IPS | Washington, DC – Indigenous leaders are warning of increased violence in the fight to save their dwindling forests and ecosystems from extractive companies.
All: 2014
"There Are Many Chico Mendes Around the World"
Franco Viteri, indigenous leader from the Ecuadorian Amazon, remembers hearing about the death of Chico Mendes. The lasting impression of Chico's example inspired Franco to participate in the Chico Vive! conference.
Search for Inca "Lost City" in Amazon May Endanger Indigenous People
A six-week expedition starting in July will try to find Paititi in the Megantoni National Sanctuary in south-east Peru
The Guardian | A French writer and adventurer plans to explore one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon in search of a "lost" or "secret city" that may have been built by the Incas, but there are fears that the expedition could endanger the health of isolated tribes that have never been exposed to common human diseases.
They Razed Paradise and Put up a Soybean Lot
Brazil's agro powers are excited to be edging closer to soy giant the United States. But environmentalists say there's another reason to be very afraid for the rain forest.
Global Post | "What causes deforestation? In Brazil, the major cause is still agribusiness," said Leila Salazar-Lopez, program director at Amazon Watch. "With the news of deforestation increasing in Brazil, with the Forest Code being revamped, with the 'ruralistas' and agribusiness really having control of Congress and creating an assault on the environment and...
River Activists Visit Amazon Villages
Two Rivers Tribune | The Brazil trip was a political statement of unity that would link the South American villagers with there own efforts to remove four dams from the Klamath River.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Are Brazil's Dams to Blame for Record Floods in Bolivia?
NACLA | In recent months, Bolivia's Amazonian region has experienced the most disastrous flooding of the past 100 years. In the past weeks, attention has focused on the role played by two recently-inaugurated Brazilian mega-dams – the Jirau and the San Antonio – in Bolivia's floods.
Brazilian Judicial Abuses Questioned on Anniversary of Military Coup
Human rights commission hears case questioning state use of dictatorship-era legal device
Washington, DC – Marking the 50th anniversary of Brazil's military coup, Brazilian community representatives and their legal advocates questioned President Dilma Rousseff's administration last week at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over its flagrant use of a legal mechanism that dates to the country's dictatorship.
¡Yasuní Depende de Ti!
Celebrities rise in solidarity with Ecuadorians to defend the Amazon
“The future is in your hands,” said Oscar award winning actor Jared Leto, urging Ecuadorian voters to sign for an oil-free Yasuní. Watch a new video released today featuring celebrity supporters in solidarity with Ecuadorians to defend Yasuní National Park from oil drilling.
New Celebrity PSA Urges Ecuadorians to Defend the Amazon
A global call to keep oil in the ground in Yasuni National Park
Los Angeles, CA – Amazon Watch and Yasunidos, a campaign comprised of a collective of Ecuadorian and international environmental organizations and advocates, released a new PSA featuring celebrity supporters rising in solidarity with Ecuadorians to defend the controversial Yasuní National Park from oil drilling.
COP Out? Peru Pulling the Plug on Environmental Oversight
Alianza Arkana Blog | Peru was selected to host COP 20, and yet its Minister of Energy and Mines announced a new law that would potentially eliminate submission and approval of Environmental Impact Assessments for oil and gas companies.
"Without Clean Water, We Cannot Survive"
ClearWater: Building a movement for clean water & cultural survival
In just two years, ClearWater has installed more than 500 family-sized rainwater systems that serve thousands of people in communities who have long suffered an epidemic of cancer, birth defects, and other illnesses.
Don't Buy Chevron's Big Lie!
Ironically, the grave danger from Chevron's farcical RICO ruling is not to the Ecuadorians seeking justice. The real danger is the precedent this sets for our work to hold Chevron and other U.S. corporations accountable.
Ending the Flood of Megadams
Wall Street Journal | Actual construction costs of large dams are globally on average 96% higher than their budgets, and the magnitude of cost overruns hasn't declined. There is also the negative impact on human society and the environment such as flooding, as well as erosion, landslides and loss of fish populations. Then there are cost overruns and debt servicing.
China's Presence Grows in Ecuador
New report analyzes threats to Ecuador’s sovereignty and rainforest
Oakland, California – A new report released today highlights China's growing influence in Ecuador and what it means for Ecuador's sovereignty, indigenous peoples and the fate of the Amazon rainforest.
In the Chevron Court Case, Ordinary Ecuadorians' Voices Don't Seem to Count
Chevron is reluctant to give ground to the people affected by the dumping of toxic waste. But they're not going to stop fighting for compensation.
