INFRACURSIONS: Deregulated Infrastructures of Extraction in Rainforest Frontiers

The Infracursions project at the University of Bristol investigates what we call 'incursion economies' in the Amazon. These are clandestine small-scale extractive activities such as informal mining, land grabbing and selective logging, that invade remote frontiers and cause environmental degradation. This interdisciplinary project analyses remote sensing data, ethnographic research, policy, supply chains and more to understand the infrastructures that facilitate the operation of 'incursion economies'.

The project seeks to answer the following questions:

- What historical factors have led to incursions?

- What are the motivations and experiences of those who engage in incursion economies?

- What social and technical arrangements underpin incursions?

- How do incursion economies intersect?

By addressing these questions, the project will map both the human and environmental impacts of incursions and offer new tools to better grasp the often-overlooked phenomenon of small-scale extraction and its global consequences.