team confirmed this decision with Mongabay and shared that their next step will be to withdraw the contract with the company from the public registry, known as Superintendencia Nacional de los Registros Públicos (Sunarp).

In a related development, Conservation International also ended their memorandum of understanding with the same company regarding the creation of a Private Conservation Area in the Matsés Native Community, stating via email that the decision followed the findings reported in Mongabay’s investigation.

The forests of the Matsés are among the best preserved and most carbon-rich in the entire Amazon, and are home to some of the world’s last Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation. Image by Mongabay.
The forests of the Matsés are among the best preserved and most carbon-rich in the entire Amazon, and are home to some of the world’s last Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation. Image by Mongabay.

This response underscores how independent journalism can empower local communities to defend their rights and forests. By uncovering deceptive practices and amplifying the concerns of Indigenous peoples inhabiting biodiversity hotspots, Mongabay provided the transparency and scrutiny needed to catalyze protective action.

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Banner image: Indigenous community overlooking the Peruvian side of the Yavarí river. The Matsés are one of the communities targeted by the fraudulent finance scheme exposed by Mongabay. Image by Florence Goupil for Mongabay.