Widespread cocoa-driven clearance of forests in the Ivory Coast has led to farmers in the country moving across the border into neighbouring Liberia to create new cocoa plantations. Long one of the world's leading cocoa producers, Ivory Coast faces challenges such as ageing tree stocks and climate change that has led to declining production in the country. While farmers are leasing the land for these new plantations from Liberian landowners, the cocoa is being illegally trafficked back into the Ivory Coast and mixed in with Ivorian cocoa. This makes it exceedingly difficult to identify and trace source of cocoa being exported from the Ivory Coast, which could then violate environmental protection laws such as the European Union's regulation on deforestation free products.

The 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report on Kenya assesses the country's efforts and challenges in combating human trafficking. Key findings include concerns about inadequate resources for victim protection, limited legal safeguards for vulnerable populations, and the prevalence of trafficking in refugee camps and informal settlements. It was reported that traffickers exploit Kenyan children in labor trafficking in cattle herding. Recommendations urge Kenya to strengthen law enforcement responses, increase funding for victim services, and address the root causes of trafficking through education and economic empowerment. The report emphasises the importance of international cooperation and partnerships to combat cross-border trafficking networks effectively.

In Kabaena, an island off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, the lives of the Bajau people are threatened by the rapid expansion of nickel mining. The Bajau Indigenous community is the last nomadic sea tribe in the world. Yet, it has been revealed that nickel mining companies have been illegally clearing protected forests in surrounding areas. In doing so, they fail to employ the FPIC (Free, Prior and Informed Consent) process to consult with local communities. The scale of this deforestation, driven by nickel miners, has been immense, violating the rights of this Indigenous community and threatening their livelihoods. Indonesia's nickel mines have cleared at least 80,000 hectares of forest to extract nickel. Additionally, more than half a million hectares of Indonesian forest are within nickel concessions, putting them at risk of deforestation. This severely impedes the Bajau people's way of life, as their traditional stilted homes are exposed to increased flooding, and three children drowned between 2021 and 2023. Water contamination also causes illness, and the community, which relies on subsistence fishing, now has to sustain itself by venturing further into the sea.

According to The Diplomat, the Indonesian government has charged Harvey Moeis, a prominent businessman in the mining sector, with corruption related to illegal tin mining operations. Moeis is accused of colluding with officials from PT Timah, a state-owned mining company, to establish unpermitted mining operations on PT Timah's concessions. While some have held that the environmental damage caused by these operations can be estimated at $26 billion, others argue this is likely exaggerated and used to draw public attention to the case. PT Timah holds numerous mining permits and extensive land rights, mainly on Bangka Belitung island. The illegal mining activities took place there, with PT Timah allegedly allowing private firms to operate on its concessions and even leasing smelting equipment to them. This case emerged after increased scrutiny following PT Timah and other mining companies consolidation under MIND ID, a state-owned holding company. PT Timah's financial struggles, including a $28 million loss in 2023, prompted closer examination of its activities, revealing the illegal mining scheme.

According to Mongabay, two major Indonesian pulp and paper producers allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities to evade taxes. The companies, PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) and Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings (APRIL), are accused of mislabeling exports to China, falsely declaring high-value dissolving pulp as lower-value paper-grade pulp. This misclassification enabled them to report lower revenues and reduce their tax liabilities in Indonesia. Mongabay details how, from 2016 to 2018, APRIL produced 830,000 tons of dissolving pulp and exported 90% of it to China. However, none of these exports were recorded in Indonesian customs as dissolving pulp. This alleged misclassification may have reduced APRIL's revenue by up to $242 million and avoided $60 million in taxes. Ultimately, the fraudulent activities contributed to significant tax revenue losses for Indonesia, amounting to $168 million between 2007 and 2018.

According to Earth.org, a monitoring exercise by Indigenous peoples and local communities in Indonesia has revealed widespread fraud and forgery in the country's "certified legal" timber industry. The Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK) and PPLH Mangkubumi found numerous cases of illegal logging, record manipulation, forged export certificates, and bribery. Illegal practices were discovered throughout the supply chain, from logging companies to woodworking shops and exporters. Firstly, it was found that logging companies were cutting down trees outside their legally permitted concessions. These trees were tagged with legality certificates to falsely declare that the wood came from within the permitted areas. In North Maluku's Central Halmahera district, logging companies used legal documents from local landowners to cover illegally logged timber. Some companies even paid locals to perform illegal logging on their behalf, thereby distancing themselves from direct involvement. In terms of exports, several exporting companies in Central Java sold forged legal documents, known as v-legal certificates, to furniture companies lacking required certificates. This fraud enabled the export of uncertified wood products. These forged certificates were sold for 2 million to 8 million rupiah ($140 to $560) per container, making it a lucrative illegal business.

