This Wednesday (5) approved the ratification of the international treaty on access to information, public participation, security and justice in environmental issues. Signed by Brazil in 2018, the text had been awaiting deliberation for six years.
Better (very) late than never, the first House of Congress approved the agreement in time for the opening show, putting Brazil back on the path of transparency and international cooperation.
At a time when the fight against organized crime dominates the news, the plenary sessions and the social networks of dozens of deputies, the approval of the Escazú Agreement has finally gained the space it deserves as an instrument of national security. It is nothing new for anyone that organized crime is advancing in the Amazon territory and feeds on environmental crimes.
Warnings have been made for years, from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), which identified the border region between Brazil and Colombia as one of the main corridors of global drug trafficking and highlighted the intimate link between drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and other environmental crimes.
From another angle, the agreement strengthens healthy competitiveness in economic sectors linked to natural resources. The Council for Transparency, Integrity and Combating Corruption (CTICC), of which we are members, points out that “the illegal exploitation of natural resources generates unfair competition, harming companies that operate legally”.
Practices such as trading in illegally harvested timber and irregular mining reduce the operating costs of offenders, distort the market and discourage sustainable investments. According to the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality, informality and smuggling associated with these activities caused losses of R$441 billion to the country in 2023.
During the symbolic vote in the plenary, the tiny opposing minority classified the text as surrendering and a threat to national sovereignty, further stating that it would align us with countries like Cuba and Venezuela. It turns out that neither of them is part of the agreement, signed by 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“These arguments about surrendering Brazil’s natural resources are, unfortunately, misinformation”, points out Joara Marchezini, project coordinator at the Nupef Institute and member of the Escazú Brasil Movement. The Agreement is about transparency, justice and combating environmental crimes — not about rules for the use of natural resources. The real threat to national sovereignty is having entire parts of a country dominated by drug trafficking.
The environmental dimension is obvious, but it is worth emphasizing that it is also strategic. Ensuring transparency about environmental risks and impacts is essential to prevent disasters and mitigate damage. As Luiza Chaer, advocacy advisor at the Democracy and Sustainability Institute (IDS), recalled, “it is particularly symbolic that this vote takes place ten years after the collapse of the Mariana dam.”
To confront the 22 national and foreign factions that are currently vying for control of the Amazon, to promote an economy that competes on an equal footing, to protect those who defend and those who suffer the consequences of climate change, more is needed than specific operations. Accurate data, coordinated action and transnational cooperation are needed.
In July, we published “COP30 without approval of the Escazú Agreement is a shame”. Now, the Senate needs to follow the Chamber and approve the text. Who knows before the closing fireworks in ?
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