The Guardian | The Chevron case is something of a parable in two ways: first, it is a lesson about the incandescent response of multinational corporations to any questioning of them; second, it's a reminder how little the voices of campesinos (peasant farmers) and indigenous people in Latin America seem to count in the eyes of the companies that want to make use...
Peru's Amazon at Risk: "21st Century Oil Firms with 18th Century Laws?"
The Huffington Post | 'We think that there is pressure from the private sector and the authorities within the energy sector to facilitate investment, weakening the environmental legal framework and undermining social and environmental standards,' says Cesar Gamboa, a lawyer from NGO DAR.
Beijing, Banks and Barrels: China and Oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon
China's economy and its global influence are growing at a rapid rate. Nowhere is that growing influence clearer than in Ecuador, a country that Beijing has lent nearly $9 billion and has promised $7 billion more in financing.
Megadams Are Dismal Investments
Bloomberg | Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has publicly defended Belo Monte against attacks from environmentalists and indigenous groups, calling it a "social investment" that will improve the lives of those in the Amazon. Yet a study published this month suggests that the government-run companies footing most of the bill for Belo Monte may never recoup...
Brazilian Indigenous Leader Slams Amazon Mega-Dams
Survival International | Indian leader Megaron Kayapó said, "Which rivers will we have for fishing? The Xingu is our river, our supermarket… We live by hunting, fishing, and planting… We have always been against it (Belo Monte), and we will always be against it".
Coalition Opposing Ecuador Oil Block Development Seeks Referendum
Over 500,000 Signatures Collected to Request National Referendum
Wall Street Journal | Quito, Ecuador – A coalition opposing the development of Ecuador's sensitive Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini oil block has collected more than 500,000 signatures to request the government's electoral agency hold a national referendum to decide on the future of the oil. Opponents of the development need to collect about 600,000 signatures before...
From Floods to Drought, Brazil's Energy Sector Faces a Catastrophic Year
Einstein once said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." It is evident that the Brazilian government dismisses such wisdom.
Indigenous Leader Condemns Brazil's Rights Abuses at United Nations
Speakers highlight violations stemming from Amazon dams at Human Rights Council
Geneva, Switzerland – In a groundbreaking event at the 25th United Nations Human Rights Council, the national coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara exposed an alarming disregard for indigenous peoples' rights by the Brazilian government as it rushes to promote an unprecedented wave of large dam...
Profiles: Sônia Guajajara, A Powerful Voice for Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples
Meet Sônia Bone Guajajara, the national coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples and tireless spokeswoman for the country's indigenous movement. This week she brings this struggle to a growing European public.
Peru to "Eliminate" Key Environmental Rule for Oil and Gas Firms, Says Minister
Announcement that seismic tests won’t need Environmental Impact Assessments sparks controversy and concern
The Guardian | "[One] agreement is to eliminate environmental impact assessments for seismic operations. The [oil and gas] industry has its laws, the industry has principles, it has well-established practices, and the idea is to move away from procedures and permissions to action. The companies know what they have to do."
Indigenous Leader Denounces Peru's Camisea Gas Project Expansion
Huffington Post | "We - the heads - we haven't approved anything regarding expansion in Lot 88. They say the study has already been approved. So we ask ourselves: who authorized it? No public meeting has been held, nor one workshop, about it."
Was Brazil's Belo Monte Dam a Bad Idea?
Forbes | The world's third largest hydroelectric dam is currently being built in the Amazon of Brazil. For the government, the Belo Monte dam is a necessity. For roughly 20,000 people living in the Altamira region of Para where the dam is being constructed in the jungles of northern Brazil, it is the end of life as they knew it.
Amazonas: Guardians of Life
"We are struggling for Yasuni because it is our home. Correa wouldn't like it if oil companies went to his home and tore it down like they come and cut trees and build roads in our rainforest homes," said Alicia Cahuilla, a courageous Waorani warrior from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Team Klamazon Returns: Klamath River Indigenous Youth and River Activists Bring a Message from the Amazon
After eleven productive days in Brazil, the group of seven, calling themselves "Team Klamazon" returned to California with an in-depth understanding of the potential impact of Brazil's plans to develop the Amazon, and in particularly the Belo Monte Dam project.
In Pictures: "Klamazon" Brings Unity and Hope
A recent delegation led by Amazon Watch unites indigenous youth from the Klamath and Xingu rivers
My journey over the past four years in this fight against the Belo Monte dam has been intense, but accompanying the Klamath delegation to the Xingu brought hope not only to the local populations of the Xingu, but also to myself!
