The United States will launch a new effort to help South American countries stop illegal activities that harm the Amazon rainforest, the Treasury secretary said. Janet Yellen The announcement was made in Brazil on Saturday.
“Across the Amazon, criminal organisations and individuals are motivated by the potential financial gain by illegally harvesting plants, minerals and wildlife,” Yellen said in Belem, a northern Brazilian city surrounded by dense forest.
She said these “natural crimes” generate hundreds of billions of dollars in profits each year and “often involve the misuse and abuse of the U.S. financial system.”
Yellen said under the initiative, the U.S. Treasury would strengthen coordination efforts by hosting “follow the money” training for partner countries, enhancing information sharing and supporting joint investigations.
The project will coordinate efforts between the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.
“We will also consider other enforcement actions, including sanctions, as appropriate, to hold violators accountable and disrupt their activity,” Yellen said in Belgrade.
The Pará state capital is set to host the COP30 climate conference in 2025.
The Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, covers almost 40 percent of South America. Over the past century, about 20 percent of the Amazon’s area has been lost to deforestation due to agriculture, cattle ranching, logging, mining, and urban sprawl.
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