Supporting Amazonian Environmental Organisations To Challenge Nature Crimes

Photo credit: International Lawyers Project

Situation

Nature crimes across the Amazon pose a threat to conservation and sustainable development, harming the forests, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, civil society organisations (CSOs), and even governments. Generating up to $281 billion USD globally, nature crime is driven by high commodity prices, such as the price of gold, which provide economic incentives for illegal, extractive activities. Often linked to other types of crime - such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and money laundering - nature crime has become increasingly transboundary, with many border areas within the Amazon serving as hotspots for illegal activity. Environmental human rights defenders working to expose and combat these crimes face severe restrictions on their ability to operate safely and effectively. It is estimated that at least 200 environmental defenders are killed in the Amazon region every year. Moreover, civil society often lacks so-called legal standing to undertake the most effective legal action available.

ILP’s Action

In coordination with our partner Amazon Conservation Association, ILP examined available legal avenues for CSOs and local communities to challenge nature crime and defend environmental rights in eight countries in the Amazon Basin, in order to better understand available remedies and legal strategies under domestic, regional and international courts and tribunals. ILP also designed a structured survey which was distributed to 41 CSOs across the Amazon to assess their unmet legal capacity needs. It also provided space for them to provide feedback on barriers to their effective advocacy and litigation, discuss their evidence collection capabilities, and share their experience in dealing with authorities to expose corruption and environmental crimes.

Impact

ILP’s mapping of legal avenues enables CSOs to more effectively expose nature crimes as well as related corruption and financial crimes. It also creates a foundation to advocate for legal reforms that protect frontline defenders from violence and persecution. The survey revealed that a quarter of respondents had experienced grave environmental harm for which they did not pursue legal action. Almost half of the CSOs surveyed said they have no or only occasional or informal legal support, while several organisations reported that the lack of legal assistance had materially hindered environmental defence efforts. These detailed survey results were shared during an official side event at the COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025, raising awareness among international decision-makers about the need for policy reforms that protect civic space and enable environmental defenders to participate effectively in challenging nature crime.