Parts Of The Amazon Rainforest Being Sold Illegally On Facebook Marketplace

Some parts of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil are being illegally sold off on Facebook Marketplace, an investigation by BBC News has discovered.

Included in the areas found for sale are parts of the Amazon that are reserved for habitation by indigenous people, as well as national park land and forest.

The areas are not small, either.

In fact, several of the listings are as big as 1,000 football pitches.

Facebook has said that while it is 'ready to work with local authorities', it is not going to take any independent action to stop the sale of the land.

They added: "Our commerce policies require buyers and sellers to comply with laws and regulations."

However, campaigners and representatives from the indigenous communities affected by the sales have called upon Facebook to do more to stop the sale of the lands.

Ivaneide Bandeira, from environment NGO Kanindé, said: "The land invaders feel very empowered to the point that they are not ashamed of going on Facebook to make illegal land deals."

The listings are there on the social media platform's classified sales section for anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Portuguese to see.

You'd only need to translate the word for 'forest' or 'native jungle' or 'timber' to be able to peruse the listings on offer, so long as you'd selected one of the Amazonian states as your location.

Loads of those selling off the land freely admit they don't own it, stating in the listings that they haven't got a land title, necessary to prove ownership of any land under Brazilian law.

Meanwhile, the Amazon continues to be destroyed at a rate in order to clear land for cattle, as well as deforestation for the timber industry.

According to the BBC, loads of the listings come from Rondônia, which is the state in Brazil's Amazon region that has suffered the most from deforestation.

Brazil's Minister for the Environment Ricardo Salles said: "President Jair Bolsonaro's government has always made it clear that his is a zero-tolerance government for any crime, including environmental ones."

However, Bolsonaro's government has slashed the budget for Ibama - the federal agency in charge of deforestation - by 40 percent.

Bandiera continued: "I think this is a very hard battle. It is really painful to see the forest being destroyed and shrinking more and more.

"Never, in any other moment in history, has it been so hard to keep the forest standing."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Environment, south america, Facebook, Technology, Weird, Amazon, Brazil

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

@TPWagwim