EL BLOG DE LA FIIAPP. Cooperación Española

The Amazonía+ Program, funded by the European Union, has participated in the screening and round table presentation of the documentary “Echoes of the Rainforest” in Barcelona; in which specialists in paleoecology study pollen samples extracted from the Amazonian soil to reconstruct the values of temperature and rainfall in the past and understand, through this analysis, climate change.

In an interdisciplinary team, these paleoecologists and paleoecologists from the Geosciences Barcelona-CSIC research center, in alliance with Peruvian environmental researchers and indigenous communities of the Pacaya-Samiria National Park, show how the work of study, protection and conservation of Amazonian ecosystems is carried out.

But what is paleoecology?

Encarni Montoya, scientist at Geosciences CSIC explains very clearly in the documentary: “Paleoecology is a discipline in the field of ecology that considers a longer time scale to really analyze what were the species of the past that lived in what environmental conditions and how they have evolved. But not just species, but also landscapes and ecosystems: how they have evolved over time and what has driven those changes.”

Paleoecology involves unraveling the Amazon’s past to anticipate what its future will be.

What is the Amazon for the communities that inhabit it?

“To answer you how much the Amazon, nature and diversity are worth, I would have to ask you how much your life is worth; if your life has a price, then maybe the Amazon has a price, because it is nature that gives us life,” answers a woman inhabitant of the Peruvian Amazon.

Why is it urgent to protect the Amazon?

The documentary highlights the urgent need to preserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of the Amazon before its ecological and cultural integrity is irreversibly lost. Dael Sassoon, author of the documentary, explains: “The Amazon is about to reach a point of no return, to understand how vegetation in the Amazon reacts to climate change and to measure the sensitivity of tropical forests to changes in rainfall and temperature”.

Encarni explains forcefully: “The Amazon and the Tropics in general are big unknowns, they are huge areas in terms of conservation because they harbor huge amounts of biodiversity. The tropics are a key environment that harbor life on Earth as we know it, [the tropics are] responsible for the climatic conditions we have in extra-tropical regions, but not only biodiversity, but also the physical functioning of the Earth, also depends on the health and richness of tropical ecosystems.”

Gabriel Hidalgo, biologist at the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute, emphasizes: “The Amazon has around 6,000 species of trees alone, it is a dynamic ecosystem in which the rest of the world is integrated, it is not isolated: studies have confirmed that dust comes from the Sahara and is deposited in the Amazon, that evapotranspiration from the Amazon moves to other continents… everything is integrated”.

“Predictions for the year 2050 are not very positive: up to 47% of the Amazon rainforest could be lost”, as Encarni points out in the documentary: ”This would be linked to a cascade effect and death of other ecosystems in South America […] so maintaining the forest cover of the Amazon is crucial and a priority for all […].

The value of scientific communication and dissemination:

The roundtable discussed the vital need for science to disseminate its findings and the value of science communication; as well as the very notion of knowledge “who owns it”, highlighting the value of intersectional and inter-scientific knowledge, as well as multidisciplinary. The conclusion is clear: the efforts of all actors are needed to protect the Amazon (communities, scientists and scientists, decision makers, international cooperation…).

Among the challenges we currently face as societies on environmental issues, we find precisely that one of them, if not the main one, is how to open the conversation about climate change to all citizens; perhaps in today’s world some knowledge about ecology needs to be taught in schools so that we can make informed decisions about our future as a global planet.

If you have half an hour and want to discover the enormous scientific potential of pollen, feel free to watch here:

The PALOMA Project (Palaeoenvironmental Investigation of Amazonian Lowland Sensitivity to Climatic Drivers Using Pollen-based Modelling Approaches) is a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Commission (Horizon Programme). Its objective is to study how vegetation responds to climate change in the northwestern Amazon lowlands using pollen-based methods.

Written by Clara Ortega Díaz-Aguado, Amazonía+ Project Technician

The EU-funded Project “Facility supporting Serbia in achieving the objectives of Chapter 24: Justice, Freedom and Security” supports the Republic of Serbia in the enhancement of the capacities to combat serious and organised crime and in the seizure and confiscation of assets. To achieve this objective, the cooperation is focused on the strengthening of the professional and operational skills and capacities to combat serious and organised crime.

