A failed land deal<\/h2>\n
Since the mid-2000s, the plot has been managed by Dutch wood flooring manufacturer INPA Parket. The company practiced selective logging of native hardwoods like Bolivian rosewood (Machaerium scleroxylon) while also helping Indigenous communities with similar practices, according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) filings.<\/p>\n
INPA entities have held numerous FSC certifications for sustainable work on the property. But in recent years, many of them have expired.<\/p>\n
Paul Roosenboom, who manages the company\u2019s forest and sawmill, told Mongabay that he\u2019s been working on the land for around two decades but doesn\u2019t have the resources to take care of it anymore, one reason they decided to sell it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the best option for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This year, the company was in talks to sell the land to Amazonas For Life Europe AB, a Swedish organization that invests in sustainable agroforestry projects. The sale had the backing of Rabobank, Invest International and the Netherlands Development Finance Company, according to internal emails reviewed by Mongabay.<\/p>\n
Dutch government officials helped facilitate the financing discussions, and had previously worked with INPA through the Programme for Economic Cooperation in Developing Countries, a spokesperson confirmed.<\/p>\n
Together, the organizations were considering conserving the property with cashew trees (Anacardium occidentale) and baru nut trees (Dipteryx alata), and selling carbon credits via Carbon Bank, a part of Rabobank.<\/p>\n
The carbon credits would have been worth around $30 million over 10 years. Total financing for the land purchase amounted to around $26.1 million, according to the emails.<\/p>\n
In a comment to Mongabay, a Rabobank spokesperson said the bank is committed to supporting efforts to grow agricultural production sustainably, without expanding land use. The other financial entities involved in the deal declined to comment or hadn\u2019t responded by the time this article was published.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The land acquisition had the potential to create transparent, traceable agroforestry products in line with international trade standards, Amazonas For Life Europe AB founder Helena Lindemark argued in the emails. She also noted benefits to the Dutch economy, including using Dutch suppliers for forestry equipment and routing agroforestry products through the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
But in July, a Dutch government official said in the same email thread that INPA had agreed to sell to Bom Futuro, a major producer of cotton, soy, corn and beef. The preliminary sale price was around $20 million, with a $2 million down payment that had already been deposited, according to the emails.<\/p>\n
An INPA representative had told him Bom Futuro would like to cut down two-thirds of the forest for agriculture, and that a due diligence process was underway, the official said in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sudden sale to Bom Futuru [sic] is a slap in the face for Amazonas For Life,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
Bom Futuro didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment for this story.<\/p>\n
Countermeasures<\/h2>\n
After the sale fell through for Amazonas For Life Europe AB, Lindemark used her other organization, the 2022 Initiative Foundation, to help raise funds for a legal challenge by the Lomer\u00edo and Monte Verde Indigenous groups, who live near the property.<\/p>\n
The groups said they\u2019re worried about deforestation and soil and water contamination from agrochemicals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe express our deep concern and rejection of the growing threats of land-use change in properties adjacent to our territory, especially in the property known as INPA, which is intended to be converted from sustainable use to an area of extensive monoculture planting,\u201d said an August joint statement from the Central Indigenous Organization of Original Communities of Lomer\u00edo (CICOL) and the Organization of Indigenous Monkox Women of Lomer\u00edo.<\/p>\n
With legal support from the Jenecher\u00fa Foundation, CICOL is considering filing a petition with Bolivia\u2019s forest and land regulator, the ABT, asking it to recognize the INPA forest as protected land and halt all land-use changes involving monoculture farming.<\/p>\n
The group is also looking into requesting that a 2020 authorization to partially clear the property be revoked, arguing that it contradicts a previous court ruling to keep the forest standing.<\/p>\n
Should the sale go through, Bom Futuro wouldn\u2019t be able to legally clear the property right away. It would need to receive approval from ABT and the Santa Cruz government. However, conservation groups said the laws are rarely enforced, so there\u2019s a need to fight for these additional protections.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Losing the INPA forest] would accelerate degradation and drought across Chiquitan\u00eda and beyond,\u201d Lindemark told Mongabay. \u201cBut it\u2019s not too late to act.\u201d<\/p>\n