Upholding the Principles of the Amazon Soy Moratorium Is Essential for Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and Financial Stability

The Indigenous Advisory Group (IAG) of the Banks and Biodiversity Initiative calls on financial institutions to uphold the Amazon Soy Moratorium's (ASM) zero-deforestation standards despite Brazilian political rollbacks. The IAG argues that soy expansion drives land encroachment and tenure insecurity for Indigenous Peoples, while abandoning ASM criteria increases legal, reputational, and transition risks for banks. The group advocates for farm-level traceability, the treatment of all Amazon deforestation as incompatible with financing, and the integration of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) into due diligence.

• The Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) has functioned for twenty years as an evidence-based tool to reduce climate risk, curb biodiversity loss, and prevent human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples.
• Soy expansion into forested regions is linked to land encroachment, conflict, tenure insecurity, and the erosion of Indigenous governance and rights, which creates material human rights exposure for financial portfolios.
• Weakening the ASM's 2008 cut-off and zero-deforestation standards increases financial risks, including stranded assets, trade restrictions on deforestation-linked commodities, and legal or regulatory exposure.
• The IAG recommends that financial institutions ensure financed companies implement farm-level traceability, treat all Amazon deforestation (legal or illegal) as incompatible with financing, and respect Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

APA

Fox, A. (2026). Upholding the Principles of the Amazon Soy Moratorium Is Essential for Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and Financial Stability. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/amazon-soy-moratorium/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. Upholding the Principles of the Amazon Soy Moratorium Is Essential for Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and Financial Stability. Friends of the Earth, 2026. https://foe.org/news/amazon-soy-moratorium/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=Upholding the Principles of the Amazon Soy Moratorium Is Essential for Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and Financial Stability |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=19 February 2026 |url=https://foe.org/news/amazon-soy-moratorium/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2026upholding, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{Upholding the Principles of the Amazon Soy Moratorium Is Essential for Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and Financial Stability}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://foe.org/news/amazon-soy-moratorium/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }