he Environmental Democracy Index (IDA) is an initiative developed by Transparency International - Brazil and the Life Center Institute (ICV), with the aim of evaluating and promoting norms, policies and practices of access to information, participation and justice in environmental issues and the protection of environmental defenders in the Legal Amazon.
The IDA evaluates the nine states of the Legal Amazon (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins) and the Federal Government.
The four dimensions that make up the IDA are analyzed by a total of 120 indicators. The results are available by entity evaluated and by dimension, in addition to the disaggregated database.
IDA has the following objectives:
Promoting access to information, participation and justice in environmental issues and the protection of environmental defenders is essential for maintaining and valuing the Amazon's rich socio-biodiversity and for overcoming a context of historical inequalities, land conflicts and environmental degradation in the region.
Tackling environmental crimes in the region, for example, involves making information available to help detect them, protecting those who report such crimes and strengthening the justice system bodies responsible for investigating, prosecuting, judging and punishing criminals. Including indigenous peoples and traditional communities in decision-making processes and ensuring that they have the necessary information makes it possible for their knowledge and demands to be taken into account and, consequently, for public policies to be drawn up and implemented to promote their rights.
On another subject, the existence of deforestation-free production chains, a prerequisite that is increasingly present in trade agreements and new investments, demands the transparency of information that enables the traceability of agricultural products and a context of greater legal and reputational security.
The structure of the IDA was inspired by the Escazú Agreement, since the treaty aims to promote access to information, access to participation, access to justice in environmental matters and the protection of human rights defenders in environmental matters. In other words, the dimensions of the IDA reflect the pillars of the Escazú Agreement.
In addition, some IDA indicators are inspired by the Escazú Agreement, but this is not the case in all cases, since others analyze aspects related more specifically to Brazilian standards, policies and practices.
Negotiated between 2012 and 2018 by Latin American and Caribbean countries, Escazú is the first regional environmental agreement and the first in the world with specific obligations to protect human rights defenders in environmental matters. The Agreement has been in force since April 2021, with 18 countries having ratified it by June 2025.
Brazil signed the Agreement in 2018, but has not yet ratified it. In this way, the results of the IDA, by highlighting gaps and good practices in the themes of the Escazú Agreement, can contribute to the debate on the importance of its ratification by the National Congress and to its future implementation by Brazil.
The IDA seeks to measure the phenomenon of environmental democracy in the broadest and most solid way possible, based on the four dimensions selected. Given the complexity and diversity of understandings on the subject, other approaches are entirely possible and valid. More than a definitive proposal for assessing environmental democracy, the IDA is an invitation to debate and reform, and its method will be continually improved.
The IDA method was developed on the basis of a literature review, a survey of good practices, both national and international, and consultation with specialists, members of public bodies and civil society, as well as community leaders, including indigenous peoples, quilombolas and other traditional communities. The definition of the indicators also took into account the Brazilian legal and institutional framework and the elements set out in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Escazú Agreement. The data that makes up the 120 indicators was collected by three means: (i) active search on the portals of the bodies and entities evaluated and on their transparency portals; (ii) requests for information via the Access to Information Law in the e-SICs (Electronic System of the Citizen Information Service); (iii) requests for information via e-mail.
Using 120 indicators, the IDA assesses four dimensions: access to information, access to participation, access to justice in environmental matters and the protection of environmental defenders.
The access to information dimension assesses the availability of information on logging, environmental licensing, livestock farming, environmental regularization and land regularization, as well as the existence of norms, policies and platforms related to this right.
The access to participation dimension verifies the existence and functioning of participatory spaces, such as environmental councils, conservation unit councils and public environmental licensing hearings, including the presence of various social groups in these spaces.
The access to justice dimension analyzes the existence of specialized structures for environmental, land and indigenous peoples issues in the justice system, as well as the training of its members and itinerant justice or similar initiatives on environmental issues.
The protection of defenders dimension assesses the existence of programs and other mechanisms aimed at protecting people and groups in situations of risk or threat.
The standards, policies and practices evaluated by the IDA are related to the competencies of different bodies and entities in the states of the Legal Amazon and the Federal Government. Seven groups were assessed:
Public security forces, including the Military and Civil Police of the states and the Federal Police.
The data that makes up the 120 indicators is collected by three means: (i) active search on the portals of the bodies and entities evaluated and on their transparency portals; (ii) requests for information via the Access to Information Law in the e-SICs (Electronic System of the Citizen Information Service); (iii) requests for information via e-mail or telephone.
During the data collection phase, the team made dozens of requests for access to information, as well as e-mail and telephone contacts with the bodies evaluated. With the launch of the IDA, all the bodies assessed will receive technical notes analyzing the results found and recommendations for improving the rules, policies and practices under their responsibility.
In addition, the IDA team from Transparency International - Brazil and ICV is available to present the results, answer questions and receive any suggestions and criticisms from the bodies evaluated and other interested parties.
