Sticks and Carrots: Lula’s Balancing Act in Brazil’s Crime-Wracked Amazon
In some ways, Brazil’s new president has faced worse. In 2002, the year before he entered office, Amazon deforestation stood…
Nature Under Threat in Ecuador as Gold Miners Target National Park
An Amazon conservation initiative has detected a rapid growth in illegal gold mining sites at a natural park and ecological…
Illegal Mining Spreads to Furthest Reaches of Amazon in Ecuador
Police operations in Ecuador this year have uncovered shocking levels of environmental damage caused by illegal mining in the far-flung…
Wildlife Trafficking Grows in Mexico as Criminals Go Digital
Wildlife traffickers in Mexico are taking advantage of the large-scale, unregulated digital marketplace provided by social media platforms, placing some…
Corruption, Cocaine, and Gold: Interview With Suriname’s President Santokhi
Suriname, South America’s smallest country, is facing multiple criminal challenges. It is a cocaine transit route to Europe, an illegal…
Legal Frameworks to Protect the Amazon Are Being Sorely Tested
Environmental crime thrives across the Amazon as a result of low state resilience. Some efforts have been made to combat…
Corruption: The Common Source of Environmental Crime in the Amazon
Corruption facilitates environmental crime across Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, and Suriname. Entrepreneurial criminal networks are propped up by legal actors, including security…
Wildlife Trafficking Preys on the Amazon Basin
The Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. Bolivia is considered a “megadiverse country.” Over 48,000 animal…
Beneath The Surface of Illegal Gold Mining in the Amazon
As gold prices have skyrocketed, a boom in mining across the Amazon Basin has flourished, leaving a deep environmental footprint.…
Fueling Forest Loss: Motors of Deforestation in the Amazon
The Amazon Basin is covered by nearly eight million square kilometers of tropical forest, which equate to an area more…