2012 | Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch

All: 2012

Served by Chevron, and It Just Warms Us Up

When a giant corporation like Chevron bothers to subpoena a small nonprofit like Amazon Watch, we know our actions are hitting hard. At that moment, I knew we had been doing something right.

Chevron Aims at an Activist Shareholder

The New York Times | Public corporations routinely tell shareholders that their views matter. So it might seem odd that last month Chevron subpoenaed one of its investors, Trillium Asset Management, which has sponsored numerous shareholder proposals at Chevron over the years.

Peru's Mysterious "Lot Fitzcarrald" Threatens Uncontacted Tribes

The Ecologist | Peru is set to embark on a major expansion of gas operations in the Camisea region in the Amazon – a move which could decimate Indigenous peoples, both those in 'voluntary isolation' and others in the early stages of contact.

A Cry from the Heart of Pan Amazonia

Last month the sixth Pan Amazon Social Forum brought together hundreds of community leaders, academics, and NGO representatives from across the Amazon to discuss and debate common challenges and forge collaborative solutions.

Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.

DONATE NOW

Emergency in the Amazon

End industrial invasion of the Amazon basin by public and private companies

The Brazilian government and Congress are in the process of installing structures to exploit rivers and raw materials in indigenous territories, thus threatening indigenous populations. In the context of International Human Rights Day, indigenous Kayapo chiefs Raoni and Megaron are launching a new appeal to the international community.

International Day of Action for Justice Now

Keep taking action!

In recognition of the International Day of Human Rights, people all over the world participated in an "International Day of Action for Justice Now" to stop the Belo Monte Dam in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.

Take Action for Justice Now! on December 10th

Right now we are witnessing a critical moment in Brazil's history. Brazil's current energy polices have created glaring setbacks for the rights of indigenous peoples, the environment and Brazilian democracy. It's time to take action for justice.

Investor's Eye on the Amazon

First, some good news! Thanks in no small part to shareholder advocacy efforts, Talisman Energy and ConocoPhillips announced plans this fall to withdraw from key oil blocks in the Peruvian Amazon. And in the historic Chevron lawsuit, the Ecuadorian plaintiffs have launched a global enforcement strategy, which is already making strides in Argentina...

Shareholders Keep Pressure on Chevron

Resolutions to highlight corporate governance failure and mismanagement of $19 billion Ecuador liability

A group of institutional investors and asset management firms plan to re-file three separate resolutions at Chevron. All three resolutions came to a vote at the 2012 Chevron annual shareholder meeting, winning significantly high support.

We want to say thank you. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

It's been a huge year here at Amazon Watch. As we look towards 2013 we know that we can only do so thanks to the strong foundation you provide. Your activism, your partnership, all those petitions and all your financial support.

The Brazilian Electricity Sector and Sustainability in the 21st Century

Opportunities and Challenges

This publication presents the results of a joint effort undertaken by a group of researchers and NGOs aimed at promoting critical analysis and proposals for new public policies to meet the challenges of Brazil's electrical energy sector in the 21st century.

Ecuador's Oil Minister Explains New Oil Round Amid Indigenous Protest

Platts | Quito, Ecuador – Ecuador's oil minister Wilson Pastor Wednesday presented terms for an international licensing round for new blocks in the country's southeast amid protests by indigenous groups seeking to protect the area of the Amazon basin, which is still 85% covered by rainforest

Chevron's $19 Billion "Disaster" Gets Hearing

Bloomberg | A group of 47 Ecuadoreans have asked Ontario's Superior Court of Justice to seize Chevron assets in Canada, ranging from an oil sands project to offshore wells, to satisfy a 2011 court ruling in the Latin American nation that ordered the company to pay for oil pollution dating to the 1960s.

Ecuador to Launch Oil Block Auction Amid Protests

Indigenous people say jungle at risk, oppose exploration

Reuters | Quito, Ecuador – Ecuador will launch a licensing round on Wednesday for 13 oil blocks in unspoiled Amazon areas despite opposition from indigenous groups that fear damage to their ancestral lands.