According to Amnesty International, after Honduran President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022, he promised to protect national parks and end open-pit mining. However, two years later, communities in Tocoa, living in protected areas of northern Honduras, face increased harassment and violence while defending local rivers crucial for their survival. The report explains that the conflict began in 2012 when the Honduran Congress declared the area a national park, aiming to shield it from heavy industries. However, in 2013, Congress reduced the park's core area, allowing mining permits to be granted. The establishment and operation of iron mines in the area without proper environmental impact assessments has caused pollution in the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, negatively affecting the local community's water supply. Local communities, claiming they were neither informed nor consulted about these concessions, organised resistance efforts, which were met with brutal repression. In 2019, a violent eviction of a protest camp led to the arrest of many community members. The failure of authorities to adequately investigate the attacks and murders related to this repression reflects systemic neglect and corruption within the country's governmental systems. The community's calls for justice have been widely ignored by authorities, with investigations stalled and no arrests made.

According to Mongabay, an investigation by the Earthworm Foundation into the Belgian company Socfin's oil palm plantations in Cameroon and Sierra Leone has confirmed several human rights abuses, including sexual violence and land conflicts. The investigation revealed that in Cameroon, the Socfin Agricultural Company (SAC) was found lacking in due diligence and safeguards. This has resulted in pollution in rivers, lakes, and lagoons near the company's activities, affecting local water sources that communities depend on. There were also instances where the company failed to implement measures proposed in environmental assessments to mitigate air pollution, impacting the health and environment of nearby communities. The investigators also noted widespread issues of sexual harassment and gender-based violence at the plantation. In addition, there are ongoing disputes over land and lease agreements. Issues with the implementation of concession agreements and compensation schemes were identified, showing that promises made to local communities have not been fully honoured. In response to such human rights violence and pollution, recommendations for strengthening reporting mechanisms were made. Some progress has been observed with a land mapping exercise, yet scepticism persists about Socfin's accountability and effectiveness in implementing changes.

In Honduras' Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, organised crime and drug trafficking are significantly contributing to environmental degradation and social instability. The UNESCO site, vital for its biodiversity, faces rampant illegal cattle ranching and land clearing by narcotraffickers seeking to launder money through cattle farming. These criminal groups exploit the absence of effective law enforcement and weak governance, using the remote area to grow their drug operations and clear land for illegal ranching, which destroys forest habitats. Corruption further exacerbates the problem, with local authorities often complicit or powerless against these powerful criminal networks. The unchecked expansion of drug trafficking and organised crime into the reserve not only threatens the environment but also destabilises local communities.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts' assessment of Honduras reveals significant environmental crimes linked to coffee production, specifically illegal deforestation and land degradation. These practices are driven by the expansion of coffee farms into protected areas and forests, exacerbated by weak enforcement of environmental regulations and insufficient monitoring. The report highlights how illegal logging and land conversion for coffee cultivation contribute to the loss of biodiversity and climate change. Moreover, environmental crimes are often tied to broader socio-economic issues, such as land tenure conflicts and the exploitation of indigenous communities. These activities not only threaten the ecological balance but also undermine sustainable development efforts in the region.

