News & Multimedia from 2008

Peru Tribe Battles Oil Giant Over Pollution

Loreto, Peru – It is a familiar story. Big business moves into a pristine wilderness and starts destroying the environment and by turn the livelihoods of the Indigenous people who live there.

What They Don't Say About The Camisea Contracts

They don’t say that the current Camisea contract, which is being questioned, is NOT the original contract that was signed by the Carlos Herrera Descalzi, when he was Minister.

They don’t say that the original contract, signed during the Transitional Government by Herrara Descalzi, YES protected all Peruvians by assuring the internal demand for gas for 20 years, renewable.

They don’t say that the original c

Chevron Accused of “Unethical Attacks” On Court-Appointed Special Master in Ecuador Environmental Trial

Quito, Ecuador – Representatives of thousands of Ecuadorians suing Chevron are charging the oil giant with “engaging in a pattern of extrajudicial attacks” on a court-appointed special master who is preparing a damages assessment against the company in a historic multi-billion dollar environmental trial in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest.

Chevron’s alleged behavior includes personal harassment and an ad hominem

Indígenas denuncian derrame petrolero Comunidades demandan a Pluspetrol ante Osinerming. Incidente ocurrió el 31 de diciembre en el Lote 1AB (Loreto). Pluspetrol dará hoy sus descargos.

La empresa argentina Pluspetrol, responsable de explotar los lotes petroleros 1AB y 8, enfrenta una nueva denuncia por derrames de hidrocarburos en la cuenca del río Corrientes, departamento de Loreto.

La denuncia fue presentada el 31 de enero del 2008 ante la Unidad de Exploración y Explotación del Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión Privada en Energía y Minería (Osinerming) por la Federación de Comunidades N

Se Incrementaría Fondo de Defensa con Regalías del Lote 57 de Camisea La Célula Parlamentaria de Unidad Nacional Planteó Destinar el 50% de Estas Regalías para Realizar Este Aumento

(Andina)- El Grupo Parlamentario de Unidad Nacional planteó incrementar el Fondo de Defensa Nacional destinando para él el 50% de las regalías que perciba el gobierno por la explotación del lote 57 de Camisea a partir del presente año.

La propuesta se presentó a través de un proyecto de ley presentado ante la Comisión de Defensa del Parlamento y que en estos momentos es analizado en este grupo parlamentario y

Peruvian Amazonian Leader Tells Bidders Indigenous Peoples Will Oppose Drilling on their Lands Oil Executives Applaud Surprise Speech at Houston Concession Expo

Interviews, photos and B-Roll footage from Amazon available on request.

Houston – Oil company executives considering bidding for controversial concessions in the Peruvian Amazon today applauded an Indigenous leader who had traveled from the rainforest to warn them not to enter community land.

Robert Guimaraes, Vice-President of AIDESEP, Peru’s national federation of native Amazonians, told the 200 assembled

Denuncian Venta de Concesiones de Petróleo de Reservas Indígenas Robert Guimaraes, vicepresidente de la AIDESEP, manifestó en un comunicado que, además del gobierno, también exigirá explicaciones a Petroperú

Washington (EFE)- Líderes indígenas de la amazonía peruana denunciaron que el Gobierno peruano ha vendido concesiones de petróleo de las reservas indígenas, informó hoy la Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP).

ENVIRONMENT-PERU: "For Sale" Signs in Amazon Jungle

LIMA, Feb 5 (IPS) - The Peruvian Congress plans this week to debate a draft law pushed by the government that would authorise the sale of vast tracts of deforested, uncultivated land in the Amazon jungle to private companies that invest in "reforestation" efforts.

But critics say there is no land registry showing which natural areas could be sold off without hurting the region’s rich biodiversity or affecting local

For Peru's Indians, Lawsuit Against Big Oil Reflects a New Era Outsiders and High-Tech Tools Help Document Firms' Impact

NUEVO JERUSALEM, Peru — Tomás Maynas Carijano strolled through his tiny jungle farm, pinching leaves, shaking his head. The rain forest spread lushly in all directions — covering what oil maps call Block 1AB.

"Like the trunk of that papaya, the cassava and bananas are also dying," said the spiritual leader of this remote Achuar Indian settlement in Peru's northern Amazon region.

City of Berkeley Votes to Boycott Chevron Resolution Cites Controversial Human Rights Record and “Severe Ecological Destruction” in Amazon Rainforest

San Francisco – Berkeley City Council is to boycott Chevron products and services, citing the San Ramon-based oil major's controversial global environmental and human rights record.

The authority adopted a resolution on January 29, mandating that it "cease all purchases from Chevron" as a result of the corporation’s record of ecological destruction and involvement in human rights abuses in Angola, Burma, Ecuador a