Jurist Brazil government urged to remove illegal cattle ranches devastating indigenous lands

[Dadparvar]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday highlighting the devastation caused by illegal cattle ranching in the Brazilian Rainforest and its impact on indigenous peoples in Pará, Brazil. The organization calls on the federal government to remove the cattle ranches and restore affected communities, also urging JBS, the world’s largest meat-processing company, to take accountability for its role in deforestation.

The report details how illegal ranching has taken over land in the Terra Nossa settlement and the Cachoiea Seca Indigenous territory, displacing residents and destroying homes and crops. HRW also links some of these illegal farms to JBS suppliers.

Furthermore, HRW distinguished at least five cases where these illegal ranches supplied cattle outside of the protected area, where those cattle were later sold to JBS. JBS has a Deforestation-free supply chain global policy. Additionally, the company holds that by 2026, it will mandate direct suppliers to provide information on their indirect suppliers. They reported to HRW that JBS monitors the farms of their direct suppliers to ensure they comply with current policies; however, there remains no federal requirement for cattle tracking in Brazil. Investigators discovered that before supplying the cattle to JBS, the suppliers concealed the animals’ origins on illegally procured land.

Senior Environment Researcher at HRW, Luciana Téllez Chávez, states:

JBS still does not have a system to track its indirect suppliers of cattle, despite pledging it would implement one as early as 2011 … without it, the company cannot meet its commitment to eliminate deforestation from its supply chainby the end of the 2025 … tackling deforestation and human rights abuses embedded in cattle supply chains is a shared responsibility between sellers and buyers.

Terra Nossa was designated as a rural settlement for small farmers by the federal government in 2006. However, by 2023, 45.3 percent of the settlement had been converted into illegal ranches. Cachoeira Seca, an indigenous territory, is legally protected from these occupants as well. However, in 2024, the area registered as the largest deforestation in an indigenous territory. Lawful residents are displaced after having their crops and homes destroyed, and their resistance is often met with violence. Despite the obligation of the federal government to remove these illegal ranches, no action has been taken.

The Brazilian government has committed to preserving the Amazon through legislation, such as the Forest Code. These policy efforts govern the use and protection of private land to foster efficient land use. However, the Amazon continues to shrink, with the current deforestation level at 17 percent, with cattle ranching as the single largest cause of deforestation in the Amazon.

HRW urged the Brazilian government to remove the illegal ranches and compensate affected communities for the unlawful occupation of their land. They also demand that JBS redress their contribution to any human rights abuses through their connection within their supply chain.

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