IPS | When the advances made towards curbing global warming are analysed in the first 12 days of December in Lima, during the 20th climate conference, Latin America will present some achievements, as well as the many challenges it faces in "decarbonising development".
All: 2014
Kicking the Habit: US and China Must Drop Fossil Fuel Addiction
On Tuesday night the world's two biggest polluters – the US and China – announced a surprisingly ambitious climate deal. We should take a moment to celebrate this interim victory while realizing that it does not go nearly far enough in addressing climate change. Now it is our collective, global responsibility to ensure that both...
Indigenous Voices on Climate Change
Mayalú Txucarramãe brings perspective from the Amazon to climate leaders, Al Gore in Brazil
"I worry for my children, for all our children and the future generations. Despite our fight to keep the earth in balance, to protect our territory and our tradition, the Amazon is in danger." Mayalú Kokometi Waura Txucarramãe addressed a diverse group of climate leaders, international experts, government officials and media at the Climate Reality...
Brazilian Indians Marking Lands Themselves Due to Government’s Delay
EFE | The Munduruku Indians have begun marking their ancestral lands in the Amazon region on their own, tired of waiting for the Brazilian government to get around to protecting the territory, indigenous sources said Thursday.
Brazilian Judge Sides with Tribe over Land Threatened by Dams
Environment News Service | In a struggle between a Brazilian indigenous tribe and the federal government over two dams that would flood lands claimed by the tribe, a federal judge has ruled that the government must immediately publish its report delineating the tribe's territory that has been withheld for more than a year.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Brazil Pushes Amazon to the "Brink of the Abyss" Scientists Warn
Destruction of the Amazon rainforest has reached epic proportions under the leadership of Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff, who is celebrating her re-election this week. A new report warns that the ecosystem may be reaching a tipping point of no return.
Digital Journal | A report from Brazil's Earth System Science Centre that draws on over 200 climate studies on the Amazon warns that the world's most important ecosystem is degrading to the point where it will not be able to draw enough moisture in to create the rain necessary to sustain it, the Guardian reported.
Defying Brazilian Government, Indigenous Group Proceeds with Demarcation of Amazonian Territory
Munduruku people "auto-demarcate" lands threatened by Tapajós River mega-dams
Rio de Janeiro – In response to the Dilma Rousseff government's failure to recognize indigenous rights to lands scheduled for flooding by two mega-dam projects, the Munduruku people have taken the extraordinary measure to demarcate their own territory.
Guardians of Life: The Indigenous Women Fighting Oil Exploitation in the Amazon
Washington Post | Felipe Jacome's set of photos Amazon: Guardians of Life documents the struggles of indigenous women defending the Ecuadoran Amazon through portraits combined with the powerful written testimonies.
The March to Paris Goes Through Rio
The Climate Reality Project | Brazil still faces a number of obstacles to scaling a decentralized model for solar, most notably taxes and the lack of incentives for residential solar users to sell electricity back to the grid. But the country's history of innovation in the energy market proves these obstacles can be overcome.
Meet the Amazon Tribespeople Who Beat Chevron in Court – But Are Still Fighting for Clean Water
With the judgment in their favor tied up in a New York courtroom, indigenous residents of Ecuador's oil-polluted rainforest are going back to basics
TakePart | "It fills me with rage to see what the oil companies have done to my people," says ClearWater coordinator Nemonte Nenquimo. "We are not supposed to be controlled by an oil company. Waorani are meant to lively freely."
The Amazon Has Started to Malfunction, Brazilian Scientist Says
Folha de S. Paulo | Twenty percent of the Amazon is deforested and another 20% is degraded. The Amazon rainforest has begun to fail its role in regulating the climate in South America, according to biochemist Antonio Nobre, of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.
Why the Result of Brazil's Elections Could Be Bad News For the Climate
ThinkProgress | Rousseff is coupling her strategy of hydropower expansion in the Amazon with a heavier reliance on fossil fuels. Projects like Belo Monte are typical of Rousseff’s development strategy. Many other large scale infrastructure projects of high environmental impact and dubious utility are in the works, such as the diversion of the Sao Francisco River...
A Rising North for the Amazon
Growing up in the Amazon, it didn't cross my mind that one day I would be sitting in a Chelsea apartment in New York City writing about the importance of organized civil society movements and demanding that governments take action towards the protection of the only planet that we have.
Donny Rico Gives Credit Where Credit Is Due: Judge Kaplan
Chevron's retaliatory RICO case against the Ecuadorians and their lawyers would not have come about were it not for the generous suggestion of U.S. Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan. Chevron spent millions upon millions filing cases against the Ecuadorians everywhere other than Ecuador once the company saw the verdict was about to come down, but when...
U.S. Judge Kaplan Held Investments In Chevron When He Ruled for Company
Donziger Calls On Judge to Review Investments and Make Full Disclosure of All Ties to Oil Company
New York, NY – The U.S. federal judge who ruled in favor of Chevron in the company's campaign to block collection of its $9.5 billion environmental liability in Ecuador held investments in the oil company at the time of his decision, documents reveal.
Indigenous Groups Occupy Airport Near Amazon Oil Reserves
'Without a satisfactory response to the interests of the Amazon Indians, the measures [of force] will get more radical,' community leader Hugo Perez Petza said
Common Dreams | A large group of indigenous Peruvian community members took control of an airport in the Andoas region of the Amazon on Monday to protest Argentine energy company Pluspetrol, which they say is polluting the land and exploiting resources in the region to build their oil drilling operations.
Elections in Brazil: a Win for Rousseff, and China
Now that president Dilma Rousseff has won re-election, Chinese investment in Brazilian energy and agriculture looks set to keep booming
Chiina Dialogue | “China sees electricity from Brazil's Amazon dams as part of a supply chain delivering energy-intensive aluminum and steel directly from a region rich in these resources.”
New Power for Bad, Old Habits? Why Brazil Must Change Its Energy Path
Development Progress | There is an urgent need to, as another Brazilian energy expert has said, ‘open up and manage a debate on the country’s energy path’, including the future contribution of hydropower. A more open and transparent decision-making process with robust, independent review would increase the political legitimacy of decisions.
Sao Paulo Running Out of Water as Rain-Making Amazon Vanishes
South America's biggest and wealthiest city may run out of water by mid-November if it doesn't rain soon
Reuters | São Paulo, a Brazilian megacity of 20 million people, is suffering its worst drought in at least 80 years, with key reservoirs that supply the city dried up after an unusually dry year. One of the causes of the crisis may be more than 2,000 kilometers away, in the growing deforested areas in the Amazon region.
Land Rights for Peru's Amazon Key in Climate Fight
Natives must gain control of titles to stave off deforestation and reduce illegal logging, activists say
World Bulletin | Peru must grant further land titles to Amazonian tribes as a last resort to halting severe deforestation, the country's main indigenous group reiterated Thursday.
Rainforest Communities Seek Criminal Investigation of Chevron CEO Watson Before International Court
Quito, Ecuador – Rainforest communities in Ecuador today requested that an international court open a criminal investigation of Chevron CEO John Watson and other high-level officers of the company over their role in violating international humanitarian law by obstructing a court-mandated clean-up of toxic contamination in the Amazon, putting...
The Human Impact of the Belo Monte Dam Has Already Begun: Displacement and Despair in Altamira
Development Progress | Since the construction of the Belo Monte dam began, the city of Altamira has been in a state of "complete chaos in all social and public policy areas, especially health, public safety, and housing," says Antonia Melo, leader of the movement Xingu Alive Forever. "There has been rampant population growth as well as rises in drug abuse and child...
Hall of SHAME? We Have a Winner!
There are many corporations worthy of being condemned for their actions that harm people and the planet, but none more deserving than Chevron. This company has reveled in its role as corporate criminal on the run from a $9.5 billion verdict against it in Ecuador for the deliberate dumping of billions of gallons of toxic wastewater into the...
Amazon Deforestation Spikes 190 Percent After Long Reported Decline
ThinkProgress | Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is up 190 percent for the months of August and September compared to the same period last year according to the non-profit Imazon, which monitors deforestation via satellite imagery.
Brazil's Tapajós River Dam Complex: Lessons from the Failures of Belo Monte
Development Progress | Given the growing scrutiny of Brazil's dam-building boom, the Tapajós River is now a key battleground in the global debate on the true costs of our development model and its fate could determine the future of the Amazon region.
The World We Want and How To Get There
Join us at Bioneers this weekend!
We can hardly wait to dream, scheme and celebrate with you at Bioneers 25th Anniversary Summit Conference this weekend! Join us along with our allies in San Rafael, CA on October 17-19th as we discuss "The World We Want & How to Get There" and work to grow the movement for Mother Earth and future generations.
Amazon Watch's 9th Annual Luncheon
Thank you to all who joined Amazon Watch at our 9th Annual Luncheon in San Francisco yesterday – we were absolutely blown away by a packed house and all your support, ideas, inspiration and love. The event was a huge success thanks to the hundreds of friends who came to join us in person and or live online. What an incredible community we've...
Just Two Clicks So Yasunidos Can Win €100,000 to Protect the Heart of the Amazon!
Yasunidos, the Ecuadorian youth collective that launched a movement to preserve the most biodiverse place on earth, has been nominated for the Human Rights Tulip Award. Friday, October 10th is the last day to vote!
Amazon in Focus 2014
Plus Our Annual Financial Report for 2013
We stand at a critical moment in history. Amazon Watch is facing this challenge with great resolve and creativity. We are a powerful community and without you and your support, none of our work would be possible.
