This publication presents an analysis of six community-led initiatives in the Amazon, organized around practical lessons that address the region’s challenges. Among the most pressing challenges are the advance of deforestation, the intensification of illicit activities, pressure on protected territories, biodiversity loss, barriers to accessing…

The Amazon faces a variety of security challenges, ranging from historical issues such as high homicide rates, theft, illicit trade, and violence against women to new threats to the region’s rich biodiversity, including deforestation, unauthorized logging, unregulated mining, and land grabbing. Considering the complexity of…

  The Igarapé Institute, along with various civil society organizations from Brazil, Colombia, the United States, and Peru, presented seven key recommendations to combat, mitigate, and prevent the damages caused by illegal gold mining in the Amazon basin. The proposals were discussed during the event…

For the second year in a row, record-breaking drought in the Amazon has caused environmental havoc and left entire communities stranded. Water levels in the major Amazonian rivers have dropped to historical lows. And because they serve as the main transport conduit in the region, the consequences of…

This is the second article in a series on the challenges and opportunities of the urban Amazon. Read the first one here. Framed by an elegant riverside promenade and a modest skyline with streets enviably free of gridlock, Macapá is that rare major Brazilian city with…

With active participation in high-level discussions, Igarapé leads agendas on global governance, digital space, development financing, climate and nature, connecting the discussions in New York to upcoming global milestones, such as the G20 and COP30.   Starting this week, New York City will host high-level…

BOGOTA/RIO DE JANEIRO Aug 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A new U.S.-backed initiative to disrupt illicit financial flows from nature crimes such as illegal logging and mining in the Amazon rainforest has been welcomed by security experts, but the effort could be hampered by lawlessness…

With the announcement by the US of a new initiative to counter the illicit financing of environment crime in the Amazon, there are signs the issue is finally an international priority. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen launched the Amazon Regional Initiative Against Illicit Finance last month with the stated…

Relentless climate change and biodiversity loss are pushing the world’s ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The planet may have already surpassed at least six of nine planetary boundaries crucial for maintaining a safe operating environment for humanity. The only way to slow and eventually reverse course…

“Behind this destruction there are out-of-control forest fires, the expansion of the agricultural frontier, rampant gold mining, and the construction of airports and drug laboratories in the middle of natural parks and protected areas,” indicated the recent report The Plundered Amazon: The Roots of Environmental Crime…

Since PORTUGUESE colonisers first appeared, the story of indigenous Brazilians has been littered with horror. Disease and violence killed many after the conquest. Slavery on rubber plantations existed into the 20th century. Today wildcat miners, ranchers and loggers are the threat to the indigenous peoples of…

A new report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Igarapé Institute examines the bioeconomy of eight Amazonian countries and showcases opportunities to create sustainable economic alternatives for the almost 50 million people living in the region. The report provides new insights on ways…

A new report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Igarapé Institute examines the bioeconomy of eight Amazonian countries and showcases opportunities to create sustainable economic alternatives for the almost 50 million people living in the region. The report provides new insights on ways…

On November 17, global temperatures exceeded 2°C for the first time compared to pre-industrial levels. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023 (COP28) in Dubai, the Igarapé Institute is presenting an agenda of information and proposals to address the global climate emergency, with…

Bulletin launched at COP28 details a simple and intuitive system to incentivize those who protect standing forests. The study contributes to the debate brought about by the “Tropical Forests Forever” plan announced by the Brazilian government in Dubai.   The collective future, of people and…