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The Sombwe Dam project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo threatens Upemba National Park, potentially violating national conservation law and risking the loss of rare species and critical forests. The project, intended to power the copper and cobalt mining belt, could release 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by the end of the century due to forest submergence. Global Witness calls for the suspension of work by PowerChina and demands that international financiers and the DRC government seek alternative sites to avoid devastating biodiversity and climate impacts.

The statement asserts that China's influence as Brazil's largest trading partner is critical for saving the Amazon. It highlights that 52% of Brazil's exported beef and 7% of its exported soybeans go to China, making Chinese demand a primary driver of deforestation. The author calls for China to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains, stop financial institutions from funding deforestation-risk commodities, and establish a joint China-Brazil task force to coordinate climate and biodiversity efforts to meet the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use goal of ending deforestation by 2030.

The document calls for the US to move beyond funding conservation and instead regulate the financial sector to stop the flow of capital to companies driving deforestation. It highlights that US financial institutions provided $58 billion to agribusiness firms linked to tropical deforestation in the five years following the Paris Agreement, with JPMorgan identified as the largest single financier. The author advocates for the adoption of the FOREST Act to clean up supply chains and the Fossil Free Finance Act to mandate the elimination of financing for activities contributing to deforestation by 2050.

The document details how the 'nickel fever' for electric vehicle batteries is threatening the biodiversity and indigenous communities of Raja Ampat, Papua. It highlights the ecological destruction of coral reefs and mangroves caused by sediment runoff from open-pit mining, the violation of indigenous land rights, and the contradiction of a 'green transition' powered by coal-fired smelters. The report identifies specific companies operating in the region and calls for the Indonesian government and international stakeholders to halt mining in small islands and enforce strict human rights and environmental due diligence.

The report exposes the failure of voluntary zero-deforestation policies among Brazil's largest beef producers—JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva—and the inadequacy of audits by DNV-GL and Grant Thornton. It highlights that these companies continue to source cattle from illegally deforested lands and farms linked to land grabbing and human rights abuses, while receiving continued funding from global banks such as HSBC, Barclays, and Santander.

Global Witness reports that Maxland (PNG) Limited, controlled by the Joinland Group, is using a purported rubber plantation project on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as a cover for illegal logging. The investigation finds that the company has failed to plant the promised millions of rubber trees, has bypassed provincial government rejections of its permits, and has operated without legitimate landowner consent. The report links the destruction of this biodiversity hotspot to financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Norway, and the US, and notes that the harvested timber is exported to China and Japan.

Global Witness reports that Maxland (PNG) Limited, a subsidiary of Joinland Group, has engaged in illegal logging on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, under the guise of establishing a rubber plantation. The investigation finds that the company bypassed legal land-surveying processes, ignored provincial rejections of its permits, and failed to plant the promised rubber trees while exporting millions of dollars in hardwood to China and Japan. The report further links this activity to a network of international financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Norway, and the US, and calls for stricter import regulations in China and better governance in Papua New Guinea.

Global Witness reports that 200 land and environmental defenders were murdered in 2021, contributing to a ten-year total of 1,733 killings. The report identifies land inequality, corruption, and shrinking civic space as primary drivers of this violence, with Indigenous peoples disproportionately targeted. Analysis focuses on high-risk regions including Latin America, where over three-quarters of 2021 attacks occurred, and specific countries like Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and the Philippines. The document advocates for the implementation of the Escazú Agreement and the strengthening of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to end corporate impunity.

Global Witness calls on the new UK government to address its role in global deforestation by making the 2030 target to halt biodiversity loss legally binding, expanding import laws to cover all deforestation regardless of legality, and stopping financial institutions from funding deforesting companies.

In 2022, Global Witness documented at least 177 killings of land and environmental defenders, bringing the total since 2012 to 1,910. Latin America remains the most dangerous region, accounting for 88% of 2022 deaths, with Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico as the most lethal countries. The report highlights a critical pattern of violence in the Amazon, where 22% of global killings occurred, often linked to illegal mining and agribusiness. Indigenous peoples are disproportionately targeted, representing over one-third of the victims. Beyond lethal attacks, the report details the increasing use of criminalization and harassment to silence activists, particularly in Asia and Africa. It calls for stronger corporate accountability, specifically urging the European Union to implement the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to hold companies responsible for human rights abuses in their global supply chains.

