Altamira, Brazil – In response to a civil lawsuit filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's office in the state of Pará, a federal judge has ordered the immediate suspension of environmental licensing for a massive gold mining project proposed by Canadian-based Belo Sun Mining along the Big Bend of the Xingu River.
All: 2013
Patricia Gualinga: Warrior for the Amazon
For years, Kichwa leader Patricia Gualinga has been on the front lines of Sarayaku's struggle, a key protagonist in their recent historic victory and an incredible leader of a rapidly-growing movement of women defending the Amazon.
"Welcome to America – Now Give Us Your Property or You're under Arrest!"
Donald Moncayo is no stranger to the foul smell and noxious contamination in Ecuador, but that wasn't enough to prepare him for the despicable treatment he would receive in a US federal court.
Brazil's Belo Monte Dam Faces Renewed Protest in Europe
Street protests in Paris follow lively debate in European Parliament in Brussels
Paris, France – Brazil's polemic Belo Monte dam faced fresh protests in Europe this week marked by a Brussels conference where EU Green Party Parliamentarians and diverse dam opponents sparred with leading Brazilian government officials. Protest activities then shifted to Paris where today's street demonstrations and public events led by...
Brazilian Activists Bring Their Fire to Europe, Condemning Belo Monte
This week the global polemic surrounding Brazil's Belo Monte dam returns to Europe with a high-profile conference in the European Parliament in Brussels followed by major protests and public events in Paris.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Through the Looking Glass in Chevron's Kangaroo Court
Try to imagine an Ecuadorian oil company submerging Alabama in toxic wastewater and then when the people of Alabama successfully sued the company to pay for a cleanup, a random judge in Ecuador declares the verdict invalid.
Ecuadorian Court Upholds $9 Billion Judgment Against Chevron
Meanwhile NY judge and Chevron team up to intimidate witnesses and lawyers in desperate retaliatory lawsuit
Quito, Ecuador – In a major setback for Chevron, the Ecuadorian National Court issued its long-awaited decision in favor of a $9 billion pollution judgment against Chevron upholding and affirming lower court rulings. The court's decision is final.
Chevron Ordered to Pay Ecuador $9.51 Billion on Appeal
AFP | Quito, Ecuador – An Ecuadoran court upheld a ruling that US oil giant Chevron was liable for environmental damage in its Amazon basin region by sister company Texaco, but ordered it to pay a reduced $9.51 billion.
The Last of Eden
Vanity Fair | On one of the last islands of intact rain forest in Brazil’s eastern Amazon, the Awá Indians face the seemingly inexorable eradication of their home. Even the legal victory that deeded them the land hasn’t stopped the ruthless felling of trees by forces they can’t even comprehend.
Stunning Aerial Photos Reveal Ecuador Building Roads Deeper into Yasuní Rainforest
Petroamazonas appears to be building destructive access roads deeper into Yasuní National Park
Mongabay.com | Photographers Ivan Kashinsky and Karla Gachet were on assignment in Yasuní National Park, home to arguably the most biodiverse rainforest in the world. While there, they happened to take an aerial shoot above a controversial oil concession located in the heart of the park at the precise moment that the national oil company was secretly building a...
How Responsible is Business for Social Responsibility?
This week BSR severely tarnished its image by inviting Brazilian mining company Vale to present on a panel entitled, "Voices of Rights Holders in the Extractives Industry." This is like inviting the CIA to a panel on the rights of torture victims.
Death in the Amazon
The Economist | The massacre is blamed on pressure mounting on hidden peoples, who appear to have formed four distinct groups in the greater area of the Yasuní National Park, the northern half and western flanks of which have been open to oil production. The populist administration of president Rafael Correa, short of cash, wants to open the whole of the...
It's Green Festival Time! Join Amazon Watch this Weekend
Amazon Watch is honored to be an NGO partner of the Green Festival in San Francisco this weekend, November 9-10. We invite you to spend the weekend with us for FREE.
Indigenous Leaders Say: Consultation Is Not "Nonsense"
Last week a delegation of indigenous leaders traveled from the Ecuadorian Amazon to the IACHR in Washington, DC to help advise the Ecuadorian government on consultation with indigenous peoples.
You Get What You Pay for (Perjury, in This Case)
Having virtually all the money in the world often means you can buy silence, time, and lies. This time Chevron has bought a bag of lies from a thoroughly disreputable source, and they aren't able to hide the price tag.
