Friday, August 11, 2023

Mapping the Amazon Underworld

Welcome to the Amazon Underworld is an in-depth investigative series examining the crime and violence that is ravaging the Amazon rainforest. The project, which was conducted by 37 journalists and media professionals from 11 countries, uses satellite imagery, data analysis, and field reporting to map out the criminal gangs and the illicit economies that are driving deforestation, violence, and human rights abuses in the Amazon. 

In a series of articles InfoAmazonia reveals how criminal organizations are exploiting the region's natural resources, how armed groups are terrorizing indigenous communities, and how governments are often complicit in the violence. The stories also show how the Amazon underworld is having a devastating impact on the environment, with deforestation rates reaching record levels in recent years. 

Story maps and other interactive maps are used throughout Welcome to the Amazon Underworld. For example, in the series' introductory article, a story map is used to show which criminal gangs operate in which regions of the Amazon (the team discovered that crime syndicates and armed gangs operate in 69.5% of municipalities in the Amazonian border regions of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela). Other maps are used in the other articles in this investigative series - often to explore where and how particular gangs operate in specific regions of the Amazon.

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