The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), an organization representing more than 300 indigenous peoples from all regions of Brazil at both national and international levels, reaffirms its support for the immediate implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), understood as an additional instrument to address rights violations occurring in our territories, beyond deforestation alone. The EUDR represents an important step forward as it addresses the problem from the demand side, holding supply chains and consumer markets accountable for benefiting from environmental destruction and violence against Indigenous peoples. In the context of the European Union’s ongoing review of the EUDR, it is essential to recall that this regulation constitutes a key instrument for promoting respect for human rights, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and environmental protection at a global scale. Any attempt to weaken or dilute its provisions poses a direct threat to indigenous territories and ways of life.
The successive postponements of the EUDR’s entry into force—initially scheduled for December 2024 and subsequently delayed to 2025 and 2026—have serious consequences for indigenous territories and other traditional communities in Brazil and worldwide. The gradual weakening of the regulation, combined with the acceleration of negotiations on the Mercosur–European Union Agreement and the dismantling of mechanisms such as the Amazon Soy Moratorium, increases pressure on the territories, encourages speculative agribusiness expansion, and fuels the invasion of Indigenous lands. In this context, we urge European institutions and Member States to ensure the effective implementation of the EUDR in 2026, without further delays or setbacks.
Agribusiness remains the primary driver of invasions of Indigenous lands in Brazil. Cattle ranching accounts for more than half of the total area of Indigenous lands invaded by the sector, followed by soy production, revealing the direct link between the international commodities trade, deforestation, and human rights violations. In 2024, conflicts related to territorial rights totaled 154 cases across 114 Indigenous Lands in 19 states, while land invasions, illegal exploitation of natural resources, and other forms of damage affected 159 Indigenous Lands in 21 states across the country (CIMI, 2025, p. 8).
APIB warns that pressure on these territories is not limited to the Amazon. The displacement of deforestation and the expansion of the agricultural frontier into other biomes – such as the Cerrado, Pantanal, Pampa, and Caatinga – is already a reality. The Cerrado, for example, has experienced accelerated deforestation precisely due to increased pressure on the Amazon. This dynamic intensifies territorial conflicts, escalates violence, and deepens the vulnerability of indigenous peoples living in regions historically affected by the expansion of soy, livestock, mining, and large-scale infrastructure projects.
For this reason, APIB advocates for the broad application of the EUDR, covering all Brazilian biomes and not only forest areas. It is essential that the regulation considers all native vegetation and prevents the mere displacement of destruction from one territory to another. Even with the law’s current focus restricted to forested areas, it is essential to ensure the legality of land occupation, respect for human rights, and the protection of indigenous territories across all properties linked to commodity production—not only those associated with recent deforestation. It is also necessary to expand the scope of the regulation to include additional commodities, supply chains, and minerals, such as gold, and to strengthen traceability mechanisms capable of identifying the entire production chain, down to the originating farms and enterprises.
In this regard, traceability mechanisms must be comprehensive, transparent, and mandatory, ensuring full traceability to the origin of production. Without this, loopholes persist that enable the “laundering” of commodities originating from areas linked to rights violations, thereby undermining the effectiveness of the regulation and the accountability of involved actors.
Tracking deforestation alone is not sufficient. Mechanisms must also ensure the identification and accountability of companies involved in illegal activities and crimes such as human rights violations, forced displacement of communities, violence against Indigenous leaders, territorial invasions, precarious labor conditions, pesticide contamination, and the destruction of ways of life—across all areas of origin and in all biomes, without exception.APIB also advocates that the EUDR’s monitoring and reporting systems include the effective participation of Indigenous peoples, ensuring they are transparent, accessible, secure, and subject to social oversight. Our peoples already monitor their territories and must be provided with the technical and financial support necessary to strengthen their capacity for advocacy and reporting.
APIB acknowledges that the current Brazilian government has made international commitments related to combating deforestation, climate change, and the protection of indigenous rights. However, these commitments must be translated into concrete domestic policies. There will be no international credibility if Brazil continues to allow the weakening of environmental licensing, the promotion of the Marco Temporal thesis, the expansion of mining in Indigenous lands, the opening of new oil and gas frontiers, and the advancement of large-scale projects over our territories.
In light of this scenario, APIB reaffirms its support for the EUDR and its implementation without further delays or weakening. We advocate for a development model based on the defense of human rights, solidarity among peoples, the protection of territories, and the protection of biodiversity.
There is no climate justice without the full protection of Indigenous territories. There is no sustainable development when peoples are sacrificed in the name of profit. The rights of Indigenous peoples are not bargaining chips in trade negotiations and commercial operations.
APIB will remain mobilized, denouncing violations and building national and international alliances, to affirm that Indigenous territories are on the front line of defending life, the climate, and the future of humanity, and cannot continue to be treated as sacrifice zones.
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB)