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Mining Out of the Amazon

Canadian Mining Company’s SLAPP Lawsuit Against Amazon Defenders Dismissed in Brazil

Court exposes Belo Sun’s attempt to silence critics of its gold mine project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest

"The court's decision to reject the legal complaint represents a victory for forest protection movements, reining in a company that appears to believe it is above the law."

May 15, 2025

824 views

2 min read

Blood Gold in the Amazon: Belo Sun’s Mega-Mine Threatens People, Land, and Climate

An infusion of new financing and lax regulation has rekindled the company’s aggressive efforts to greenlight its disastrous open-pit gold mine

A recent cash infusion from Luxembourg-based investor La Mancha Resource Capital, combined with a shocking court ruling, has given the Canadian company new momentum to push forward with one of the most destructive mining projects the Amazon has ever faced.

February 18, 2025

4,284 views

4 min read

Major Victory to Halt Mining in the Heart of the Brazilian Amazon

Brazilian judge annuls Belo Sun's land rights contract, delivering a major blow to the company's plans to build Brazil's largest open-pit gold mine

This recent federal court decision annulling Belo Sun and INCRA’s contract is a crucial step toward justice, underscoring the resilience of the communities of the Volta Grande do Xingu.

December 5, 2024

5,017 views

5 min read

In Ecuador, Booming Profits in Small-scale Gold Mining Reveal a Tainted Industry

Mongabay | Lax regulation, corruption, and organized crime have enabled multimillion-dollar proceeds from drug trafficking to be laundered through illegally mined gold.

October 3, 2024

4,236 views

11 min read

End Amazon Crude

Amazonian Communities in Peru Rejoice as Plan for Oil Drilling on Ancestral Land Stalls

Peru’s state-run oil company failed to attract any bids to develop an oil field that overlaps ancestral territories of several Indigenous groups

Associated Press | “Local communities and their allies will remain alert to this zombie project which has been killed multiple times but always attempts to return from the dead.”

May 16, 2025

3,091 views

2 min read

Built to Spill: Ecuador’s Pipeline Disaster and the Fight to Stop the Next One

Coastal communities in Ecuador are still reeling from a devastating oil spill on March 13, which dumped over 25,000 barrels of crude oil into rivers and protected areas in the northwestern province of Esmeraldas.

April 8, 2025

5,139 views

3 min read

The Climate Crises in Los Angeles and the Amazon Rainforest Are Inextricably Linked

The Sacramento Bee | To address the root cause of these interconnected crises, we must unite our calls to keep oil in the ground, from California to the Amazon.

January 29, 2025

5,534 views

3 min read

Solaris Resources’ Stock Price Plummets While Indigenous Resistance Mounts Online and on the Ground

Solaris Resources hit its lowest stock price this week as Indigenous organizations once again initiated multiple actions to reject its flagship copper-gold Warintza project in Ecuador.

July 23, 2024

4,006 views

5 min read

Indigenous Earth Defenders Under Threat

Big Oil’s “Lawfare” Attacks on Advocacy and Accountability

This is not justice. Greenpeace will appeal, and they need all of us to mobilize in a massive international movement in support of their efforts to expose this sham trial.

April 3, 2025

5,008 views

4 min read

Indigenous Leader Shot While Hunting as Violence Escalates in Shipibo Territory

The Shipibo community of Flor de Ucayali continues to face death threats and land invasions from drug traffickers

This attack is yet another example of the growing violence against Indigenous communities as criminal economies expand across the Amazon.

May 5, 2025

4,509 views

2 min read

The Wisdom That Panduro, the Indigenous Governor Assassinated by the Army, Took With Him

Three years after the army perpetrated the Alto Remanso massacre, in which several civilians were killed, a community that almost disappeared is trying to recover from the absence of the leader who healed them and taught them their language

Voragine | Pablo Panduro was killed on March 28, 2022 during an army operation in which 11 people were killed, and which was carried out against the Border Command, a FARC dissident group that controls most of Putumayo.