The IDA method incorporates elements that reflect the socio-diversity and territorial extension of the Legal Amazon. As examples, the IDA analyses ethnic-racial diversity in participatory spaces and in public bodies, the existence of justice system bodies specializing in land issues and indigenous peoples and traditional communities, the decentralization of the protection programme for defenders, a fundamental aspect given the territorial dimension of the region, among others. Finally, the IDA method included a stage of consultation with representatives of public bodies and civil society organizations located or working in the region, including members of indigenous peoples' organizations and traditional communities.
The results of the IDA aim to contribute to the public debate and the improvement of norms, policies and practices on access to information, access to participation and access to justice in environmental issues and the protection of environmental defenders. By carrying out an objective assessment, IDA exposes advances and good practices that can be replicated, as well as gaps and weaknesses that need to be overcome. The method allows comparisons to be made between the entities evaluated, which makes it possible to exchange experiences. IDA data can be used by civil society, journalists, governments and other public institutions evaluated, multilateral bodies, the private sector and other interested parties. Finally, the results of the IDA, by highlighting gaps and good practices in the themes of the Escazú Agreement, can contribute to the debate on the importance of its ratification by the National Congress and to its future implementation in Brazil.
The results of the IDA provide governments and other institutions evaluated with an objective diagnosis of the norms, policies and practices associated with the rights of access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters and the protection of environmental defenders. Based on the results found, public managers, public policy makers, members of the justice system and other decision makers can plan and carry out institutional strengthening actions, improve administrative structures, review normative acts and their practices.
Yes. By assessing the four dimensions - access to information, participation and justice, and protection of environmental defenders - the IDA provides a broad assessment of the norms, policies and practices relevant to environmental defenders.
In addition to the existence of programs and other protection mechanisms for those at risk or under threat, the IDA indicators assess the transparency of environmental information, the existence and quality of spaces for participation, and the capacity of justice system bodies to ensure environmental rights. These are fundamental aspects for ensuring that defenders participate in decision-making and, consequently, that public policies are designed and implemented to promote their rights, including structural solutions that reduce pressure on their territories.
With this information, the IDA makes it possible to guide public policies, strengthen institutional structures and support actions by governments, justice system bodies, civil society and international organizations to confront threats and promote favorable conditions for the work of environmental defenders in the Amazon.
Yes. The IDA provides an objective assessment that can support arguments and demands from civil society so that the entities assessed improve their norms, policies and practices of access to information, participation and justice in environmental issues and the protection of environmental defenders.
In this way, civil society organizations, social movements, community organizations, collectives, environmental defenders and other social actors can use the results in their advocacy strategies for public policies and interaction with public authorities. Members of civil society can also use the IDA results to support arguments in their participation in councils and public hearings.
The IDA team from Transparency International - Brazil and ICV is available to present the results, answer questions and receive any suggestions and criticisms from members of civil society.
The method developed for IDA can be applied in other states and regions of Brazil. Furthermore, the method has the potential to be adapted and used in other countries.
Yes. The availability of information enables state actors (such as environmental agencies, police and public prosecutors) and non-state actors (such as journalists, defenders and environmental organizations) to detect environmental crimes such as deforestation and illegal mining and illegal logging and related crimes such as fraud and corruption. Strengthening access to justice, including the existence of specialized bodies and the training of their members, reinforces the actions of investigation, prosecution and accountability of the actors involved in such illicit acts. Protecting environmental defenders and including them in decision-making processes strengthens the work of this group, which protects territories rich in biodiversity and often denounces environmental crimes.
Yes. Different markets, countries and political and economic blocs have reinforced environmental criteria in their purchasing, investment and trade agreement decisions. In this context, the availability of information contributes, for example, to traceability initiatives and analysis of the relationship between production chains, deforestation and environmental crimes. Improving environmental governance, including access to justice and participation, as well as reducing environmental crimes and violations of the rights of environmental defenders, contributes to a context of legal and reputational security for new businesses and investments.
Yes. Access to participation makes it possible to properly design and implement forestry policies, manage conservation units and assess the impacts of works and projects, which are essential for environmental conservation. The existence of open and inclusive decision-making processes reduces the scope for undue influence by specific interest groups, which often have little commitment to environmental issues. The availability of environmental information makes it possible to understand the actions and possible omissions of public and private agents, including the results of public and private policies. Finally, the dimensions assessed by the IDA contribute to the fight against environmental crimes and to protecting environmental defenders, people and groups working to protect the Amazon.
The IDA's general results, by dimension and assessed entity, can be accessed on the initiative's website, at https://democraciaambiental.org.br. It is also possible to download the indicator database.
The IDA methodological note, which gives a detailed explanation of the indicators used and how the results are calculated, can be accessed at https://democraciaambiental.org.br/downloads.
IDA is an initiative of Transparency International - Brazil and the Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV), with financial support from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Information on the technical team involved can be found in the methodological note.
The IDA is an initiative of the Centro de Vida Institute and Transparency International - Brazil, with financial support from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
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