Investor's Eye on the Amazon | Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch

Investor’s Eye on the Amazon – Spring 2014

Spring 2014 | Amazon Watch | Report

In our Spring 2014 issue, we bring you the latest updates and investor risks associated with companies operating or investing in the Amazon region, including two in-depth reports:

Beijing, Banks and Barrels: China and Oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon examines China’s growing presence on Ecuador’s oil frontier, highlighting the irreversible impacts on the Amazon rainforest, indigenous peoples’ rights and Ecuador’s national sovereignty. Chevron’s Mockery of Justice: How Judge Kaplan’s Decision Suffers from Five Fatal Flaws is a summary of the CVX-RICO case which threatens not only the Ecuadorian plaintiffs and their legal team, but also the ability of civil society to hold corporations accountable for their environmental and human rights abuses around the world.

We also bring you the latest updates on grassroots efforts to defend the Amazon, indigenous rights and hold corporations accountable in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and around the world. On May 21st, communities around the world are mobilizing for International Anti-Chevron Day and calling on individuals and governments to stop buying Chevron until it meets its legal obligations.

As I’m sure you are aware, the playing field has changed dramatically in Ecuador, particularly in the last 8 months. Last August, President Correa announced drilling in Yasuní-ITT sparking a civil society campaign to defend Yasuní via a referendum to keep oil in the ground. Last month, over 3,000 indigenous peoples and environmentalists delivered nearly 800,000 signatures needed to qualify for a national referendum, but have been met by grave electoral irregularities sparking public outcry and a call to not only defend Yasuní, but democracy itself. This follows the outcry after the government shut down indigenous rights nonprofit Fundación Pachamama in December, just days after the 11th Round failed.

Despite a yearlong effort to auction off 16 oil blocks in the Amazon that seven indigenous nationalities call home, the Ecuadorian government received only four bids from mostly state oil companies, including Chinese conglomerate Andes Petroleum, BelOil, Chile’s ENAP and Repsol. We have had communication with Repsol to express our concerns and encourage the company to withdraw its bid. In the Northern Peruvian Amazon, Repsol is selling its stake in controversial oil operations in Block 39, a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by indigenous people in voluntary isolation.

And finally, as the Brazil scurries to prepare for the World Cup this summer, social conflicts related to the construction of mega-dams and attacks on indigenous rights increase. We have continued to stand by our allies in calling for justice on the Xingu and Tapajós Rivers, investments in renewable energy instead of dirty dams and corporate accountability of companies including GDF Suez and Siemens in Europe.

As always, Amazon Watch is thankful for the work of socially-conscious investors and we hope that this newsletter provides valuable information for you in your ongoing work.

Read an archived version of this issue here.

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