In the scope of this Project, Serbian public prosecutors and Serbian judges identified the need to establish a common guideline with clear rules to build up a successful case in complex investigations, which are predominantly based on circumstantial evidence.

To illustrate, and in accordance with a prevailing understanding, evidence in criminal proceedings may be direct or circumstantial. Direct evidence is considered as proof of a fact presented in a direct manner, such as the testimony of an eyewitness. Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence that does not, in and of itself, prove a given fact. Rather, it gives rise to a logical inference that the fact exists. For example, an individual’s “spending habits” may prompt further investigation into the provenance and destination of the property in question. This line of reasoning leads to the conclusion that the investigation should focus on the family relationships, relatives, business relationships, or other general interests of an individual whose personal and professional income, when considered in conjunction with the financial transactions and profit from his or her business, do not justify the observed unusual financial activity. A hypothesis may be regarded as a conclusion when it is deemed to be sufficiently substantiated and aligned with the evidence presented.

So, one of the most significant concerns of Serbian practitioners when assessing criminal cases, is that even if there is an understanding on the importance of circumstantial evidence, it considered essential to raise awareness on the principles of circumstantial evidence and on how to use it effectively.

As a result of this need, the Project has supported Serbian practitioners in the development of the “Guideline on comparative analysis of the necessary evidence required for a successful proceeding in organised crime, money laundering and assets recovery. Special focus on the importance of circumstantial evidence”. At the heart of the Manual is an emphasis on the use of circumstantial evidence, taking into consideration that serious and organised crime usually operates in the shadows. The Guideline encourages judicial practitioners to consider indirect evidence not as secondary, but as central to build a robust case. It provides a practical framework for how practitioners can better present, analyse, and link these pieces of evidence to form a convincing narrative.

With this in mind, the Manual aims to raise the awareness of Serbian Judges, Public Prosecutors, and Police Investigators on using circumstantial evidence in cases involving financial crimes, particularly money laundering. The Manual was drafted during a year by a team coordinated by the senior judge and Key Expert for Judicial and Prosecutorial Matters, Ms. Marta Pizarro Mayo, who brought together Serbian and EU expertise, in a coordinated work developed by relevant representatives from the Spanish and Serbian Judiciary and the Spanish and Serbian Public Prosecution.

 The Manual is designed to serve as a practical, “hands-on tool” for daily use by practitioners, rather than as an academic document. It incorporates case law from the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the EU, and the Supreme Courts of EU Member States, with the objective of aligning Serbian practice with European standards.

The presentation of the Guideline took place in the first week of October 2024, and was successfully hosted at the four Appellate Courts of Kragujevac, Niš, Novi Sad and Belgrade. The presentation was attended by numerous judges and prosecutors from the Serbian Appellate regions, who expressed great interest in the Manual.

During the presentation of the Manual, the President of the Belgrade Appellate Court, Mr. Duško Milenković emphasised that it is “an important guide on how to resolve dilemmas on all important issues that arise before judges and prosecutors in the course of proceedings related to circumstantial evidence”. He also highlighted the fact that the Manual “makes a positive contribution to the reinforcement of instruments of international legal cooperation with neighbouring countries and in particular with EU countries, as Serbian judges and prosecutors will be able to identify all possible obstacles that the country we has in judicial cooperation, and to find concrete solutions to those obstacles, in order to initiate possible changes in the Republic of Serbia for cooperation to flow in a more streamlined manner”.

The Manual was presented in two formats: physical and digital. The digital version incorporates accurate links to the original resolutions, legislation, and international treaties, thus providing a dynamic and useful tool for practitioners from the Republic of Serbia and beyond.

Deputy Court President from Niš Court of Appeal, Mr. Zoran Popović, highlighted in the presentattion that the Manual “will contribute to the wider application of circumstantial evidence in judicial practice in the Republic of Serbia”

The Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia has assumed responsibility for the dissemination of the Manual to all Serbian criminal judges and public prosecutors. Furthermore, the Academy is coordinating additional training activities based on the utilisation of the Manual..

During the presentation of the Manual, the President of the Kagrujevac Appellate Court, Mr. Aleksandar Blanuša, also stated “the positive contribution of the Guideline to strengthening the instruments of international legal cooperation with neighboring countries, and especially with the EU countries, for the successful fight against both organised crime and all other forms of crime”.

