New TMP Study Reveals Land Disputes Costing Brazilian Companies Millions – and Decades of Lost Productivity

SãO PAULO, BRAZIL, November 4, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new study from TMP reveals that weak land administration is exposing Brazilian businesses to growing legal, operational and financial risks, costing millions of dollars and years of productivity losses. Governance reforms that secure the land rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and People of African Descent don’t just have well-documented environmental and social benefits – they’re good for business, too.

As part of their study, TMP investigated 95 company-community land disputes across Brazil’s agriculture, forestry and mining sectors. The findings point to land disputes as a systemic challenge with far-reaching consequences:

⦁ Prolonged duration: 70% of disputes remain unresolved, lasting an average of 15.5 years (and counting).
⦁ Significant operational impacts: 65% of disputes cause supply-chain delays or interruptions – some stretching across decades.
⦁ High financial exposure: Direct losses averaged US$2.5 million in agriculture and forestry, and US$24.3 million in mining.

“These figures underscore a simple truth,” said Jack Denton, Director and Land Tenure Lead, TMP. “Strong, transparent systems for recognising and enforcing land rights don’t just provide social or reputational benefits – they’re a business necessity. Without them, companies are exposed to higher rates of conflict, disruption and new regulatory, market and climate risks.”

A new era of risk and responsibility

Two emerging forces are raising the stakes for companies operating in Brazil’s commodity supply chains:

1. Incoming trade regulation. Beginning in 2026, the EU Deforestation Regulation will require imports of soy, beef, coffee, cocoa and timber to be both legally produced and deforestation-free – standards that depend entirely on verifiable land tenure.

2. Escalating climate impacts. In the past year alone, record wildfires caused $2.8 billion in agricultural losses, while catastrophic floods produced the largest climate-related insurance loss in Brazil’s history. Adapting supply chains to withstand these impacts requires effective systems of land administration.

With an estimated 75 million hectares of land affected by disputes in 2024, reform that secures the land and forest tenure rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and People of African Descent while enabling diversified, resilient supply chains is urgently needed.

Land rights at the centre of climate resilience

“Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples, Quilombolas and Traditional Peoples and Communities have strong track records in protecting forests and sustaining biodiversity,” said Jolyne Sanjak, Team Leader, Land Facility. “Around the globe, when Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendant and local communities have legally recognised land rights, everyone benefits: communities thrive, ecosystems are preserved, companies can operate with greater certainty and societies are better prepared for climate change.”

Five actions for business leadership

Published in the run-up to COP30, TMP’s report identifies several actions companies can take immediately to strengthen land governance and supply chain resilience:

⦁ Support effective regulations, for example by investing in systems to verify legal land use and aligning private systems with public records.
⦁ Connect adaptation finance to investments in land administration, for example through providing technical and financial support for major new partnerships to fund land regularisation.
⦁ Build shared landscape-level solutions, for example by partnering with local governments and NGOs to co-invest in mapping, dispute resolution or establishing local land boards to improve management of key issues.
⦁ Vocally support government action to improve cadastral system interoperability and streamline tenure recognition.
⦁ Assure Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and other safeguarding standards are applied at the business level.

São Paulo convening: building climate-ready land systems

On 7 November 2025, TMP will convene leaders from government, industry and philanthropy in São Paulo to turn these recommendations into action. The event will focus on practical solutions for strengthening tenure systems and accelerating climate-ready investment in Brazil’s land and natural resource sectors. TMP is supported in this work by the Land Facility, a global programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For more information about the event including how to participate, or to receive a copy of the report, contact Maria Jose Ramirez Alvarado at mariajose.ramirezalvarado@asktmp.com.

ENDS—

About TMP

TMP is a global team of experts tackling complex climate, social, environmental and security challenges. Founded in 2009, TMP helps governments, businesses and local communities design solutions that build climate resilience and equitable resource governance.

Visit www.asktmp.com to learn more.

Nick Aveling
TMP
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.