Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are calling on governments to strengthen international action against criminal networks involved in illegal mining, logging and drug trafficking, warning that the activities are threatening their territories and livelihoods.
Representatives from Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador are attending a United Nations conference on transnational organised crime in Vienna from October 19 to 23, seeking a greater role for Indigenous communities in shaping international responses to environmental crime.
The leaders want governments to address the financial networks and international markets that sustain illegal activities, while strengthening protections for communities defending their ancestral lands.
Galois Flores, a representative of Peru’s Wampis Nation, told the Associated Press that illegal mining, logging and drug trafficking were placing growing pressure on Indigenous territories.
The consequences extend beyond deforestation. Indigenous representatives say mercury pollution from illegal gold mining is contaminating rivers used for drinking water and fishing, while criminal groups threaten community members who oppose their operations.
In Peru, Indigenous leaders have also reported the expansion of illegal coca cultivation and drug-processing activities into ancestral forests. Communities in Brazil and Colombia face similar challenges involving illegal logging, armed groups and pollution.
According to environmental organisation Global Witness, at least 105 land and environmental defenders were killed in Latin America in 2025, representing 85 per cent of the 124 killings documented worldwide that year.
At the Vienna conference, governments are expected to consider whether to begin negotiations on a proposed international protocol addressing environmental crimes, including illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking.
The Indigenous representatives are urging delegates to recognise community-led territorial protection, strengthen land rights and ensure Indigenous peoples participate meaningfully in the negotiations.
They argue that enforcement operations alone will not resolve the problem unless authorities also address the financial incentives and cross-border markets sustaining criminal networks.
The outcome of the discussions could shape future international cooperation on environmental crime and the protection of communities living in some of the world’s most threatened forest regions.
