BBC News | A group of Ecuadoreans says they will sue Chevron in Argentina to try to seize the oil company's assets there. They accuse Chevron of polluting land in the Amazon region for almost three decades. Last year, an Ecuadorean court ordered Chevron to pay $19 billion in damages. The plaintiffs have already filed similar suits in Canada and Brazil and...
Alianza Arkana Blog | Even as indigenous people struggle to cope with current levels of contamination and illness caused by years of oil production in the Amazon, the governments of Peru and Ecuador are preparing to sell off even more.
Wall Street Journal | Quito, Ecuador – Ecuador's Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, or Conaie, said Wednesday it is planning demonstrations against the planned 11th licensing round for oil exploration in the country's southeast.
San Francisco, CA – In a rare visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, 1996 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Marina Silva will introduce the Bay Area environmental community to her newly-launched center on sustainable development, Instituto Marina Silva, at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Goldman Prize and Amazon Watch.
After 35 days of protests and 11 days of occupation, the indigenous peoples and traditional groups occupying the Belo Monte construction site have left, with their heads held high. Most of them were heard for the very first time; and that fact alone was already a sign of victory.
The Guardian | Ecuadorean plaintiffs on Tuesday said an order issued by a court lets them seize $200 million worth of assets belonging to Chevron in a new legal blow to the US oil company.
Quito, Ecuador – Rainforest villagers from Ecuador scored their first significant collection victory against Chevron’s assets this week in their attempt to enforce the historic $19 billion judgment against the oil giant after it was found to have caused cancers and environmental damage to ancestral lands in the Amazon.
We are honored and excited to invite you to a series of events featuring leaders from the Kichwa community of Sarayaku, who have come to share news of their victory for indigenous self-determination against destructive development.
This special 15th year anniversary issue of Amazon in Focus celebrates the hard work and accomplishments of our team, our indigenous partners, and you – our growing network of supporters who now number more than 165,000 and span 137 countries.
With my heart racing and under a light rain, I climb up the Pimental cofferdam, together with the indigenous warriors who are writing their own history here. Within minutes the raised earthen dam bed is taken by people who have lived here much longer than we can imagine.
Indian Country Today | The Kichwa people of Sarayaku won two major victories this year: in April, for the first time in their history, the government acknowledged responsibility for illegally licensing an oil company to do business on indigenous territory without the community's consent; and in July the ICHR ruled that the government must consult with indigenous...
San Francisco, CA – Kichwa indigenous leaders from the Sarayaku community in the Ecuadorian Amazon will be in the Bay Area for a series of events from October 14-21.
Reuters | The US Supreme Court has denied a bid by Chevron to block an $18.2 billion judgment against the company in a pollution case in Ecuador, which residents won in February 2011 over pollution of the Amazon jungle and resulting damage to their health.
Altamira, Brazil – Yesterday some 120 indigenous demonstrators from the Xipaia, Kuruaia, Parakanã, Arara, Juruna and Assurini peoples united with a group of fishermen who have maintained a steadfast 24-day occupation of the Belo Monte dam's main work camp, paralyzing construction.
ConocoPhillips announced today that they are pulling out of Oil Bocks 123 and 129 in the Peruvian Amazon. The announcement comes just weeks after Talisman Energy announced their withdrawal from the country.
A flock of vultures have landed on the banks of the mighty Xingu River, and they've come to stay. International mining executives anxiously await the river's death to begin extracting the rich seams of gold that line its banks.
Amnesty International | "We weren't expecting this award – it came as a surprise. Being chosen from among hundreds of films is a great honour," said Sarayaku filmmaker Eriberto Gualinga, who received the award on behalf of his community in Washington DC.
While repo men have yet to descend upon the company's headquarters and start hauling out the furniture, one has to ask: Is the company really ready for a global game of cat and mouse? What were once major assets in 120 countries are now liabilities, hidden in plain sight.
Normally, when an executive makes a major mistake that threatens shareholder value and the financial health of the company, they get fired. But at Chevron if you make an $18 billion mistake, you get a promotion. What?
The Río Times | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – The Brazilian government is planning to build at least 23 new hydroelectric dams in the country's Amazon region, of which seven are set to be installed in the heart of the region, in previously untouched areas of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.
If Chevron is brazen and arrogant enough to deceive regulators in 2012, in the state with arguably the toughest environmental standards in the US, then imagine what it was doing in the remote Ecuadorian rainforest from 1964-1990.
A group of about 50 fishermen prevented a ferry from transporting machines and workers to a coffer dam being built for the Belo Monte Dam complex and set up a protest camp near the construction site.
Geneva, Switzerland – Today the Brazilian government swept aside concerns around its human rights record during its Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations contradicting its recent posture concerning the rights of Amazonian communities.
Chevron has never quite learned Lincoln's old adage, and after being found liable for the largest environmental judgment in history – $19 billion – it's fooling fewer and fewer people hardly any of the time these days.
"We have fought long and hard against Talisman's drilling in our territory because of the negative environmental and social impacts we have seen from oil drilling around the world," said Peas Peas Ayui, President of the National Achuar Federation.
Send an email now calling on Chief Justice Ayres Britto to respect the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu and to maintain the suspension of the Belo Monte Dam.
Canadian Business | Calgary, Canada – Talisman Energy Inc., which switched CEOs earlier this week, says it plans to wind down its operations in Peru as it was unable to big enough resource position there.
Reuters | Canada's Talisman Energy Inc is giving up its eight-year-long effort to produce oil in Peru, the company said on Thursday, as it continues to shed assets in a bid to boost its share price.
Calgary, Canada – Today Talisman Energy announced its decision to cease oil exploration activities in the Peruvian Amazon and to exit the country upon completion of ongoing commercial transactions. "Now that Talisman is leaving we can focus on achieving our own vision for development and leave a healthy territory for future generations,"...