Illegal timber and drug trafficking are closely intertwined in northeastern Honduras, particularly in the town of Dulce Nombre de Culmí. The nearby forests of pine, mahogany, and cedar feed a timber trade worth around $60-80 million between 2016 and 2018. However, environmental agencies warn that 50-60% of this trade comes from illegal logging, much of it from the country's northeastern natural reserves where drug trafficking is also prevalent. Culmí is the last settlement before entering the Río Plátano Biosphere, a protected forest where drug trafficking and illegal logging have crossed paths for over a decade. The mountains and plains surrounding Culmí are dotted with clandestine airstrips, many built during the drug boom a decade ago. These airstrips, carved from the dense forests in the area, were then used to sell wood to timber traffickers and drug trafficking groups. In Olancho, Yoro, and Gracias a Dios-three departments renowned for their timber production-drug trafficking groups are known to engage in timber trafficking. Groups of farmers, often migrants from the poorest areas of southern Honduras, settle in unpopulated lands in and around the Río Plátano Biosphere. There, they harvest wood illegally, often with protection from corrupt officials and politicians, as well as support from drug trafficking groups. The wood is usually cut without securing official permission from Honduras' Institute of Forest Conservation. It is then combined with legal shipments, mostly at the sawmills, either by falsifying logging permits or bribing police responsible for monitoring timber transport. Meanwhile, illegally harvested precious woods, such as mahogany and cedar, usually head north along clandestine routes to the department of Gracias a Dios, and from there to processing hubs such as La Ceiba. These are the same routes that drug shipments travel along.

A Guatemalan palm oil company, linked to an oil spill into Guatemala's Pasion River and to numerous human rights abuses, has been charged with corruption and fraud. According to Friends of the Earth, Reforestadora de Palma S.A. (RESPA) was involved in an immense fish kill along the Pasión River in 2015 due to pollution from their processing plant, affecting 12,000 people. The company was charged with "ecocide" but the ruling was not enforced after the murder of a key plaintiff, indigenous leader Rigoberto Lima Choc. Subsequent investigation revealed REPSA's involvement in several illegal activities such as corporate corruption and environmental mismanagement. Such issues are systemic in Guatemala, where corruption is high, with REPSA being amongst nine companies other charged with influence peddling and bribery. Four high-level executives, including directors Hugo and Juan Milton Molina Botrán, face arrest orders. In addition, REPSA is also allegedly involved in several human rights abuses, rampant in Guatemala's palm oil sector. Despite the devastating impact of this scandal, the Rainforest Action Network reported in 2021 that Cargill and Nestlé had quietly resumed sourcing palm oil from REPSA. These commercial ties were suspended following the 2018 arrest of REPSA executives, but have since resumed.

Organised crime groups engaging in drug trafficking and the illicit palm oil trade often exploit environmental reserves in Honduras. There is a rapid spread of oil palm plantations in the country, as palm oil is increasingly a high earning and low production export. Palm oil accounts for about 40% of global demand for vegetable oil as both food and fuel, with annual production having more than quadrupled since 1995. Palm oil, however, presents a serious threat to the biodiversity of the wetlands and the water quality of communities, among other environmental and health threats. Making matters worse, illegal palm oil crops are increasingly being harvested by drug traffickers and other criminals in Honduras, with illegal plantations occurring across national parks and other environmental reserves. Investment in palm oil can provide criminals with a seemingly legitimate reason to use and control land in certain areas, as well as seemingly legitimate income that can be used to launder criminal proceeds.

A Venezuelan human rights organisation revealed that after being forced to leave Guyana, members of the Warao Indigenous community were forced to work for no pay in illegal gold mines. For up to three weeks, around 1,500 members of the community were unable to flee this situation of slave-like exploitation. This began in May 2021, when the Warao were rounded up and taken to work in illegal mines in Kumaka, a northern coastal area of Guyana. Guyanese recruiters enticed Warao individuals to work under false pretences, promising jobs as vegetable pickers. Instead, these individuals were sent to work in the mines under hazardous and inhumane conditions. Guyana has received thousands of Venezuelan refugees, with significant Warao migration starting in December 2020. Migrants face various exploitative schemes, with those in paid work receiving less than 50% of the average salary. Due to this precarious situation, the Warao community is at risk of being exposed to the criminal economy along the Venezuela-Guyana border, including the smuggling of drugs, oil and contraband goods.