April 8, 2025

2,480 views

15 min read

Survivors of Alto Remanso Massacre in Colombia Commemorate Their Dead, Despite Their Exile

This past Friday, in Bajo Putumayo, another anniversary was held to remember the military operation that killed at least eight civilians. At the time, authorities tried to pass the victims off as guerrillas killed in combat

El País | On March 28, 2022, the Military Forces of Colombia carried out an operation by air, water and land. Eleven people died, four were wounded and around 350 were displaced.

April 2, 2025

3,717 views

9 min read

Kakataibo Indigenous Leaders Mobilize Against Coca Growers Amid Rising Violence and “Disappearances”

"Kakataibo organizations have intensified their territorial control and protection operations. This included seizures of illegal timber, destruction of clandestine laboratories, burning of coca fields, control of roads, community patrols, and reconnaissance overflights."

July 12, 2024

4,312 views

4 min read

Recent Reports

Drilling Toward Disaster

Amazon Crude and Ecuador’s Oil Gamble

The Amazon is rapidly becoming a new frontier for oil production. This coincides with the Amazon biome reaching an existential tipping point. Amazon crude from Ecuador is a major contributor to this dangerous cycle.

June 2025

5,858 views

2 min read

In the Shadows of the State

Illicit Economies and Armed Control in the Triple Border Region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

This report calls for a regional strategy centered on environmental protection, state-building, and community governance.

August 2025

6,680 views

1 min read

Drug Trafficking in Indigenous Territories of the Peruvian Amazon

Routes, Impacts, and Failed Policies

In Peru, drug trafficking is one of the main threats to the Amazon and Indigenous peoples. This report presents concrete proposals to reposition Indigenous peoples not only as victims, but as political actors who can help shape solutions.

May 2025

5,532 views

1 min read

More News on Indigenous Rights, the Amazon, and Our Global Climate Crisis

Global Outcry and Indigenous Opposition Challenge Ecuador’s Amazon Oil Agenda

“Ecuador’s new oil auction is a direct threat to our territories. After 60 years of extraction, we’ve seen only death and destruction, not development.”

September 25, 2025

6,177 views

3 min read

From Inferno to Uncertainty: Amazon Fires in 2025 and the Urgency of Indigenous Rights

Scientific research confirms that Indigenous-managed lands are the most effective barriers against deforestation and fire. Where Indigenous rights are secured and enforced, forests thrive – and so does our global climate.

September 16, 2025

7,566 views

3 min read

Interview With Chief Raoni: “Congressmen Only Think About Destruction, Not About Future Generations”

Indigenous leader says he is skeptical about the practical effects of COP30 and laments that, under the Lula administration, projects such as Marco Temporal and the Destruction Bill are moving forward

O Globo | On the eve of COP30, Raoni is also skeptical about the environmental meeting to be held in Belém.

September 11, 2025

6,213 views

5 min read

Defending the Defenders: Indigenous Peoples vs. Organized Crime in the Amazon

Organized crime is not just a threat to public safety. It is now one of the main drivers of Amazon deforestation and Indigenous displacement.

September 4, 2025

8,446 views

5 min read

California Lawmakers Seek to Curb Oil Imports from Amazon

Associated Press | “Consuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California is sending a powerful market signal by examining its crude footprint and role in Amazon destruction.”

August 27, 2025

4,452 views

2 min read

Indigenous Groups Demand Action from South American Leaders at Amazon Summit

Associated Press | “There is no solution to any of the threats the Amazon is facing without its communities.”

August 19, 2025

4,408 views

2 min read

When Criminals Rule the Amazon Jungle and Time Runs Out

The crisis of public security, environmental crime, and human rights must be on the agenda of the Summit of Amazonian Countries

El País | Without coordinated action and meaningful inclusion of local voices, the region faces escalating violence and irreversible damage to one of the world’s most critical ecosystems.

August 19, 2025

4,413 views

4 min read

A Historic Alliance for the Amazon: Indigenous Nations Reject Binational Oil Agreement

“This deal has no consent, no legitimacy, and will face legal and social resistance every step of the way.”

This united front builds on a track record of resistance: in more than 25 years, no new oil well has been drilled in Ecuador’s southeastern Amazon.

