Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are calling for stronger international action against criminal organizations operating throughout the Amazon rainforest.

The representatives are attending a United Nations conference in Vienna, Austria, from October 19–23, where they are urging governments to crack down on illegal gold mining, drug trafficking, deforestation and violence against Indigenous communities.

Criminal Networks Threaten the Amazon

Organized crime groups have expanded their operations across the Amazon, exploiting natural resources while threatening communities that resist them.

Illegal gold mining is a major concern, particularly because mercury used in extraction contaminates rivers and threatens local food supplies.

Indigenous leaders also report intimidation, forced displacement and attacks against those protecting their ancestral territories.

Indigenous Communities Demand Protection

The leaders want stronger international cooperation to dismantle criminal networks, investigate illegal financial operations and protect environmental defenders.

They are also pushing for Indigenous communities to have a direct role in developing international policies against environmental crime.

A proposed international agreement targeting environmental crimes is among the issues being discussed.

Why It Matters

The Amazon is essential to global biodiversity and climate stability, but criminal activity continues to threaten its forests and communities.

For Indigenous leaders, the message is straightforward: protecting the Amazon requires stopping the criminal organizations profiting from its destruction.