Threats to physical security, land conflicts, environmental degradation, and weak state presence are among the most urgent challenges faced by organizations in Brazil and Colombia working on the frontlines of the Amazon. These risks are compounded by global demand for commodities — including timber, gold,…

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…

A new report by the FACT Coalition found that many investigations into environmental crimes do not follow the money. Of the 230 cases analyzed, 76% involved the use of front and shell companies, likely due to flaws in the anti-money laundering systems of foreign countries, researchers said….

  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…

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…

“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…

This study on Bolivia, in partnership with InSight Crime, provides a comprehensive overview of the complex network of actors, including state and non-state entities, and the relationships that perpetuate environmental crime in the Bolivian Amazon. It seeks to understand the contemporary dynamics of environmental crimes…

  A regional ecosystem of crime has spread to 24 states and 254 cities throughout Brazil A new study by the Igarapé institute analyzing more than 300 Federal Police operations between 2016 and 2021 found that environmental crime in the Amazon region is not only…

“This includes shining a light not just on crime groups and shady business but also the corrupt government officials – including police, notary clerks, customs officials, and politicians – who facilitate the business,” Szabó said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A new paper from the Igarape Institute – Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: a Typology for Research, Policy and Action – introduces a typology to help better understand the scope and scale of the problem and its extensive social and environmental impacts.