‘Green desert’: the farmers winning a battle with Brazil’s wood-pulp giant

<p>Eucalyptus production is dominated by large multinationals that convert farmland and forest into monoculture plantations</p><p>Razor-straight rows of eucalyptus clones flank the Baixa Verde settlement in north-eastern Brazil. The genetically identical trees are in marked contrast to the patches of wild Atlantic forest – one of the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/atlantic-forest/">most biologically diverse ecosystems</a> on Earth – that remain scattered across the region.</p><p>Surrounded by <a href="https://www.veracel.com.br/en/cultivate-eucalyptus-with-veracel-celulose/">nearly 100,000 hectares</a> (247,000 acres) of eucalyptus plantations, Baixa Verde is a rare example of a local victory over a multinational in Brazil. The rural settlement owes its existence to nearly two decades of legal battles over land rights – but the fight is not over yet.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/nov/05/brazil-green-desert-bahia-farmers-winning-battle-eucalyptus-wood-pulp-veracel-celulose">Continue reading...</a>