Our most recent report, Amazon Underworld (in partnership with the Amazon Underworld journalism project, InfoAmazonia, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime), presents a shocking analysis of the impacts of illegal economies in the Amazon and provides a detailed roadmap for governments across Amazonian countries to tackle the ruthless expansion of crime organizations.
Over the past decade, the Amazon has become a highly dangerous region in Latin America, serving as one of the main sources and transit points for criminal economies and leading to numerous human rights abuses against Indigenous populations.
Illegal miners and drug traffickers invade Indigenous territories, pollute their livelihoods, recruit Indigenous children, and threaten leaders who resist their activities. In 2022, one in five killings of land and environmental defenders worldwide occurred in the Amazon.
There is ample evidence that Indigenous communities and their territories play a central role in protecting the rainforest as long as their governance and territorial protection systems are supported.
We must expose the biggest threat to the Amazon while uplifting Indigenous peoples as the solution. Join us by sharing the contents of this social kit across your social platforms.
The Amazon is now home to a complex underground illegal economy that fuels violence & deforestation, speeding up its destruction. It's crucial that Indigenous peoples be recognized as political agents in an attempt to curb organized crime.
#AmazonUnderworld #IndigenousLandRights
Rivers in Munduruku, Yanomami, & Kayapó territories have been contaminated with mercury, a toxic substance used in gold mining. In 2021, researchers found that 200 people evaluated from 3 Munduruku villages along the Tapajós River were contaminated with mercury. #AmazonUnderworld
The growth of coca cultivation in the Peruvian Amazon over the past 20 years has led to increasing violence against the Kakataibo people. Since 2020, 4 leaders have been assassinated & the Kakataibo have organized Indigenous guards to protect their territory. #AmazonUnderworld
The Amazon is now home to a complex underground illegal economy that fuels violence and deforestation, speeding up the destruction of one of the most biodiverse places on earth. Just as Indigenous peoples have proven to be a buffer on deforestation, it is crucial that they be recognized as political agents in the attempt to curb organized crime.
Use the link in bio to learn more about this growing threat or visit amazonwatch.org/amazon-underworld.
#AmazonUnderworld #IndigenousLandRights
The expansion of illegal gold mining has had severe socio-environmental consequences throughout the Amazon. The top three affected peoples in Brazil are the Kayapó (with 115 sq km taken for mining), the Munduruku (47 sq km), and the Yanomami (15 sq km). On Munduruku, Yanomami and Kayapó territory, entire rivers have been disrupted or contaminated with mercury, a toxic substance used in the process of gold mining. In 2021, researchers found that all 200 residents evaluated from three Munduruku villages along the Tapajós River were contaminated with mercury, with higher levels in areas most affected by mining activities.
Use the link in bio to learn more about this growing threat or visit amazonwatch.org/amazon-underworld.
#AmazonUnderworld #IndigenousLandRights
The Kakataibo territory, located in Peru’s Selva
Central (central jungle), is a strategic corridor for various illegal economies, mainly drug trafficking. The exponential growth of coca cultivation in the region over the past 20 years has led to increasing pressure and violence against the Kakataibo people. Since 2020, four Kakataibo community leaders have been assassinated, the most emblematic case being that of Arbildo Meléndez, leader of the Unipacuyacu community in the Codo del Pozuzo district. In response, the Kakataibo have organized Indigenous guards to protect their territory.
Use the link in bio to learn more about this growing threat or visit amazonwatch.org/amazon-underworld.
#AmazonUnderworld #IndigenousLandRights
A new policy paper by Amazon Underworld @amazonuworld, Amazon Watch, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime @gi_toc, and InfoAmazonia @infoamazonia, details a roadmap for governments across Amazonian countries to tackle the ruthless expansion of crime organizations and illicit markets in the most biodiverse region of the world. Learn about the 7 holistic policy recommendations that center Indigenous rights at amazonwatch.org/amazon-underworld.
