COP16 | Illegal Economies and Deforestation in Latin America

Press Briefing: Illegal Economies and Deforestation in Latin America

About: Experts from Colombia, Brazil and the United States provided key context for COP16 during the briefing. Panelists captured the state of illicit economies in Latin America today and pointed to their impacts on Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant communities and the forests they protect. The briefing comes on the heels of a Colombian government operation against drug trafficking, deforestation and land grabbing in the Chiribiquete National Natural Park in the Colombian Amazon. The operation destroyed two coca processing laboratories and disabled five sections of roads and five illegal bridges built by organized armed groups for criminal activities.  

Panelists:
 • Rodrigo Botero, Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS). Mr. Botero is an expert on biodiversity conservation and the intricate connections between criminal activities and environmental degradation.
• Melina Risso, Igarapé Institute. Ms. Risso is a researcher focusing on the complexities of criminal activity in the Brazilian Amazon and its broader environmental implications.
• Kendra McSweeney, Ohio State University. Dr. McSweeny is a geographer specializing in the impacts of drug trafficking on forest environments.
• José Guarnizo, Vorágine. Mr. Guarnizo is a journalist and the general director of Vorágine.  

Recording: Link to recording (kindly note that remarks are delivered in English and Spanish)

Transcript: (Please note that automated transcriptions and translations may still contain typos)

• Remarks in original language (Mixed remarks in English and Spanish)
• English
• Spanish 

Upcoming Events at the COP16

Reports & Relevant Resources 

The ecosystem of environmental crime in the Amazon | Igarape

• The ecosystem of environmental crime in the Amazon: An analysis of illicit rainforest economies in Brazil
  

• Follow the money: connecting anti-money laundering systems to disrupt environmental crime in the Amazon
  

• Follow the money: how environmental crime is handled by anti-money laundering systems in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru

• Global incentive mechanism to protect standing forests

Gold and coca: the curse of war in the jungles of Putumayo (English, Spanish)

• Investigation: Illegal armed groups have plunged the departments of Putumayo, Caquetá and Amazonas into a deadly confrontation over the gold in their territories. | Vorágine

• Informe de investigación: Grupos armados ilegales sumieron a los departamentos de Putumayo, Caquetá y Amazonas en una confrontación a muerte por hacerse con el oro de sus territorios  | Vorágine
  

Illicit Economies in the Amazon (English)

• Amazon countries are stepping-up measures to counter illicit financing of nature crime | Melina Risso

• Amazon Underworld: Criminal Economies in the World's Largest Rainforest

• Dirty Money and the Destruction of the Amazon: Uncovering the U.S. Role in Illicit Financial Flows from Environmental Crimes in Peru and Colombia

• State weakness could hamper US bid to stem Amazon organised crime 

“Operation Amazon” in Chiribiquete National Natural Park (Spanish)

• Deforestación en Chiribiquete: detalles de una vía ilegal que avanza en el área protegida 

• Así fue el operativo contra la deforestación y el narcotráfico en el Parque Nacional Chiribiquete

Crisis of coca prices (Spanish)

• Coca a precio de huevo: ¿por qué un kilo ahora vale menos de 2.000 pesos? 

Experts Available for Interview

For interview requests, please email [email protected].

Rodrigo Botero
Rodrigo Botero is the Director of Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS) in Colombia. With extensive experience in biodiversity conservation, Mr. Botero specializes in analyzing the intricate connections between criminal activities and environmental degradation in Latin America. He has played a crucial role in documenting how illegal economies, particularly those linked to drug trafficking, have increasingly threatened both forest ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.

Melina Risso
Melina Risso is Research Director at the Igarapé Institute, a leading think tank focused on public, digital, and climate security in Brazil. Ms. Risso’s research delves into the complexities of criminal activity in the Brazilian Amazon, examining how these illegal operations contribute to deforestation and broader environmental destruction. She has authored several studies on the diversification of criminal networks, particularly their expansion into illegal logging, mining and land grabbing.

Dr. Kendra McSweeney
Dr. Kendra McSweeney is a Professor of Geography at Ohio State University, specializing in the socio-environmental impacts of drug trafficking on tropical forests. Her research explores how the illicit drug trade has transformed forested regions in Latin America, contributing to deforestation, biodiversity loss and violence against local communities. Dr. McSweeney's work is recognized for bridging the gap between environmental conservation and the study of illegal economies. 

José Guarnizo
José Guarnizo is a prominent journalist and the General Director of Vorágine, an investigative journalism outlet based in Colombia. With a focus on human rights and environmental issues, Mr. Guarnizo has extensively reported on the nexus between illegal economies and deforestation in Latin America. His investigative work has brought to light the experiences of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities facing the encroachment of criminal networks.