** NEW INVESTIGATION
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** STOLEN AMAZON: THE ROOTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME IN FIVE COUNTRIES ([link removed])
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** StolenAmazon#
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Today, InSight Crime and the Igarapé Institute release a comprehensive investigation into the environmental crimes and criminal actors driving deforestation across Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, and Suriname.
With land in these five countries accounting for some 20 percent of the Amazon Basin, they have collectively lost 10 million hectares of forest over the last two decades – an area equivalent to that of Portugal.
[link removed] Venezuela, jungle is increasingly being bulldozed for illicit gold mining. Our investigation traces the chain of actors involved in the plunder: from the labor force scrambling to dig up ore to the violent gangs and Colombian armed groups overseeing and profiting from the devastation. Much of the gold ultimately winds up in the vaults of Venezuela’s central bank to be sold to prop up President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Some is also spirited to Guyana and Suriname, where it is laundered and exported.
In Bolivia and Ecuador, forests are being slashed and burned to make way for farming and cattle. Our investigation uncovers land trafficking schemes that serve the interests of settlers and agribusiness. Valuable tree species are also being razed in these two countries to feed demand in international markets.
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The cost of this mass deforestation is already being felt. Some of the Amazon has tipped from a carbon sink to carbon emitter. But all is not lost. Our report also offers opportunities for intervention, including possibilities for cross-border collaboration.
SEE THE FULL REPORT ([link removed])


** WATCH OUR EXPLAINER
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About Igarapé Institute

The Igarapé Institute is an independent think and do tank focused on public, climate and digital security and their consequences for democracy.

Its objective is to propose solutions and partnerships for global challenges through research, new technologies, communication and influence on public policymaking.

The Institute works with governments, the private sector and civil society to design data-based solutions.

Prospect Magazine named Igarapé Institute the best Human Rights NGO in 2018 and best think tank on social policy in 2019.

Learn more about the Igarapé Institute's climate security program > ([link removed])

About InSight Crime

InSight Crime is a think tank and media organization that seeks to deepen and inform the debate about organized crime and citizen security in the Americas by providing regular reporting, analysis, data, investigation, and policy suggestions on how to tackle the multiple challenges they present.

It does this by fusing investigative journalism with academic rigor, building its analysis from extensive ground research, which includes speaking to all the actors, legal and illegal. As well as publishing work, it works with a network of experts and partners in the region to provide bespoke risk analysis, diagnostics, and opportunities for positive intervention.

Learn more about InSight Crime's InDepth coverage of environmental crime > ([link removed])

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