The Ecuadorian community of Barranquilla de San Javier, located near the northern border with Colombia, is fighting to retake its land from a palm oil company that has allegedly used questionable permits and expensive lawsuits to maintain a hold on the area. The Afro-descendant community has lived on this land since at least the 1600s and received official recognition and a land title in 2000. Despite these protections, their ancestral lands have been illegally appropriated by Energy & Palma, a company operating under La Fabril Group, which supplies palm oil to global corporations like Pepsico, General Mills, and Nestlé. Since Energy & Palma began operations in 2006, the community has reported significant environmental damage. The company's plantations have degraded the quality of land crucial for subsistence farming and have polluted local water sources with agrochemicals, causing health issues among residents. These operations have led to the contamination of rivers and drinking water, contributing to illnesses and diminishing the community's food security.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a leading cobalt supplier, is grappling with environmental and human rights issues due to industrial cobalt mining. A report by RAID and AFREWATCH reveals that toxic pollution from cobalt mining in and around Kolwezi, the heart of DRC's cobalt industry, is devastating the lives of hundreds of thousands of Congolese people. The report challenges the narrative of 'clean' and 'sustainable cobalt' promoted by multinational mining companies. It highlights the impacts of water pollution, including health issues among local residents and destructive consequences on local ecosystems and agriculture. The report underscores the urgent need for sustainable practices and effective regulations to protect the DRC's communities and environment and calls for companies buying cobalt to ensure responsible sourcing.

According to AML Intelligence, U.S. government officials have issued several warnings to Exxon Mobil, urging them to avoid business dealings with Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin, two prominent figures in the Guyanese mining industry. The Mohameds are suspected of money laundering, drug trafficking, and gold smuggling. Indeed, the Mohameds are under investigation by the DEA, FBI, and Homeland Security for allegedly smuggling Colombian cocaine and Venezuelan gold, and laundering money for drug traffickers, including sanctioned Russian nationals. Reports indicate that such illegal gold trafficking funds armed conflicts and supports criminal networks. Despite these allegations, the Mohameds assert that their trade relations with American companies are legitimate. U.S. authorities have warned Exxon of such suspicions, yet AML Intelligence reports that Exxon Mobil has proceeded with a $300 million deal to build an onshore logistics base with the Mohameds in April 2022. In response, the U.S. authorities are considering sanctions against the Mohameds, which could force Exxon to sever ties with them.

In the context of Exxon Mobil's oil extraction operations in Guyana, the article uncovers significant challenges related to organised crime and drug trafficking. The influx of foreign workers and the rapid development brought about by the oil boom have attracted criminal networks seeking to exploit the newfound wealth. These networks are involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, and other illicit activities, complicating efforts to maintain law and order. The article highlights that the oil boom has strained local infrastructure and governance, making it difficult to address the growing influence of organised crime effectively. Corruption and weak enforcement of laws further exacerbate the problem, allowing criminal organisations to flourish. The situation demands robust international cooperation, stricter regulatory frameworks, and enhanced local policing to combat the pervasive influence of organized crime and mitigate the risks associated with drug trafficking in this rapidly evolving economic landscape.

According to an InSight Crime analysis, illegal jade trafficking is on the rise in Guatemala, particularly in the coastal region east of the country known as a cocaine corridor. This high-value gemstone is in high demand in China, leading to an increase in illegal extraction and transportation operations. These operations are allegedly facilitated by high-level authorities and politicians, according to investigations by the Public Prosecutor's Office. On October 1, Guatemalan police seized a container with 10 tons of unprocessed jade that had been extracted near Morales, one of the most important cities in Izabal. Prosecutors suspect a network of political influences facilitating the entire operation, as the traffickers needed to circumvent mining and environmental controls before the jade left the port of Santo Tomás de Castilla, on the Caribbean coast of Izabal.

A Mongabay report warns that organised crime is exerting unprecedented pressure on Guatemala's largest rainforest, the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The reserve has faced a wave of land invasions since the beginning on 2024, including in previously untouched areas such as Naachtún-Dos Lagunas Biotope. The invaders, often heavily armed, are backed by criminal groups seeking to exploit the government's agrarian reform policies to launder money through cattle ranching and drug trafficking across the Mexican border. As a result, the reserve is experiencing severe threats from deforestation, illegal livestock farming, and forest fires. In March 2024, a patrol discovered extensive markings and a road being cleared in Mirador National Park, signalling a planned large-scale invasion. Despite arrests and patrols, the encroachment persists. Mongabay also explains that the situation is exacerbated by the political transition with the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo, whose government supports rural and Indigenous communities. Proposed reforms to Guatemala's protected areas law could loosen restrictions on agriculture and livestock in the reserve in order to address longstanding issues related to land ownership, further endangering the area.