BNDES Approves Unprecedented Loan for Controversial Belo Monte Dam in Brazilian Amazon

Financing ignores violations of human rights and environmental safeguards

Brasilia, Brazil – On November 26, the Brazilian National Development Bank announced approval of an unprecedented loan of $10.8 billion for construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam project on the Xingu river, a major tributary of the Amazon.

Indigenous Protests Grow as Ecuador Auctions Amazon Oil Blocks

Hundreds contest "XI Round" oil licensing

Quito, Ecuador – Hundreds of indigenous people gathered in Quito today at the VII Annual Meeting of Oil and Energy where the Ecuadorian government announced the opening of the XI Round, an oil auction covering nearly eight million acres of rainforest in the Amazon.

Holding Chevron Accountable

What will it take for the energy giant to pay out the billions of dollars it owes for the pollution of the Amazon?

Al Jazeera | After decades of oil drilling, they have seen their land destroyed, and their waters polluted. But members of Ecuador's indigenous communities have yet to see a single penny for the damage inflicted on their lives by Chevron and its subsidiary, Texaco.

Brazil's BNDES Approves $10.8 Billion Loan for Amazon Belo Monte Dam

Reuters | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Brazil's state development bank, BNDES, has approved a loan of $10.8 billion to Norte Energia, the group building the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon. The loan is the largest in the bank's history and will finance nearly four-fifths of the dam project.

Ecuador's Indigenous Leaders Oppose New Oil Exploration Plans in Amazon Region

Country set to open 11th licensing round of oil exploration in 10 million acres of pristine, undeveloped rainforest

Earth Island Journal | According to Amazon Watch, the 11th round will affect up to 10 million acres of primary forest that encompass the ancestral territories of the Indigenous Andoa, Achuar, Kichwa, Sapara, Shiwiar, Shuar, and Waorani nations. Ecuador's largest Indigenous organizations, including the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorean Amazon...

Labor Violence Halts Work on Brazil's Belo Monte Dam

Consortium stops work after workers set fire to vehicles

Reuters | Brasilia, Brazil – Work on the world's third largest hydroelectric dam was halted this week deep in the Amazon jungle after workers set fire to vehicles and smashed computers during labor talks.

Conflict Sweeps Indigenous Territory in Brazil

Conflicts have erupted on the brink of the VIII Forum on Indigenous people and the electric sector. In three regions, indigenous peoples have found themselves face-to-face with what "development" really means for them.

Shareholder Shocker: Chevron's Assets Frozen in Argentina

The internet exploded Wednesday with news that an Argentinian judge ordered seizure of Chevron's in-country assets in what could be the first of many rulings enforcing a $19 billion judgment from an Ecuadorian court.

Argentine Judge Slaps Embargo on $19 Billion in Chevron Assets

In a major blow to Chevron's effort to avoid paying a historic $19 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador, an Argentine judge today signed the first of what is expected to be many orders freezing billions of dollars of assets owned by the U.S. oil company.

Chevron Assets Frozen in Argentina over Ecuador Case

After years of litigation, an Ecuadoran court in February 2011 ordered Chevron to pay a huge fine

AFP | Buenos Aires, Argentina – An Argentine judge on Wednesday froze Chevron's assets at the request of a court in Ecuador, where the oil giant was ordered to pay $19 billion for environmental damage from years of unchecked pollution in the Amazon attributed to Texaco Petroleum, which Chevron acquired in 2001. Texaco polluted large areas of...

Photos from Our 2012 Annual Luncheon

Our honored guests this year were Kichwa leaders from the Sarayaku community in Ecuador, who made world news headlines recently by winning their case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina

It's been another rough week for Chevron, which got a rude awaking Wednesday morning with news that Ecuadorian indigenous and farmer communities will seek to freeze some $2 billion of the company's assets in Argentina.

Ecuador Villagers Seek $2 Billion of Chevron Assets In Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Indigenous groups and villagers from Ecuador are filing suit today to freeze an estimated $2 billion of Chevron assets in Argentina to help pay for a remediation of the extensive toxic pollution left by the oil giant on their ancestral lands in the Amazon rainforest, representatives of the communities announced.