August 19, 2025

5,940 views

4 min read

Brazil’s Partial Veto of the “Devastation Bill” Is a People-Powered Win, but the Fight Isn’t Over

A partial veto protects key environmental safeguards, but dangerous loopholes still put the Amazon at risk

With COP30 in Belém just months away, Brazil had a chance to send the world a bold message about its commitment to climate justice. Instead, it delivered a mixed one.

August 12, 2025

7,042 views

3 min read

In Ecuador, Environmentalists Worry Noboa Is Unwinding Nation’s Green Reputation

Associated Press | “We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,"

August 4, 2025

4,094 views

4 min read

Lula, the World Is Watching: Veto the Devastation Bill Now!

International pressure grows in support of Brazil's civil society's call

“Our future will be condemned if President Lula doesn’t veto the Devastation Bill.”

July 31, 2025

9,291 views

2 min read

You Can’t Kill a River

Why the Volta Grande still lives – and how the peoples of the Xingu continue to oppose mining company Belo Sun

In the Volta Grande do Xingu, the river still runs. Even with turbines and licenses strangling it, the Xingu endures because the peoples who protect it refuse to disappear.

July 24, 2025

6,366 views

3 min read

The Achuar Reject Petroperú’s Oil Expansion – Yet Again

Amid mounting debt and political pressure, Petroperú scrambles to revive Block 64, but Indigenous nations expose sham consultations and defend their territories from fossil fuel expansion

“These informal meetings and all publicity surrounding them have no validity as a mechanism for Indigenous peoples' participation. The truth cannot be hidden."

July 22, 2025

1,377 views

2 min read

Soy Dictates the Path: How Ferrogrão is Reshaping Life in the Amazon

Folha de S.Paulo | "Soy farming will increase a lot. When it rains, the pesticides flow into the river. We have no wells to rely on. There’s nowhere to run, and all our children get sick."

July 19, 2025

6,173 views

5 min read

Indigenous Wampis Are Ambushed in Peru After Government Backs Out of Anti-mining Joint Patrol

Associated Press | Indigenous leaders say the incident highlights the growing risks faced by land defenders and the government’s failure to uphold its promises.

July 16, 2025

3,911 views

2 min read

Amazon Crime Crisis: U.N. Backs Indigenous Demands

U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: governments and UNODC must include Indigenous Peoples in anti-crime and environmental policies

Amazonian Indigenous leaders delivered a clear and urgent message: organized crime and illegal economies are devastating the Amazon and threatening the survival of Indigenous Peoples.

July 1, 2025

6,641 views

5 min read

Connecting Frontline Struggles and Fenceline Communities of California’s Oil Addiction

Delegation of Amazonian Indigenous leaders to California builds solidarity and accountability over the state's consumption of Amazon crude

“California is complicit in violating our rights by continuing to consume crude that our courts and voters have said must stay in the ground."

June 26, 2025

4,201 views

5 min read

California Is to Examine Its Amazon Oil Ties Following Pleas from Indigenous Leaders from Ecuador

Associated Press | “Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting – in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same.”

June 19, 2025

3,837 views

4 min read

Mura People Rise Against Mining Invasion in Brazil

A powerful new alliance emerges to confront extractivism on Indigenous lands

“What happened at this large meeting was not just a gathering of the Mura most directly affected by the Brazil Potash project. Rather, the significance of this event lies in the fact that this struggle has become, first and foremost, the struggle of all Indigenous peoples.”

June 10, 2025

4,662 views

6 min read

Chevron’s Toxic Empire on Trial

Gross polluter and corporate criminal slammed at 2025 AGM as global protests mount

“Chevron came in, extracted oil, poisoned the land and water, and then walked away."

May 29, 2025

3,649 views

4 min read

The Amazon vs. Big Oil: Why Petroperú’s Latest Defeat Matters Globally

This Indigenous-led victory to keep 55 million barrels of crude in the ground in Peru's Amazon is a blueprint for resisting oil expansion worldwide

"Petroperú’s decision to cancel the tender for Block 64 is a great relief. However, we remain vigilant, knowing that it will likely continue seeking investors to exploit this block."