Global Witness advocates for Amendment 36 to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which would require UK financial institutions to conduct due diligence to prevent funding illegal deforestation. The organization argues that existing government proposals for a Treasury review and reliance on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) are insufficient, citing that UK banks and asset managers provided an estimated $16.6 billion to businesses implicated in deforestation between 2015-2020. The amendment is supported by financial institutions representing £2.7 trillion in assets and aligns with the UK's commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

Global Witness reports that industrial agriculture is accelerating biodiversity loss in Brazil, with over 27 million hectares of jaguar habitat converted to agricultural land in Mato Grosso and Pará as of 2023. The investigation highlights JBS's role, finding that 75% of identified farms in JBS's supply chain overlapping jaguar territory in these states violated environmental laws between 2018 and 2023. The report specifically identifies the Canoeiro farm as having cleared over 1,200 hectares of protected jaguar territory between 2013 and 2023, using 'cattle laundering' to enter JBS's supply chain. Global Witness argues that stronger supply chain and finance regulations are necessary to prevent the extinction of keystone species and meet global climate goals by 2030.

Global Witness reports that illegal heavy rare earth mining in Myanmar's Kachin Special Region 1 is surging to meet global demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines. The process, driven by Chinese investment and controlled by militias linked to the Myanmar military, causes severe environmental damage, including water poisoning and deforestation. These minerals are primarily exported to Chinese state-owned enterprises, which then supply global manufacturers of permanent magnets.

Between January 2013 and April 2020, Chinese financial institutions provided over $22.5 billion USD to companies producing and trading commodities at high risk of driving deforestation. The report highlights that a small number of major commercial banks dominate this financing, often with inadequate due diligence or safeguarding policies. Specific examples include financing for COFCO, which continues to use suppliers suspended by Unilever, and JBS, which has been linked to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The report argues that China's banking regulator should revise commercial banking laws to mandate the exclusion of companies linked to environmental destruction to align with China's 2060 carbon neutrality goal.

The report reveals that the Philippines' push to become a leading exporter of transition minerals, such as nickel and copper, is causing significant land loss for Indigenous Peoples and the destruction of critical biodiversity hotspots. It highlights a pattern of state-driven violence, where the military is identified as the primary perpetrator of killings and detentions of land defenders. The document argues that the global shift to renewable energy is fueling a 'green mineral rush' that relies on 'red-tagging' activists and militarising infrastructure, particularly in Mindanao, to facilitate extractive projects.

Financial institutions representing £2.7 trillion in assets are calling for the UK to introduce mandatory due diligence for the financial sector to prevent the financing of deforestation, aligning with the Environment Act 2021 and global biodiversity targets.

Global Witness reports that Cargill has purchased soy from farms in Bolivia where over 20,000 hectares of forest have been cleared since 2017. The investigation finds that Cargill fails to collect necessary origin data for its soy, undermining its public commitments to deforestation-free supply chains. Furthermore, a leaked map suggests Cargill may be targeting an additional 3 million hectares of standing forest for future soy sourcing. The report also highlights that global banks, including Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Santander, continue to provide billions in financing to Cargill despite their own pledges to reduce deforestation in their portfolios.

An investigation by Global Witness, Der Spiegel, and Mediapart reveals that the Ngoki oil project in the Republic of the Congo is linked to the family of President Sassou-Nguesso and businessman Claude Wilfrid Etoka, whose bank accounts were closed by BNP Paribas due to corruption risks. The report argues that the project's environmental impact assessments are obsolete and fail to account for the presence of carbon-rich peatlands, which could store 1.34 gigatonnes of carbon in the Ngoki block alone. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the announced oil reserves of 359 million barrels may be economically unviable, as major firms like Shell and Total previously rejected the project based on seismic data.

An investigation by Global Witness reveals that the Nsuta manganese mine in Ghana, operated by the Chinese company Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry Group (TMI), is causing severe health and environmental damage to surrounding communities. Local residents report chronic respiratory, skin, and eye conditions, while academic research indicates that mine pit water is concentrated with toxic metals like arsenic, potentially causing cancer and stillbirths. The mine's tailings dump is described by an expert as unstable and steeper than industry standards, posing a risk to nearby homes. Despite the mine's role in supplying manganese for EV batteries used by companies like Tesla, Ford, and General Motors, local communities report inadequate government regulation and erratic distribution of mining revenues. The expansion of the open-cast mine also threatens the Neung Forest Reserve, a critical biodiversity hotspot.

Global Witness estimates that financial institutions in the EU, UK, US, and China generated $1.74 billion in weighted revenues from $157 billion in deals with 20 major agro-industrial companies linked to deforestation between 2016 and 2020. The report highlights a systemic failure of voluntary commitments, noting that major banks like JPMorgan, HSBC, and BNP Paribas continue to fund companies involved in illegal land conversion and human rights abuses in the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It argues that these profits should be viewed as a 'forest debt' owed to affected communities and calls for mandatory government regulation to replace ineffective voluntary policies.