The alarming rate of deforestation in the Amazon has been fueled by a veritable ecosystem of illicit economies, in which various activities finance the destruction of the forest and vice versa. Deforestation and degradation of the Amazon rainforest compromise the future and well-being of the next generations and harm the environment and climate regulation on a planetary scale.
Among other aspects, the Amazon decisively influences the rainfall regime in the country and its green cover is related to their intensity and frequency. Ultimately, the deforestation of the forest contributes both to the tragedy in Petrópolis (RJ) and to the drought that affects agribusiness, in addition to the sandstorms in the interior of São Paulo, which we saw last year. The areas most vulnerable to the consequences of extreme weather events are the poorest, in Brazil and in the world.
Seeking to understand the drivers of forest destruction, a new study by the Igarapé Institute shows an unprecedented panorama of the ecosystem of environmental crime in the Amazon, where the crimes that drive forest destruction are becoming more complex, interconnected and violent, as the State is absent from the region and encourages predatory activities. Data analyzed from 369 Federal Police (PF) operations between 2016 and 2021 confirm that deforestation is just the satellite-visible tip of something bigger that has been happening in the Amazon.
This is because the destruction of the forest comes in the wake of illegal or contaminated economic activities. Illegal gold mining, illegal logging, land grabbing and the share of agriculture and livestock with environmental liabilities intertwine in different Amazonian territories and contribute to the escalation of illegal deforestation and forest degradation.
Furthermore, environmental crime does not happen alone. PF investigations point to the existence of fraud, financial and tax crimes, drug trafficking, pollution and other illicit acts directly linked to the devastation of the Amazon biome. Violent crimes against the person, slave labor, possession of weapons, ammunition and explosives are increasingly common and today appear in almost a third of PF operations in the region. Investigations for corruption and money laundering occurred in a fifth of the analyzed cases, revealing organized environmental crime.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the government’s disregard for the Amazon not only helps to accelerate climate change but also increases insecurity in the country. The lack of state control encourages the expansion of crime and the entry of new criminal groups in one of the most important regions for the planet’s climate.
Therefore, the fight against environmental crime and related crimes needs to be a priority of the federal government and state governments of the Legal Amazon so that Brazil can become a forest economic power. Only by guaranteeing public and legal security, compliance with laws and international agreements, our country will benefit from the enormous potential of environmental services and nature-based solutions that it can offer the world.
The nexus between security and climate is increasingly complex. In addition to overcoming challenges of governance, strategic coordination and intelligence to inhibit the practice of crimes, holding the actors involved with the illicit accountable, it is vital to prioritize the development and socio-economic inclusion of the population of the region, avoiding the criminalization of the “small fish” and ensuring the maintenance of the standing forest. Only then will we be able to nip this evil in the bud.
