Given the inaccurate statements made about the Buritirana camp at the Rodominas Farm in Bom Jesus das Selvas, Maranhão, Suzano Pulp and Paper hereby clarifies the following facts regarding the matter:
· By request of Suzano Pulp and Paper and given the concerns it raised, a meeting was held in October 2016 with the members of said camp, the Maranhão State Prosecution Office, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform and Settlement (Incra) and the State Commission to Prevent Rural and Urban Violence to discuss the local situation, since the area occupied by the camp, which was legally leased and has been regularly contracted by Suzano Pulp and Paper, is a legal reserve area duly protected by law and such area was subject to preservation actions by the company while in its possession.
· At said meeting, an out-of-court agreement was reached by which the members of the camp undertook to leave the area by March 25, 2017.
· The period was given so that the families would have time to harvest their crops and Incra would have time to find an area for their relocation, as per the minutes drawn up by the federal agencies that participated in the meeting.
· The company has complied with its obligations under the agreement and, despite having obtained a favorable preliminary injunction in the action to recover possession, the company has continued to seek a friendly resolution for the families to leave the area as soon as possible so that it can recover the area degraded by the occupation.
· As is the case of all other areas leased by the company, the lease of said area was preceded by a rigorous compliance audit, and the area was not occupied when the lease agreement was executed. Suzano Pulp and Paper does not lease land that is occupied, and adopts the same procedure when acquiring land.
· Suzano Pulp and Paper laments the disclosure of inaccurate statements about the matter and will continue to preserve the environment and comply with the law, for which it remains confident that the families will leave the area, as per the agreement reached, and that the authorities will faithfully execute their duties in said solution, as the company has always done.