UNODC Brazil promotes training to improve the response to illegal timber trafficking in the maritime port context

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Paranaguá, 20 October 2023 – Aiming to improve technical capacities to detect, inspect, and identify illegal timber shipments on maritime and river routes, UNODC, through the Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Reduce Tropical Deforestation (LEAP), promoted a practical and theoretical training between 17-20 October, in Paranaguá, State of Paraná. Paranaguá has been identified together with government authorities as one of the key ports for the export of timber.

The initiative included officials from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB), and the Federal Police (PF) from the states of Amazonas, Pará, Paraná, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.

During four days of theoretical and practical training, the participants learned more about risk analysis and timber identification, including risk indicators, as well as data and document analysis to identify suspicious cargo. The officials also visited the port of Paranaguá, where they were able to carry out practical exercises including examining containers and timber.

At the end of the training, the participants could evaluate the activities carried out and contribute to defining LEAP’s next steps, indicating future mentoring and training needs. The Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Reduce Tropical Deforestation (LEAP) is implemented in partnership with INTERPOL and with the support of Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI). LEAP is also part of the Container Control Programme (CCP).

The programme seeks to share knowledge and build global networks to combat illegal deforestation and related crimes, strengthening capacities to conduct intelligence-led operations, based on technical law enforcement expertise, and fostering multi-agency and international cooperation.

The activities are carried out across key countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. In Brazil, six ports are currently covered by the programme's activities: Porto Velho, Manaus, Belém, Paranaguá, Itajaí, and Santos.

Find out more about the Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Reduce Tropical Deforestation (LEAP).

For more information on UNODC's work on environmental crime, click here.