With approximately 31000 inhabitants, the municipality of Machadinho d’Oeste is located in Rondônia State, on the border with Mato Grosso and at the western edge of the so-called ‘Arc of Deforestation’ that extends across the Amazon region from the north of Maranhão Statet o Acre State.Timber industry encroachment and land-grabbing are putting pressure on the state’s forests and leaving rural populations at risk of dispossession, violence and even death. There are many accounts of intimidation and of brutal murders and attempted murders.