At first glance, issues such as human security and combating crime in the Amazon don't seem to have anything to do with policies for the sustainable development of the region and strategies for reducing climate change and its effects. However, the issues are closely related: crime, whether directly environmental or not, harm Amazonian populations, their prospects for growth and quality of life, and the environment itself.

In addition to the environmental degradation that pollutes and takes away the livelihoods of those who inhabit the forests and the dispute over land ownership that claims lives, drug trafficking recruits or forces the most vulnerable populations into illegal activities, including sexual exploitation.

These facts explain why, tomorrow (the 7th), the United Nations High Level Conference on Human Security and Climate Justice will take place in Belém, at the Maria Sylvia Nunes Theater, in Estação das Docas, to discuss issues such as the environment, crime in the region and social inclusion policies. The event, considered a preparation for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30), aims to discuss perspectives for combining integrated governance policies and multilateral cooperation to reduce the human costs related to extreme environmental impacts.

Organized by the Ministério Público do Estado do Pará (MPPA) [Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Pará] and the Comitê Permanente da América Latina para a Prevenção do Crime (COPLAD) [Permanent Latin American Committee for Crime Prevention], linked to the United Nations (UN), the meeting will also address strategies for accelerating the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, so as to guarantee the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement, with an emphasis on the Amazon.

According to the MPPA's Attorney General, César Mattar Júnior, the conference will approach human security and climate change, but also social justice. “There is even an idea by the UN to create a specific court for discussions on social justice for the Amazon region and also for the climate problems faced by humanity,” he said.

PROGRAM

The attorney general refers to one of the four plenary sessions that will take place during the event: “Climate Justice Integrated with the Benefits of Social Cohesion in the Amazon - The Creation by the UN of the International Climate Justice Tribunal”.

“This issue is a priority for this preliminary conference and hopefully for COP 30 as well, because one cannot discuss sustainable development, climate change, without looking with different eyes at those who live in our region. So, when we talk about social justice, when we talk about climate change, when we talk about sustainable development, this context must be considered, but with an eye to those who live in the Amazon region. We need to think about how we can develop and promote social justice so that there is real progress of the human beings who live here, at all levels,” says Mattar.

Other plenary sessions will touch on the issues “How to design a Smart City Model that carries the seal of reference in the Amazon, with resources from the Amazon Fund and the support of Multinational Investors”, “The Operationalization of Strategic Measures to Combat the Spread of Crime Schemes in the Amazon” and “Sports Values for Social Inclusion and the Development of Needy Communities in the Amazon”. “We need to think about the whole context that strengthens people's lives in the Amazon region,” said the attorney general.

During the conference, the Belém Declaration - Pact for the Future of the Amazon - will be drawn up. “It will be the conclusion of the event. The aim is to take public policy proposals to the powers that be. It will be addressed to all the actors responsible for promoting social justice in our region,” he explains.

Committee intends to implement actions to reduce criminality

Another organizer of the event besides the MPPA, the Comitê Permanente da América Latina para a Prevenção do Crime (COPLAD) [Latin American Standing Committee for Crime Prevention] was created in 2007 as a Program of the UN Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), based in San José, Costa Rica. According to Edmundo Oliveira, the organization's general coordinator, COPLAD focuses on helping to implement integrated policies that benefit the stability of peoples and the planet. In this context, it also aims to help control climate extremes, which mainly impact the most vulnerable populations and increase social inequalities.

“In relation to COP 30, COPLAD wants to invest efforts for five social, economic and environmental undertakings linked to global governance: surveying and reducing national and transnational crime in the Amazon region; stimulating the implementation of smart cities in the Amazon; upgrading education and sport in underprivileged communities in the Amazon; mitigating inequality and poverty in the Amazon; and creating the International Climate Tribunal, based in the region (by the UN),” Oliveira points out.

CRIMINALITY

According to Edson Ramos, coordinator of the Graduate Program in Public Security at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), violence in the Amazon is intrinsically linked to the exploitation of natural resources and disputes over land, imacting people and the environment.

“The practices employed in the region often violate environmental and land laws, invading conservation units, settlements and indigenous territories. This illegal exploitation feeds a vicious cycle of criminal activities, such as illegal mining and deforestation, which in turn intensify the violence. Land grabbing, agricultural expansion in protected areas and the illicit extraction of minerals are examples of how the illegal exploitation of natural resources drives land conflicts,” refers the researcher.

Ramos points out that drug trafficking also plays a significant role in this context. “Armed groups fight over routes for drugs and weapons, in a scenario that often overlaps with the illegal exploitation of natural resources, creating a multifaceted scenario of violence,” he said. “The domination of strategic sectors of the region's infrastructure by criminal organizations hinders the development of new bioeconomies and climate finance and sustainable development strategies,” he adds.

Criminality in the Amazon creates a cycle of destruction

Illicit activities in the Amazon cause irreparable damage to the forest, to biodiversity and also to the lives of the region's inhabitants. The contamination of rivers and soils affects the health of local populations, especially riverside communities, and the loss of territories threatens the survival and way of life of traditional peoples. In addition, armed conflicts involving criminal factions increase homicide rates and other violent crimes.

“Criminality in the Amazon creates a cycle of violence and destruction that threatens human security, the environment and traditional populations. The illicit exploitation of natural resources, land grabbing and drug trafficking feed off each other, creating a scenario of chaos and insecurity, with a diversification of illegal activities, including human trafficking and child sexual exploitation,” warns Edson Ramos.

CHALLENGES

The overlap of all these crimes and the very characteristics of the region make it a complex and challenging environment for the security forces. “The scarcity of adequate resources and infrastructure represents a significant obstacle to the work of security forces in the region. Policing remote areas requires substantial investments in technology and logistics. The complexity of crimes in the Amazon demands coordinated action between federal and state security forces, as well as other control bodies. Operação Curupira [Curupira Operation], in the state of Pará, is an example of integrated action involving the Secretariats for the Environment and Public Security to combat deforestation,” says Ramos.

For the researcher, it is also necessary to use intelligence and technology tools to tackle crimes in the region, as well as to implement strategies for the traceability of illicit products, such as mercury and fuel, and to strengthen mechanisms to fight money laundering.

“Other important aspects envolve prioritizing land regularization and environmental protection, fighting land grabbing and deforestation, and improving the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR)  [Rural Environmental Registry] as a tool to reduce the invasion of protected lands, especially protecting indigenous territories, quilombolas and other traditional communities, which are often the target of violence and criminal exploitation. Public policies should also be created to promote the region's bioeconomy and sustainable development, combating the crime economy, with a more careful look at the municipalities, taking into account the different realities and dynamics of violence in each location,” concludes the professor.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
The production of Liberal Amazon is one of the initiatives of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Liberal Group and the Federal University of Pará. The articles involving research from UFPA are revised by professionals from the academy. The translation of the content is also provided by the agreement, through the research project ET-Multi: Translation Studies: multifaces and multisemiotics.