Type of modern slavery
Forced labor that exists because an ecosystem was destroyed first: workers trapped in illegal mining, logging, or fishing on already-degraded land.
Updated
Forced labor or trafficking that exists because an ecosystem was destroyed first: workers trapped in illegal mining, logging, or fishing operations that exist only because the surrounding environment was already degraded or seized. Not For Sale's core thesis: ecocide and modern slavery are frequently the same system, viewed from two different angles.
SlaveryMap documents 2 ecocide-linked slavery cases in 2 countries, from 2020 to 2023. The most cases were documented in Brazil (1) and Peru (1).
Cases come from public reporting: credible news outlets, law enforcement and court records, and reports from established NGOs. New cases are reviewed by the SlaveryMap team before they publish; cases carried over from the original 2008–2016 map are labeled as archive cases. Every location is generalized to city or region level to protect survivors.
See ecocide-linked slavery in the glossary, or read how cases are sourced and reviewed.
Peru PE
In Peru's Madre de Dios region, illegal gold mining camps operate with forced labor, child labor and sex trafficking. Indigenous communities trapped in debt bondage are coerced into mining and logging, while the mining has caused about 139,000 hectares of deforestation and poisoned rivers with mercury.
Brazil BR
Brazilian labor inspectors rescued 39 enslaved workers from an illegal gold mine in the northern state of Pará, where they lived in open sheds without drinking water. The mine was run by an owner already on Brazil's "dirty list" of employers using slave labor, and it was the third raid on one of her operations.