In conclusion, and quoting Mr. Miljko Radisavljević, Public Prosecutor from the Supreme Public Prosecution of Serbia, “the Guideline, though not a strategic document, harbour an ambitious idea to make a significant contri­bution to changing the current situation, judging by the list of authors engaged, their approach, experi­ence, used sources, persuasiveness of their argumentation, this goal will undoubtedly be achieved. The document is not only intended for practitioners, but should serve as an indispensable tool in their daily work, a guide for resolving doubts and open questions, but also a document that needs to improve their knowledge, skills, stimulate their creativity and help them to solve the challenges we face in processing money laundering, corruption, serious and organised crime with new ideas, energy and even courage”.

Why does it matter?

Cocaine production and trafficking remain at record highs. The supply of this illicit substance has intensified, but so have seizures by law enforcement authorities in most parts of the world. Colombia, the world’s leading producer of coca, is recording record seizures.

According to data from InSight Crime, an investigative and journalistic organisation specialising in organised crime, Colombia recorded the highest seizure figures in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023. The country seized a total of 739.5 tons of cocaine hydrochloride.

Ecuador ranked second, with more than 195 tons seized in 2023, followed by Panama and Brazil, which seized 95.7 tons and 72.3 tons, respectively. Brazil remains the most important transit point on Latin America’s Atlantic coast, seizing more cocaine than Argentina, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela combined. These nations are located on the borders of the producer countries and serve as the main transit points for drug trafficking to Europe and the United States.

Drug trafficking is violence

Drug trafficking groups compete for strategic trafficking routes: Ecuador surpassed all violence rates in 2023 and Costa Rica’s homicide rate increased by 41% amid an ongoing struggle to control cocaine trafficking through its ports.However, in places like Bolivia and Peru, where much of the world’s coca leaf is grown, authorities seized more cocaine last year than in 2022 but homicides remained low.

New maritime drug trafficking routes

During 2024, a drug trafficking route (especially cocaine hydrochloride) has become the expansion route for transnational criminal organisations seeking a route from producer countries (mainly Colombia and Peru) to Europe. The route in question passes through the Southern Cone countries by air, land (Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela), or river (via the Paraná waterway involving Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina) and crosses the South Atlantic from the ports of Brazil and Argentina mainly to the African countries of the Gulf of Guinea and North Africa (such as Morocco, Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal, among others).

In this context, European, Latin American and African criminal organisations move in a coordinated manner at a low operational and logistical cost. The presence of European organisations in Latin American territory is gradually intensifying, and likewise, Latin American criminal groups are crossing the Atlantic to establish a presence in Africa and facilitate logistical, storage and transport needs on the African continent for the transit of illicit goods to Europe. All of this occurs with a low profile and little territorial competition, which is strengthening transnational cooperation between criminal gangs and the arrival of drug shipments to their final destination, Europe.

In this reality of continuous innovation in territorial movements, of routes that seek to evade controls by land, sea and air; of articulations and alliances between countries from different continents; and of complex networks in the ports of departure in the Atlantic and the Pacific, the European SEACOP project develops its strategies to identify the movements of international maritime smuggling networks, to frustrate the consolidation of criminal networks, and to prevent drug shipments from reaching their final destination.

Maritime intelligence, seizures and cooperation: keys to success

One of the most successful and sustainable strategies of the project is based on leaving installed capacity in the partner countries in three areas that must be developed jointly to achieve the objectives: maritime and river intelligence, seizure techniques, and the formation of international cooperation networks.

During the first half of the year, we have conducted intelligence training in several countries where the project is present. In the second half of the year, we are working on training in seizure techniques and we have defined two transnational intelligence strategies involving both Latin American countries and African countries such as Senegal.

As a result of this training and simultaneous networking work, two strategies have been defined that combine training and coordination of transnational operations with the support of specialists from the Spanish National Police. These strategies are called Special Response Groups (GRES), with GRES South Atlantic and GRES Ports, which respectively involve the SEACOP partner countries of the southern route and the northern route of maritime and river drug trafficking.

