 |
| Facebook fights against selling Amazon rainforest land through its marketplace |
Facebook has announced that it will change its trade policy and explicitly prohibit the sale of protected land on its various platforms. The BBC had earlier discovered that parts of the Brazilian Amazon were being sold illegally on Facebook's marketplace.
Selling land in nature reserves is essentially illegal and can have a negative impact on the flora, fauna, and people who live there.
Protected areas include national forests and lands reserved for indigenous peoples. Some of the properties listed on the platform via classified ads service reach 1,000 football fields.
The BBC did a market research in February. I found out that someone illegally sold large tracts of land in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest through the market.
Because of the deforestation of the Amazon in the Brazilian cattle industry, the land is often sold without formal ownership.
Anyone can find illegally expropriated land by entering the appropriate search terms in Portuguese (such as "jungle", "original jungle" and "jungle") in the Market Finder and choosing the state of Amazonas as the location. .
Some entries contain satellite images and GPS coordinates. Many sellers openly admit that they do not own the land. It is the only document that proves land ownership under Brazilian law.
Most of the announcements came from Rondônia, the most vanishing rainforest state in Brazil. There was an attempt to sell the land in the Uru Eu Wau Wau indigenous reserve, which is home to more than 200 people.
According to the Brazilian government, there are at least five other groups that live there and have no contact with the outside world.
Facebook takes a tougher stance
At first, the social network did not want to independently prevent the illegal sale of land by Amazon. The company said in February that the reason was that its trade policy required buyers and sellers to comply with laws and regulations.
In February, she made it clear she was willing to work with local authorities. However, he said he would not take independent action to prevent such transactions.
An affected indigenous community leader called for the tech company to do more. Activists say the government is not ready to halt sales.
A few months later, Facebook took a tougher stance. The updated policy states that the list should not encourage the purchase or sale of animals, animal products, or land in protected areas.
The company also plans to compare the list with a database of protected lands to identify anyone violating its policies. Protected areas are essential to protect habitats and ecosystems as well as to solve global natural crises.