Bolivia: 2023 Record Deforestation Due to Environmental Crime

“Behind this destruction there are out-of-control forest fires, the expansion of the agricultural frontier, rampant gold mining, and the construction of airports and drug laboratories in the middle of natural parks and protected areas,” indicated the recent report The Plundered Amazon: The Roots of Environmental Crime in Bolivia, jointly published by InSight Crime and the Brazilian think tank Instituto Igarapé.

The report highlights the transnational and cross-border dynamics of environmental crime in Bolivia, including wildlife trafficking, illegal mercury trafficking for gold mining, and timber trafficking. “The increase in illicit activities not only degrades the environment, but also strengthens transnational criminal networks that benefit from lack of oversight and corruption,” Melina Risso, director of Research at the Igarapé Institute, told Diálogo.

 

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