United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

UNODC Brazil and the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability of the state of Pará organise training to strengthen the response to environmental crimes

Belém, 10 November 2023 - UNODC Brazil, in collaboration with the Environment and Sustainability Secretariat of the state of Pará (SEMAS/PA), promoted the "Training to Strengthen the State Response to Forest Crimes", in Belém, Pará. The initiative involved two groups of 40 participants each, between 16 and 20 October and 6 and 10 November, with the aim of strengthening the capacity of state environmental inspection in the detection, prevention, and repression of environmental crimes. 

The training has been carried out within the scope of the CRIMFLO Project – Strengthening the Criminal Justice System's Response to Forest Crimes, and brought together environmental, as well as inspectors from SEMAS/PA, involved in monitoring and combating forest crimes in the state of Pará.

Over the course of 5 days, participants were able to learn more from their peers about various aspects related to the topic, such as work techniques and procedures, applied environmental intelligence, measuring the value of fines, use of information systems and volume of forest products, in addition to content related to state legislation and coordination with other institutions. The training also included the participation of Transparency International (TI), the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Civil Police.

Upon the completion of both classes, the UNODC team will consolidate the main observations and needs identified during their training. The aim is to develop recommendations and outline the next steps for the evolution of the activities comprised in the project.

CRIMFLO – Strengthening the Criminal Justice System's Response to Forest Crimes, is a project from UNODC Brazil, supported by the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the United States Department of State. Its objective is to strengthen the response to deforestation and wood trafficking in Brazil's Legal Amazon. To this end, CRIMFLO works in close cooperation with government institutions, security forces and the judiciary at the federal and state levels of Pará and Amazonas, implementing complementary initiatives to the work that these institutions carry out in the region and joining efforts to protect the forest and combat environmental crime more effectively.

To find out more about UNODC's work on crimes that affect the environment, click here, and for UNODC publications on the topic, click here.