A Crisis at the Heart of the Amazon

When world leaders meet at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, they’ll face a growing reality: the Amazon rainforest is under attack not only from deforestation but from organized criminal economies that fuel human exploitation and ecological collapse.

As author Simone Haysom reports,

“The crisis is largely due to the sharp rise in the gold price, which has led to a surge in illicit mining worldwide. In the Amazon, the impact has been profound.”

Gold’s soaring price has unleashed an environmental and human crisis: one that links distant markets to the daily suffering of Amazonian communities.

The Human and Environmental Cost of Illegal Gold

The data is quite staggering.

“In Peru alone, 140,000 hectares of trees have been cleared by illegal mining operations since the gold price took off in 2018. Mercury from illegal mining and the toxic chemicals used in cocaine processing have poisoned waterways and soil.”

These toxic mining operations devastate forests and people alike. Illicit networks carve roads, ports, and airstrips deep into protected lands, opening the door to agribusiness expansion and further destruction. The contamination and deforestation threaten biodiversity, food security, and Indigenous livelihoods for generations.

Regenerate Technology: Turning Crisis into Regeneration

At Not For Sale, our mission in the Peruvian Amazon is to confront the root causes of exploitation: poverty, corruption, and resource theft, by transforming local economies.

Through our very own Regenerate Technology Global, which Not For Sale has helped incubate over the last two years. Regenerate is a battery recycling company. we’re creating systems that:

• Use significantly less heat that traditionally required to break down spent, or old, batteries.
• Through our patented process, create a battery material that is returned to producers at a higher quality than current recyclers can achieve.
• Build circular economies that make the need for extracting in the first place less needed.

A Partnership for Scalable Impact: Not For Sale × M2i Global

Our partnership with M2i Global extends this vision to global mineral markets. Together, we’re developing transparent and accountable supply chains that prove critical materials can be sourced without destroying lives or ecosystems.

By aligning innovation and investment we’re proving that extraction and respect for people and the planet can coexist.

From Environmental Crime to Climate Action

Haysom notes that the chemical contamination will endure for generations, a sobering reminder that protecting the Amazon requires more than law enforcement. It demands global accountability and the empowerment of local communities.

This shift from crisis response to regeneration is already reshaping how the world defines environmental security. It’s not about militarization or extraction; it’s about collaboration, technology, and dignity.

Why This Matters Now

The Amazon is the planet’s lungs. Saving it isn’t just an environmental imperative, it’s a human one.

Not For Sale’s work in the Peruvian Amazon demonstrates that ending exploitation and regenerating ecosystems are two sides of the same fight. Together with Regenerate and M2i Global, we’re designing a future where no one and nothing is for sale.

Read Simone Haysom’s “A Criminal Conflagration in the Planet’s Green Lung: How the Amazon crisis is reshaping responses to environmental crime”