In a special briefing on May 27, InSight Crime presented findings from a year-long investigation – conducted with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and others – into the four main criminal activities fueling environmental destruction in Colombia: illegal mining, landgrabbing, timber trafficking, and wildlife smuggling.
The online session convened more than 100 stakeholders, including officials from the Colombian government, police, military and prosecutor’s office, functionaries from various embassies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Also taking part were representatives of dozens of non-governmental organizations involved in conservation and development, civil society leaders, and academics.
During the event, InSight Crime project manager for environmental crime María Fernanda Ramírez discussed the dynamics of timber trafficking and the corruption that fuels it. Ramírez also provided actionable recommendations to combat the illegal logging that devastates biodiversity.
InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott spoke on how sophisticated organized crime structures have found opportunities in environmental crime, highlighting how the overlap creates additional security challenges for the Colombian government in tackling this problem.
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