Servio Curipoma: Holding Chevron Accountable
After losing both his parents and a sister to cancer, Servio Curipoma has become a relentless voice for his community, demanding that Chevron take responsibility for the contamination that wreaked havoc on his family.
Update! Belo Monte Dam Construction Suspended Again
Last week a Federal Regional Court suspended the installation license and ruled that BNDES should not transfer further resources to Norte Energia until 40 conditions are met.
Calamity Calling: What If We Lost the Amazon?
GlobalPost | The Amazon rainforest is best known for its vibrant wildlife and endless canopy. But it also plays a key role in the world's climate. But the world's largest rainforest is now in trouble.
Brazilian Court Blocks Controversial Dam
Latin American Herald Tribune | Sao Paulo, Brazil – Brazil's first regional federal court suspended the environmental permit for the massive Belo Monte dam project in Amazonia and ordered an immediate halt to construction.
Canada’s Gran Tierra: Didn’t You Know Oil Doesn’t Mix with Water?
As Peru continues to expand oil activities in the Amazon, there's a new oil company with grand ambitions, Calgary-based Gran Tierra. Does Gran Tierra not understand the risks they are running? If so, they are in for a rude shock.
Amazonian Indigenous Women Mobilize for Life
"We've mobilized because we're worried about oil exploration plans, the 11th Round in particular, which affects all of the Amazon. We are here for our lives, yours, the entire world's lives and for those of our future generations."
Brazilian Federal Court Rules for Public Scrutiny over BNDES Loans
Unprecedented decision calls for transparency in use of taxpayer funds
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – A federal appeals court based in Rio de Janeiro has ruled that the Brazilian National Development Bank must publicly disclose technical reports used for justifying approval of major loans.
Brazil's Indigenous Tribes Are Being Hunted by Murderous Cattle Ranchers
Vice | As wife to the Chief of her Apy Ka'y community – one of the tribes of the Guarani people – Damiana's family was a prime target for gunmen hired by ranch owners who have taken over her ancestral land in Mato Grosso do Sul, western Brazil. She recently lost her husband and her three sons to "roadside collisions" that, for a short while...
Tapajos: Public Consultation? More of a PR Exercise
Latin America Bureau | At the outset, the public was told firmly that no spontaneous contributions from the floor would be accepted. Only written questions would be allowed, but no instructions were given on when or how to hand over questions. As far as I could see, no one from the back of the stadium submitted a question, which was not surprising given that many of the...
Corruption in Peru Aids Cutting of Rain Forest
The New York Times | In recent years, Peru has passed laws to crack down on illegal logging, as required by a 2007 free trade agreement with the United States. But large quantities of timber, including increasingly rare types like mahogany, continue to flow out, much of it ultimately heading to the United States for products like hardwood flooring and decking sold by...
Join Us at Bioneers This Weekend!
If you're going o the 24th Annual Bioneers Conference this weekend, be sure to catch up with Amazon Watch and our partners! We'll be speaking on the Main Stage, on panels, and we'll have a lively and informative booth outside.
Why Ecuador's President Is Misleading the World on Yasuni-ITT
Rafael Correa has moved to abolish an historic Amazon oil plan, but don't be fooled by what he claims
The Guardian | The decision by Ecuador's president Rafael Correa to abandon a plan to permanently forgo exploiting hundreds of millions of barrels of oil has sparked severe non-state media criticism in Ecuador, calls for a referendum, protests in numerous cities and embassies around the world, and an international outcry.
U.S. Trial Opens in Chevron’s Lawsuit Against Ecuadorian Pollution Victims
Democracy Now! | "Nearly every single person who has been named as a defendant in Chevrons retaliatory lawsuit has loved ones, has family members, who have died, who have contracted cancer, who have suffered from birth defects and other oil related illness due to Chevron’s contamination. This lawsuit essentially rubs salt in their wounds."
Chevron Fights Amazon Pollution Verdict in U.S. Court
"Every day, family members and loved ones are sickened because of the contamination."– Javier Piaguaje
IPS | Two years after they were awarded 18 billion dollars by an Ecuadorian court for environmental damage caused by Chevron in the Amazonian rainforest, a group of indigenous villagers and their U.S. lawyer went on trial Tuesday in New York, accused by the oil company of bribery and racketeering.
