EPISODE NOTES

Brazil’s Arariboia Indigenous Territory is a green island that spans more than 413,000 hectares (1.02 million acres) in a sea of deforestation. Though the territory is protected by law, it’s become the site of incursions by loggers and cattle ranchers.

In a five-year investigative series for the environmental news outlet Mongabay, reporter Karla Mendes exposed environmental crimes in Arariboia and other protected areas of the Amazon, including palm oil production, logging, and cattle ranching. She also investigated the murder of Paulo Paulino Guajajara, an indigenous Forest Guardian who was ambushed by loggers. He was one of more than 50 indigenous Guajajara individuals killed in the last 20 years. Mendes’ reporting is helping to bring justice to these remote areas where impunity has been the norm.

Her investigation was part of a Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations fellowship. She says as the climate changes, Brazilians are showing increased interest in journalism like hers that highlights the importance of protecting the rainforest. 

Learn more about Karla Mendes’ investigative work by watching this documentary about Paulo Paulino Guajajara and the future of Guajajara Indigenous people. Produced with support from Pulitzer Center and Rainforest Investigations Network.