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Anatomy of a crime: the network of actions that threaten the conservation of the Amazon

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Abstract

The Amazon is under threat due to an unprecedented attack on environmental legislation. The municipality of Manicoré, Brazil, is an example of how the weakening of laws affect the conservation of biodiversity in the region. Manicoré is characterized as a scientifically understudied area, with high biodiversity potential and is likely to contain many species not yet described. Recently, 801 species of angiosperms were listed for this municipality, and during the collection expeditions it was possible to verify the effects of the weakening of environmental policies and laws. In this work, we show how a set of local actions can affect the balance of power and economic exploitation in a region in the Amazon. The examples we highlight here help to understand the entire current context of conservation in the Amazon, as we dissect the details of the political dynamics that weaken the biodiversity protection network and accelerate the exploitation of natural resources in the region.

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Acknowledgements

The first author thanks Dr. Marta Regina Pereira for all the conversations that led to the production of this manuscript, as well as the revisions and improvement of the text. Albertina Ferraz, Antônio Soares, Elicleuson Ramos, Jeremias Pereira, Jone Bitencourt, Neiza Paixão and Robert Kennedy for the partnership in the collection of data regarding the mining processes in the city of Manicoré, Amazonas. To the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq for conceding the Master’s grant, process #130808/2020-2. Bruno Sampaio Amorim thanks the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Level Personnel-CAPES for the Postdoctoral Fellowship, process #88882.315044/2019-01. The authors also thank Dr. Dirce Komura for reviewing the manuscript and improving the text, and the PAPAC FAPEAM project and the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences (Botany) of the National Institute for Amazonian Research, for funding for translation of this article.

Funding

This research received funding for translation, from the PAPAC FAPEAM project via the Post-Graduate Program in Biological Sciences (Botany)—PPGBOT at the National Institute of Amazonian Research—INPA. During the writing of the manuscript, Caroliny Almeida Coelho received financial support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-CNPq, in the form of a Master’s grant, process #130808/2020-2. Bruno Sampaio Amorim received financial support from the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Level Personnel-CAPES, in the form of a postdoctoral fellowship, process #88882.315044/2019-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós Graduação em Botânica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia-INPA, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Caroliny Almeida Coelho

  2. Jardim Botânico do Recife, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Jefferson Rodrigues Maciel

  3. Departamento de Ciências e Linguagens, Instituto Federal de Minas Gerais, Bambuí, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Fernanda Nunes Cabral

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia e Recursos Naturais da Amazônia–PPGMBT, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Bruno Sampaio Amorim

  5. Museu da Amazônia (MUSA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Bruno Sampaio Amorim

Authors
  1. Caroliny Almeida Coelho
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  2. Jefferson Rodrigues Maciel
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  3. Fernanda Nunes Cabral
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  4. Bruno Sampaio Amorim
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Contributions

CAC and BSA idealized the work. Field observations and data collection were performed by CAC and discussed with BSA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CAC and all the authors commented on the earlier versions of the manuscript. Figure 1 was elaborated by JRM, and Fig. 2 was elaborated by BSA. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Caroliny Almeida Coelho.

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Communicated by Pedro V. Eisenlohr.

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Coelho, C.A., Maciel, J.R., Cabral, F.N. et al. Anatomy of a crime: the network of actions that threaten the conservation of the Amazon. Biodivers Conserv 31, 1755–1763 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02424-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02424-7

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