"I am but drop of water in the ocean, but together with many others we can shape the force of its waters and make change. This is what motivates my commitment to continue fighting, so that human rights, social-environmental justice, and that life be affirmed for present and future generations!"
Amazon Watch is in Toronto today to stand with the indigenous and campesino communities who have been the victims of Chevron's toxic waste for over five decades. We also denounce Chevron's abuse of the legal system to intimidate and harass its victims, as well as journalists, environmental and human rights organizations, and even concerned...
Given its recent impressive and successful record at resisting an onslaught of attacks, Brazil's National Indigenous Movement should inspire anyone resisting regressive governments around the world.
"At the end of the day resistance is an ethical struggle. It is a struggle we must take up. Resistance is a principle of justice, especially when we see that the people are suffering."
"Support of projects that result in rainforest destruction undermines China's efforts to position itself as a leader in the global fight against climate change."
Washington, DC – Peruvian authorities must take urgent steps to end land grabbing, deforestation, and political killings of indigenous leaders in the Ucayali region, thousands of individuals stated in international grassroots petitions published today.
While the threats to the Amazon and indigenous peoples seem daunting at times – with reports of increased deforestation due to industrial activity and lawlessness resulting in attacks against earth defenders – we cannot lose sight of hope and victories on the horizon.
Thank you to all our friends and supporters who joined us on September 27th, 2017 for our annual gala - Amplify! A celebration of voices from the Amazon.
The Amazon and its peoples are under threat from unsustainable mega-projects that, if built, will accelerate deforestation, displacement of indigenous peoples, and climate change. The next several years will be critical to advancing rainforest protection, indigenous rights, and solutions to climate change such as clean renewable energy.
"The Brazilian government has finally realized it's not acceptable to make decisions that affect the Amazon and its people without a broad and transparent public debate," but the battle is far from over.
The Brazilian government has revoked a controversial decree that would have opened up a vast reserve in the Amazon to commercial mining. One opposition senator said at the time that it was the "biggest attack on the Amazon in the last 50 years."
"These communities are true climate leaders" said Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director at Amazon Watch. "Lighting the way for our climate and our forests, these indigenous earth defenders know that the solution to climate change must include stopping the destruction of the Amazon rainforest."
The end of the summer of 2017 couldn't have been more apocalyptic. Wildfires torched the Pacific Northwest, the Sierras, Los Angeles, and much of the Western United States. Temperatures blistered in the Bay Area, breaking all-time records over Labor Day, with downtown San Francisco hitting a sweltering 106 degrees.
It has been eight years since Ecuador's indigenous leaders last met with the leader occupying the country's presidential palace. But Ecuador's new president, Lenin Moreno, has taken a different approach, summoning various actors who were considered opponents by the previous government to a "National Dialogue".
"Our analysis shows that local stewardship of the forest can be very effective in curtailing forest degradation in the Peruvian Amazon," said the study's lead author, Judith Schleicher.
"This latest report of a massacre in Javari Valley is yet another tragic sign of the deadly effects of the regressive policies promoted by President Michel Temer."
Six farmers have been shot dead by a criminal gang who wanted to seize their farms to muscle in on the lucrative palm oil trade, according to indigenous Amazon leaders in Peru.
"If the investigation confirms the reports, it will be yet another genocidal massacre resulting directly from the Brazilian government's failure to protect isolated tribes – something that is guaranteed in the Constitution."
Despite its biological and economic importance, illegal logging in the Gurupi Biological Reserve and in the Awá, Caru, Alto Turiaçu and Araribóia indigenous territories is common, and indigenous groups say that government enforcement is dangerously lax.
65 environmental, human rights and Indigenous Peoples' organisations today sent an open letter to the Steering Committee of the Equator Principles Association, calling for new and much stronger commitments to be made by its 91 member banks on combating climate change and respecting Indigenous Peoples' rights and territories.
The race is on to protect the area through establishing it as a national park. Proponents of the initiative say doing to would help maintain its rich biodiversity and ensure it retains viable habitat for jaguars and other wildlife.
Oil companies and similar corporations save money by contaminating the environment. A recent study conducted in the context of the Chevron Texaco case argues that oil companies also have an incentive to contaminate the environment that goes beyond saving money.
A tremendous national and international public outcry from all walks of society forced Temer to roll back his original decree to allow mining in a large, pristine area of the Amazon rainforest.
A Brazilian court has blocked an attempt by the president, Michel Temer, to open up swaths of the Amazon forest to mining companies after an outcry by environmental campaigners and climate activists.
"The suspension of President Temer's unilateral decree with its severe threats to vast Amazonian forest offers a welcome and temporary reprieve," said Christian Poirier, the program director for Amazon Watch.
The degradation of the Amazon will affect the entire world. The clearing of the Amazon for mining will lead to the emissions of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases, furthering global warming and causing the irreversible loss of biodiversity, and water resources, as well as damage to local and indigenous communities.
After seven dreadful years, Chevron CEO John Watson recently made a surprise announcement that he is finally slinking off with his tail between his legs. Yet the world will continue to suffer from the disastrous effects of his terrible decisions for many years to come.
Indigenous leaders from the area around Peru's largest oil field have threatened to block the government from accessing their territories and halt oil production unless an indigenous rights law is applied within twenty days.
"The abolition of Renca will wreak havoc on the forest and indigenous communities in the interests of the small group of economically powerful groups who are keeping Temer in power," said Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch.