Special Response Groups

Operation GRES SUR was launched last May in Paraguay with the presence of the other countries that make up the group (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), while in mid-October GRES Puertos will be launched in Colombia with the presence of Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, also inviting other key countries in the region such as Panama and Costa Rica.

In its first months of operation, GRES SUR has carried out operations in strategic maritime ports and marinas, such as Santos, Montevideo, Rio de la Plata, Dakar and Asunción, which have resulted in seizures of both drugs and drug money.

Sea containers, cargo ships and pleasure boats have been inspected, leading to cocaine seizures in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Drugs have also been seized from a vessel that sailed from Senegal to Argentina and ten people allegedly involved in this trafficking have been arrested.

These results have been possible thanks to a coordinated effort to exchange maritime-river information and carry out joint operations. The Operational Coordination Centres in Argentina and Senegal have played a key role in preventing information leaks and in international coordination.

Horizontal political dialogue between the state and indigenous women, police training on gender-based violence and the launch of an official platform on environmental statistics. These are just a few examples of the milestones achieved in Paraguay with the support of the European cooperation programme led by the FIIAPP/Spanish Cooperation. Through the work of the programme and the commitment of Paraguayan partner institutions, the country strengthens its public systems and advances in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Among the actions carried out, more than 2,500 civil servants have been trained in areas such as equality, security and climate.

Public policies: indigenous women participate in decision making

For the first time in the country, indigenous women have initiated a political dialogue – led by the Ministry of Women with the support of the National Indigenous Institute – with the public institutions that are part of the Inter-Institutional Roundtable for the Prevention of Violence against Women (PREVIM). The initiative has made it possible to reflect on the effectiveness of existing policies, considering the cultural and social particularities of indigenous women, and the first agreements have been reached to include in their protocols for action.

Minutes have been signed with each of the participating institutions, documenting the history of encounters between indigenous women and the state. These minutes, although they vary in detail depending on the institution, recognise the need to train public personnel on issues such as intercultural justice, the importance of communicating information in the native language of the affected person, as well as the management of myths that act as barriers in dealing with cases of violence, among other critical aspects such as the modification of protocols to incorporate the points suggested by indigenous women.

The working groups were established as nuclei for continuous discussion where each institution collaborates directly with indigenous representatives, which facilitates the creation and reformulation of policies from an intersectional approach. The signing of the first agreements at the end of these roundtables symbolised a tangible commitment to significant structural changes.

Launch of the first Atlas of Environmental Statistics in Paraguay

How many people die from natural disasters in Paraguay, per 100,000 inhabitants?

What is the rate of protected species of flora and fauna? What is the mortality rate attributable to unsafe water?

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) have launched Paraguay’s first Atlas of Environmental Statistics to provide data on these and other questions related to environmental statistics. This launch, highlighted in President Santiago Peña’s recent management report, marks a significant milestone in the country’s environmental management.

The Atlas of Environmental Statistics of Paraguay is an innovative web platform that brings together essential information from the environmental sector in a dynamic interface, including a wide range of data, metadata, maps and interactive graphics. The tool not only provides access to detailed and up-to-date information on the state of the environment in Paraguay, but also promotes greater transparency and facilitates the understanding of current environmental challenges.

This project has been developed as a key element of the Subsystem of Environmental Statistics, framed within the National Strategy for Statistical Development (ENDE). Its main objective is to centralise and make visible the generation of environmental data by all the entities involved, thus improving the capacity to respond to the sector’s information demands and supporting evidence-based decision-making for the conservation and sustainable management of the environment in Paraguay.

Training for police officers in dealing with victims of gender-based violence

Paraguay has registered 18 femicides so far this year. According to data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the first half of 2024, 18,876 complaints related to gender violence were registered throughout the country. According to the statistics, the figure represents an increase of 16% in relation to the first six months of last year, and 50% in comparison with data from the same period in 2020. (https://www.ultimahora.com/estado-debe-accionar-sobre-el-aumento-de-la-violencia-familiar)

In this context, the project has supported a training programme for police personnel designed to strengthen the institutional response to reports of violence against women. This programme, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the National Police Command and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, has trained more than 500 police officers in the departments of Central, Caaguazú and Alto Paraná, regions with high rates of reported gender-based violence.

