Eye on the Amazon: The Official Blog of Amazon Watch

April 20, 2016 – Across Peru, headlines have been dominated by the presidential elections. Deep in the Amazon, however, the ongoing trauma caused by oil pipeline spills seeps on. Almost three months following a 2,000-barrel spill in Chiriaco followed by another just days later near Mayuriaga, indigenous communities continue to confront the daily reality of poisoned water, fish and crops.

April 6, 2016 – Last week, the Ecuadorian government announced that it had begun constructing the first of a planned 276 wells, ten drilling platforms, and multiple related pipelines and production facilities in the ITT oil field, known as Block 43, which overlaps Yasuní National Park in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest.

March 4, 2016 – It does not come as a surprise to those who have followed the Belo Monte saga over the last six years that the mega-dam has been allowed to begin operating this year without first complying with most of its legally mandated socio-environmental conditions.

March 30, 2016 – "In the rainforest, everything is possible. Here are our pharmacies. Here are our libraries. Here is our treasure, our life. Not only for us, for the entire world. So our future generations, your children, your children's children, can live and breathe clean air."

March 28, 2016 – There is no legitimate rationale for using violence against the U'wa. They are extreme pacifists by culture (considering the mere presence of weapons in their territory as violence) and have always been transparent about their actions. In this case, they are protecting an ecologically fragile and spiritually significant part of their own territory from damage.

March 24, 2016 – I am filled with hope by the alliance of indigenous Amazonian women who came together in a historic march in defense of the Amazon, Mother Earth and Climate Justice on International Women's Day. It was the first time ever that indigenous Amazonian women from seven nationalities joined forces and marched together in defense of their rights, rainforests and future generations.