On April 27, 2026, the official launch will take place. Socio-environmental ObservatoryThis is a civil society initiative that brings together, for the first time, systematized data from 1980 to 2023 on human rights violations, deforestation, and the expansion of industrial agriculture in Brazil. The launch will coincide with the CPT's Conflict Report, whose data will be included on the platform.
This action is the result of a partnership between the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), WWF-Brazil, Fern, IMAFLORA, ICV, Aid Environment, Global Canopy, Trase and the MATOPIBA Observatory, entities linked to the struggle for land, knowledge production and the defense of territories, indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
The launch marks the public presentation of Socio-environmental PlatformThe Observatory's main tool, the system gathers, cross-references, and makes available data from different sources in an interactive digital environment, allowing for segmented visualization by states and municipalities of the direct relationship between the growth of commodity production and socio-environmental conflicts.
More than just organizing information, the platform sheds light on a reality that is often overlooked: that the expansion of the agricultural frontier in Brazil has been accompanied by violence, pressure on territories, and environmental degradation.
The result is not just a database—it's a detailed map of how commodity expansion is directly linked to conflict, violence, and environmental destruction. By organizing this information on an unprecedented scale, the Socio-Environmental Observatory strengthens social control, allowing civil society, researchers, and the press to access and cross-reference data independently. The data and analyses can also be used by public policy makers and actors in the justice system to help understand and make decisions about territorial dynamics, the use of natural resources, and the defense of human rights.
It also pushes for greater transparency and accountability in supply chains, in a context of increasing international demands for environmental traceability. And, most importantly, it repositions the role of indigenous peoples and local communities as key players in the conservation of their territories and in combating deforestation.
The initiative comes at a time when Brazil is consolidating itself as a global agricultural power, but is also experiencing record levels of violence in rural areas. In 2023 alone, more than 2,2 cases were recorded, the highest number since the beginning of the historical series of the Pastoral Land Commission, affecting almost one million people. More than 78% of the registered cases are linked to the struggle for territory, frequently accompanied by attacks against indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and rural workers.
Violence and deforestation
Between 2002 and 2023, the CPT documented 89.583 social conflicts in the Brazilian countryside. Of these, 30,9% were land conflicts, and 12,9% were linked to violence against rural workers, including murders, attempted murders, and death threats. During the same period, Pará registered the highest number of occurrences (15.383), followed by Minas Gerais (8.479) and Maranhão (7.219).
It is worth noting that the states with the highest recorded social conflicts are often those with the largest areas of deforestation. Also, between 2002 and 2023, Pará had 12,4 million hectares deforested, followed by Mato Grosso (11,4 million ha), Bahia (5,8 million ha) and Maranhão (5,7 million ha).
In practice, what the platform reveals is a historical pattern: where the agricultural frontier advances, so do violations. Thus, the Socio-environmental Platform emerges as an essential tool for strengthening social control and improving public policies.
About the Socio-environmental Observatory
The Socio-environmental Observatory is a civil society forum focused on informing, qualifying, and guiding the public debate on the social and environmental impacts associated with the production of agricultural commodities in Brazil. Its main tool, the Socio-environmental Platform, consolidates historical and current data to increase transparency, strengthen rights, and contribute to the protection of territories.
The launch of the Socio-environmental Platform will take place next Monday (27), together with the Conflict Report of the Pastoral Land Commission, starting at 9 am at the sCNBB headquarters – Block SES 801, Set B – Asa Sul, Brasília – DF. Access the live stream link on the CPT YouTube channel..