This training cycle is carried out in collaboration with the Higher Institute of Police Education (ISEPOL) and is based on a new methodology where the problem of violence against women is not only approached from a regulatory and police responsibility perspective, but also from a comprehensive perspective that appeals to empathy and recognises the value of those who are on the front line in the care of victims.

It is an unprecedented milestone for ISEPOL, which aims to train more than 900 police officers in total, the highest number to date in the training of police officers. Furthermore, this initiative stands out as the first to deliver training through an experiential methodology, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. This innovative approach not only broadens the competencies of police officers, but also strengthens inter-ministerial cooperation for more effective and empathetic management within the security forces.

Inter-institutional collaboration: signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) consolidated their cooperation through a memorandum of understanding to unify efforts in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This agreement will promote closer collaboration in the monitoring of policies and programmes linked to the SDGs in the country.

Progress and challenges in implementing the SDGs: 2024 Steering Committee meeting

At the Steering Committee meeting, the progress and challenges of the programme until its completion in December 2024 were presented. The highest authorities of our partner institutions and the Delegation of the European Union in the country were present, as well as mayors of the 10 municipalities with which we work.   The importance of having data for planning and decision making with special emphasis on the territorial level was highlighted.

On the same day, a dialogue was held between mayors, with the participation of the head of cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union Matteo Sirtori, the Coordinator of AECID in Paraguay Rafael Ruiperez and the National Director of the National Statistics Institute (INE), Ivan Ojeda. The conversation focused on improving the production and management of data for sustainable development at the municipal level. This exchange identified critical areas where municipalities can increase their autonomy and efficiency in data collection.

• The project, funded by the European Union and coordinated by FIIAPP and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, has strengthened the training of Spanish consular staff in Morocco, Senegal, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Promoting safe, orderly and regular migration. To this end, the Migrasafe project has worked closely with the staff of Spanish consulates in various African countries to train their staff on current legislation on migration. The aim is to enable them to provide accurate and up-to-date information to migrants. Training has also been provided to immigration liaison officers from the European Union.

Led by Spain, Migrasafe has the participation of Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland and the support of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DGHOME), which co-finances the project.

The different sessions and activities organized by Migrasafe have focused on the different European directives that promote safe, orderly and regular migration. Access to information on legal migration has also been promoted among civil society organizations, which act as informal sources of information to potential migrants.

Throughout the implementation of the project, which started in 2022, the following have been carried out:

• 29 sessions for consular staff, registering 143 participants from 26 Embassies.
• 15 sessions for immigration liaison officers (ILOs), registering 68 participants from 19 Embassies.
• 18 sessions for African national authorities, with 96 attendees from 42 ministerial bodies.

Public policies are the instruments through which public institutions respond to demands and address public challenges in multiple domains. They provide the framework for all actions by which a state seeks to respond to collective needs and reflect – or should reflect – the values of a society.

They are fundamental not only for setting goals and objectives for the collective well-being of a set of citizens, but also for allocating the human, financial and technological resources to implement them and thus enforce the rights set out in constitutions or bills of rights.

We get to know our development workers

However, we rarely put a face to the people who work to enact these public policies. We are not talking about the political class, but about our development workers, an essential link in the chain. These are the public servants who cooperate with other countries to exchange knowledge, improve the institutional framework and the functioning of public systems. A form of cooperation that always includes a return of knowledge, a two-way exchange that also feeds our capacities to promote public systems for people and the planet.

Through the #PublicExpertise for the World video series, we get to know our public development workers who cooperate in a wide range of fields: security, justice, employment, social cohesion or climate. Every year we mobilise more than 600 professionals in over 120 countries. A vocation for public service, flexibility and adaptability, active listening and fluency in other languages. These are the main requirements that civil servants have to meet to participate in international cooperation missions. Now we discover what inspired them to cooperate, what are the greatest achievements of the projects in which they have participated, what tools they have developed in the face of difficulties, what world they dream of? An inspiring format that brings us a close-up portrait that highlights the importance of this type of cooperation.

Access here to all the videos of Public Expertise for the world and get to know the story of Rosa María Marín (prosecutor), Adriana Tostón (commander of the Guardia Civil), Pedro Parra (employment official) or Elsa Marta (National Police).

Find out here how institutional cooperation works and what challenges we are tackling this year.