May 20, 2025

5,229 views

3 min read

Indigenous Peoples Denounce Criminal Expansion in the Amazon at the U.N. and Call for Global Action

“The Permanent Forum must formally recognize that organized crime and illegal economies such as drug trafficking and illegal mining are an existential threat to our peoples."

May 6, 2025

4,407 views

4 min read

Growth from the Grassroots: Brazil’s 21st Indigenous Free Land Camp

Indigenous people and community organizers from across Brazil and the world gathered in the country’s capital, Brasília, to consolidate demands ahead of COP30

“How are we going to eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030 with a project that demands more deforestation, legal or not? It's not possible to talk about being a leader against climate change with a project to destroy the Amazon."

April 25, 2025

6,126 views

3 min read

2023-2024 Amazon Defenders Fund Report

Stories of Solidarity

The Amazon Defenders Fund (ADF) is an activist-led solidarity fund built upon Amazon Watch’s multi-decade track record as a trusted partner to Indigenous nations and local organizations.

April 2025

5,311 views

2 min read

See All: News Articles | Reports | Blog Posts | Campaign Updates | Press Releases

Powerful grassroots mobilization in Brazil points the way to the future we need

Mining Out of the Amazon

Court exposes Belo Sun’s attempt to silence critics of its gold mine project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest

An infusion of new financing and lax regulation has rekindled the company’s aggressive efforts to greenlight its disastrous open-pit gold mine

Brazilian judge annuls Belo Sun's land rights contract, delivering a major blow to the company's plans to build Brazil's largest open-pit gold mine

End Amazon Crude

Peru’s state-run oil company failed to attract any bids to develop an oil field that overlaps ancestral territories of several Indigenous groups

Indigenous Earth Defenders Under Threat

The Shipibo community of Flor de Ucayali continues to face death threats and land invasions from drug traffickers

Three years after the army perpetrated the Alto Remanso massacre, in which several civilians were killed, a community that almost disappeared is trying to recover from the absence of the leader who healed them and taught them their language

This past Friday, in Bajo Putumayo, another anniversary was held to remember the military operation that killed at least eight civilians. At the time, authorities tried to pass the victims off as guerrillas killed in combat

Recent Reports

Amazon Crude and Ecuador’s Oil Gamble

Illicit Economies and Armed Control in the Triple Border Region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

Routes, Impacts, and Failed Policies

More News on Indigenous Rights, the Amazon, and Our Global Climate Crisis

Indigenous leader says he is skeptical about the practical effects of COP30 and laments that, under the Lula administration, projects such as Marco Temporal and the Destruction Bill are moving forward

The crisis of public security, environmental crime, and human rights must be on the agenda of the Summit of Amazonian Countries

“This deal has no consent, no legitimacy, and will face legal and social resistance every step of the way.”

A partial veto protects key environmental safeguards, but dangerous loopholes still put the Amazon at risk

International pressure grows in support of Brazil's civil society's call

Why the Volta Grande still lives – and how the peoples of the Xingu continue to oppose mining company Belo Sun

Amid mounting debt and political pressure, Petroperú scrambles to revive Block 64, but Indigenous nations expose sham consultations and defend their territories from fossil fuel expansion

U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: governments and UNODC must include Indigenous Peoples in anti-crime and environmental policies

Delegation of Amazonian Indigenous leaders to California builds solidarity and accountability over the state's consumption of Amazon crude

A powerful new alliance emerges to confront extractivism on Indigenous lands

Gross polluter and corporate criminal slammed at 2025 AGM as global protests mount

This Indigenous-led victory to keep 55 million barrels of crude in the ground in Peru's Amazon is a blueprint for resisting oil expansion worldwide

Indigenous people and community organizers from across Brazil and the world gathered in the country’s capital, Brasília, to consolidate demands ahead of COP30

Stories of Solidarity

"Your reports helped our foundation divest from companies whose practices destroy the Amazon rainforest. We're honored to support your work. Thank you for showing us a better way."

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