Socio-ecological impacts of criminal organisations and territorial governance in Southern Amazonia

This article analyses criminal organisation dynamics and their impacts in the tri-national MAP region (Madre de Dios/Peru, Acre/Brazil and Pando/Bolivia) in the Southern Amazonia. Using qualitative fieldwork, document analysis and literature review, it examines how criminal organisations’ governance operates in the MAP region. The study shows that criminal actors control drug trafficking routes, commit environmental crimes and assert territorial authority, affecting especially women, youth, indigenous peoples and extractivist populations (local communities) through recruitment, violence, displacement and economic exploitation. The research highlights the intersection of criminality and territorial governance, revealing how non-state actors reshape territorial dynamics hindering sustainable development in Amazonia.