In Sayaxché a region located in the Petén Department of Guatemala, the expansion of palm oil cultivation has resulted from aggressive, and often coercive, land acquisition. The growth rate of palm plantations in the region increased from 465 hectares in 2000 to 28,554 hectares in 2010. To acquire such a vast expanse of land, palm companies have used tactics based on deceit and coercion, resulting in aggressive land grabbing. Land grabbing is carried out through intermediaries who pursue persistent persuasion, often offering upfront payments. Some intermediaries will also pressure local farmers to sell their land by making false promises, deceitfully giving the impression of short-term financial gain. Indeed, many landowners are promised new, lucrative employment opportunities, which either fail to materialise or are, in reality, informal and poorly paid. Additionally, palm companies may use community and religious leaders to exert social pressure on landowners to sell their properties. Overall, this aggressive, large-scale land grabbing has transformed the landscape from a diverse pattern of land ownership to large contiguous areas under palm cultivation. Local landowners are often left in dire economic situations, with no job opportunities remaining, forcing them to relocate.

In March 2020, the news organisation Channel 4 uncovered child labour on coffee farms in Guatemala. The investigated farms were found to be supplying beans to international giant's Starbucks and Nespresso. The investigation revealed children as young as eight working up to 40-hour weeks in harsh conditions, earning as little as £5 a day. These children were paid based on the weight of coffee beans they picked, with sacks weighing up to 45kg. Both Starbucks and Nespresso, part of Nestlé, faced criticism and legal scrutiny for allegedly violating international labour standards set by the U.N.'s International Labour Organisation. Despite such claims, child labour persisted across farms used by Starbucks until 2019. Starbucks responded with a full investigation and confirmed no recent purchases from implicated farms, while Nespresso suspended purchases pending its own investigation. Both companies expressed zero tolerance for child labour but acknowledged the need for further improvement in their supply chain oversight.

In an article by Presna Libre, it is reported that Miguel Ángel Turcios Pineda is facing a legal process for money laundering in the case known as Fedecocagua, which involves a structure for laundering Q1 billion. The Public Ministry (MP) reported that Turcios Pineda will face trial as part of phase 2 of the Fedecocagua case. He was granted a substitute measure and the payment of a Q200,000 bail. The investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (Feci) of the MP indicated that in the first phase of the case, the manager of the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Coffee Producers of Guatemala (Fedecocagua), Ulrich Gurtner Kappeler, was also arrested for money laundering. It was determined that a series of non-existent companies were generating invoices and through which the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) returned the Value Added Tax that they had obtained at the time. It was referred that more than Q1 billion were benefited by these companies. It was established that Fedecocagua directors simulated coffee purchase and sale operations using front companies, who invoiced the coffee that the cooperatives and small producers delivered to Fedecocagua, who in turn simulated the payment of invoices, money that later returned to accounts through a series of transfers.

In an article by Mongabay, it is reported that Guatemala's Sierra del Lacandón National Park is nearing a state of collapse due to rampant deforestation and land grabbing. Over the past two years, the park has lost thousands of hectares of forest, raising concerns among government officials and conservationists that the area may soon be lost to illegal actors. Some communities that were already living in the area when the park was established have declined to cooperate with the government's plans to work together on sustainability, education, and public health projects. Instead, these communities have expanded their presence with roads, cattle ranching, and airstrips for drug planes, all of which have exacerbated deforestation rates. The park is part of the larger Maya Biosphere Reserve, which covers over 2 million hectares of rainforest across northern Guatemala and connects to other protected forests in Mexico and Belize. The reserve is home to a rich biodiversity, including 56 species of fish, 24 species of amphibians, 60 species of reptiles, 326 species of birds, and 69 species of mammals, as well as over 30 archeological sites from Mayan and other Mesoamerican civilizations.

In Guatemala's El Pato region, allegations of illegal mining by Goldex Resources have sparked serious human rights concerns. Local organisations claim Goldex's mining activities violate indigenous land rights and operate without proper authorisation. This illegal mining has led to environmental damage and disruption of community life. Moreover, human rights defenders opposing these activities face threats and violence, reportedly from individuals linked to the mining operations. These defenders, advocating for the protection of land and resources, endure harassment and intimidation aimed at silencing their protests. The situation underscores the urgent need for accountability and legal enforcement to protect indigenous communities and their rights. Local and international calls for Goldex to cease its operations and respect legal and environmental standards highlight the broader struggle for human rights and sustainable development in the face of illegal resource exploitation in Guatemala.