Mongabay investigation of a Brazilian palm oil company’s land rights violations led to large impacts

6 Feb 2025

In December 2022, a Mongabay investigation conducted by Features Writer Karla Mendes reported that the only Brazilian company certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) had been accused of a wide range of land-grabbing allegations in Pará state. The claims alleged that more than half of the 107,000 hectares (264,000 acres) registered by the company was derived from fraudulent land titles, and that the company had even created a fake land registration bureau, which became the center of a legal battle led by state prosecutors and public defenders.

Adding to the controversy, Quilombola (descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves) communities said that part of the area occupied by the company overlaps with their ancestral land, including two cemeteries Mongabay’s reporter visited. In one of them, residents claimed that just one-quarter of the cemetery remained and that the company planted palm trees on top of graves, which the company denied. The company also had other financial interests in this land, researchers said, pointing to its moves into bauxite mining and the sale of carbon credits, further intensifying the dispute.

The alleged company is also accused of contaminating the rivers and streams with a palm oil residue known as tibórnia that is used as fertilizer on the crops. Image courtesy of Elielson Pereira da Silva.

Impact

Suspension of Agropalma’s sustainability certification

The impact of Mongabay’s investigation revealing these facts was far-reaching, triggering significant action and recognition. Just weeks after its publication, representatives of the RSPO – IBD Certifications Ltd. – contacted Quilombola leaders “to understand the denouncements” published by the report, and traveled to the region to conduct audits in all affected communities. Soon thereafter, the company’s RSPO certificate was suspended.

Assurance Services International (ASI), which evaluates the work of certifiers, confirmed that “the report was a reason for ASI to conduct a compliance assessment to IBD, the certifier of Agropalma, at the Certificate Holder’s premises.” University researchers hired by ASI as local experts also cited Mendes’s findings when they contacted other key sources quoted in the investigation, as shown in email correspondence seen by Mongabay.

Global recognition of excellence in journalism

The investigation gained widespread recognition and earned second place in the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s 2023 Award for Journalism on Urban Policy, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change. Mendes’s subsequent election to the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) board of directors was historic – she became the first Brazilian and Latin American representative elected to the SEJ board, achieving the highest number of votes among candidates – which also underscored her work’s prominence. This milestone was highlighted on the front page of Jornalistas & Cia, a prominent Brazilian publication focusing on the journalism industry.

Expanding global discussions on land rights and accountability

This investigation also amplified the dialogue on land rights and certification accountability on global platforms. In December 2023, Mendes was a featured speaker at Latin America’s leading investigative journalism conference, where she discussed her methods and findings. The Forest Peoples Programme’s November 2023 report, “How to Re-build Confidence in the Audit System of Certification Schemes,” referenced the reporting, emphasizing its role in shaping reforms for certification processes. Mendes also spoke at SEJ’s 12th annual edition of the Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, a high-profile event for journalists, policymakers, and environmental advocates. A video recording is available here.

Other honors for Mendes’ dedication to uncovering environmental and social injustices included the 2023 Judge J. Elliot Hudson Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of King’s College in Halifax, Canada for her impactful reporting in the Amazon.

Indigenous laborer Francisco Neves Costa lights candles at a grave with oil palm trees in the background at the Livramento Cemetery. Image by Mongabay.

Legal and policy change in Brazil

The investigation also had a profound influence on legal and policy efforts. State prosecutor Ione Nakamura, who had led a case on Quilombola communities’ grievances since 2021, praised Mongabay’s reporting as “very thorough and complete,” and integrated it into ongoing legal procedures addressing conflicts between the aggrieved parties and the company. She also distributed the findings to other prosecutors handling environmental impact cases related to pesticide use on palm oil plantations “to be added to those procedures that investigate environmental impacts to these territories.” These actions demonstrated the investigation’s utility as a resource for advancing justice and holding powerful entities accountable.

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Banner image: Aerial view of Palmares village surrounded by Agropalma’s palm plantations. Image by Mongabay.