Manaus, 25 August 2023 – Aiming to identify good practices and foster joint solutions to illegal deforestation and timber trafficking in the Brazilian Amazon, UNODC promoted the "Pará-Amazonas Interstate Dialogue to Combat Forestry Crimes" on August 22 and 23, in Manaus-AM.
The meeting took place within the framework of the CRIMFLO project – Strengthening the Criminal Justice System Response to Forestry Crimes and brought together representatives of 14 federal and state institutions working in Pará and Amazonas, to share their initiatives and learn about good practices implemented in the area.
Among the federal institutions working in the region, the Federal Police (PF), the Federal Highway Police (PRF), the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB), the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) and the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) were represented.
At the state level, in Pará, the local Public Ministry (MPPA), Civil Police (PC-PA), State Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense (SEGUP-PA), and State Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability (SEMAS-PA) participated. For Amazonas, there were representatives from the Military Police (PM-AM), Civil Police (PC-AM), State Secretariat of Public Security (SSP-AM), and the Institute of Environmental Protection of Amazonas (IPAAM).
The main recommendations and proposals raised during the event will be gathered in a report that will guide future collaborations between UNODC and the participating institutions. The discussions of the Interstate Dialogue will also support the preparation of training for state servers of Pará and Amazonas, which will be promoted by CRIMFLO in the coming months.
CRIMFLO – Strengthening the Criminal Justice System Response to Forestry Crimes, is a UNODC project in Brazil, supported by the United States Department of State Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The initiative aims to work in close cooperation with government institutions, security forces, and the judiciary at the federal and state levels to strengthen the fight against illegal deforestation and timber trafficking. Working with an approach that goes from the crime scene to the court, CRIMFLO provides technical assistance and promotes cross-border, interregional, and interagency cooperation.
To learn more about UNODC's work on crimes that affect the environment, click here, and for UNODC's publications on the subject, click here.
