2017 was a tough year in so many ways, from corruption scandals to massive hurricanes to regressive legislation. But plenty of good things have happened, too – things that remind us of the perseverance, strength, and resilience of those who struggle every day for a better world. So we want to close the year reminding our community of readers...
All: 2017
Victory for Indigenous Self-Determination and Collective Territory in Peru!
Beyond titling for their ancestral territory, the Achuar are demanding that oil concession known as Block 64 – the majority of which is overlapped by their territory – be annulled for lack of consultation when it was established. We expect yesterday's ruling will be challenged by the Peruvian government, which has dispatched lawyers...
Victory for Indigenous Land Rights and Self-Determination in Peru
Yesterday a Peruvian court issued a precedent-setting ruling in favor of the Achuar people of the Pastaza in the northern Peruvian Amazon, recognizing their right to self-determination and collective territory. The court ordered the Peruvian government to proceed with the collective titling of Achuar ancestral territory and recognized the Achuar...
Ecuador Announces End to New Oil and Mining Concessions in Big Victory for Indigenous Rights
This is a major victory for Ecuador's indigenous movement and for the global effort to keep fossil fuels in the ground! It also sends a compelling signal to international commodities markets that new resource extraction without the consent of indigenous peoples is a clear rights violation and companies who invest in these resources will end up...
Ecuador Announces End to New Oil and Mining Concessions
"This is a major victory for Ecuador's indigenous movement and for the global effort to keep fossil fuels in the ground. This sends a compelling signal to international commodities markets that new resource extraction without the consent of indigenous peoples is a clear rights violation and these resources will end up as stranded assets. We call...
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Mining Concessions in Ecuador Stalled Over Compliance with Indigenous Rights
New mining concessions are now stalled until the companies can prove they've complied with all regulations under the constitution. This includes Article 57, which states that indigenous groups have the right to free and prior consultation before extractive projects take place near their land.
Kukama Communities in Peru Still Being Poisoned Three Years After Oil Spills
Pollution of indigenous communities in the Amazon is not a new phenomenon. Over the last 50 years, the oil industry has viewed the rainforest as one big "sacrifice zone," where they can poison people with impunity in order to save a dollar or two per barrel.
Indigenous March in Ecuador Yields a Major Victory as President Commits to No New Mining Concessions on Indigenous Lands!
Today's meeting and surprise announcement jump-starts a renewed dialogue between the indigenous movement and the government. Many other issues remain, such as amnesty and pardons for rights defenders, as well as an end to new oil concessions on indigenous lands.
Victory for Indigenous Rights in Brazil as Court Revokes License for the Belo Sun Mine
In a powerful victory for indigenous rights in Brazil last week, the Toronto-based company Belo Sun Mining had its license to drill revoked by a federal court, dealing a significant setback to its efforts to gouge a mega-mine into the banks of the Amazon's Xingu River.
Amazonian Leaders Promote Vision for “Living Forests” at the Climate Change Conference
The Kawsak Sacha "Living Forests" vision is vital for many reasons, most fundamentally that maintaining the ecological balance of the Amazon is essential to Earth's health and capacity to mitigate climate change.
License Revoked for Belo Sun Gold Mine in Victory for Indigenous Rights in Brazil
"This ruling is a rare instance of justice for the indigenous peoples of the Lower Xingu, who have already suffered immensely after the construction of the Belo Monte mega-dam directly adjacent to their territories. Given the dam's impacts on local peoples and their ecosystem, it is essential that Belo Sun continue to be held to the highest...
Climate Justice Now! Keep It in the Ground!
"My message here at COP 23 for the people, for allies of the world, is that we need to fight together, unite forces, because the states that are here speaking in our name are at a negotiating table where supposedly they are looking for solutions, but these solutions are for them, not for Indigenous peoples."
Indigenous People of the Amazon March to Quito for a "Dialogue with Results"
"It's good that President Moreno pronounces himself in favor of protecting the Amazon. But how will he do it, if at the same time he wants to concession more oil blocks? For this reason, we demand no more oil and mining projects in indigenous territories. Our right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent must be respected."
Achuar Indigenous People to GeoPark: Stay Out of Our Territory!
"We have lived through the bad experience of damage to our habitat, health, and life. Given this, we have made the firm decision not to permit any oil activity within our territory."
Indigenous Groups Win Greater Climate Recognition at Bonn Summit
Indigenous groups claimed a victory at the UN climate talks in Bonn on Wednesday as governments acknowledged for the first time that they can play a leadership role in protecting forests and keeping global temperatures at a safe level.
Peruvian Achuar Federation Reaffirms Opposition to GeoPark as Oil Company Touts 3Q Investor "Results"
Oakland, CA – The 45 Achuar indigenous communities under the umbrella of the federation FENAP have once again reiterated their opposition to oil operations within their ancestral territory, this time represented by GeoPark, a Chile-based company that signed a cooperative agreement with the Peruvian government in late 2014.
JPMorgan, BlackRock Tout Climate Bona Fides While Funding Amazon Oil Drilling
"Like so many big businesses, JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock greenwash their activities rather than apply their resources to real solutions," Leila Salazar-López, executive director of Amazon Watch, told HuffPost in a statement. "Our report exposes their complicity in Amazon destruction, and we know savvy investors will respond...
From Carbon Sink to Source: Brazil Puts Amazon, Paris Goals at Risk
"The very agents of wanton destruction of the Amazon are now controlling the legislative and executive branches of the federal government and working day and night to increase deforestation and degradation via bills and acts that are being tolerated by the judiciary."
Colombia’s Government Hasn’t Taken Responsibility on Deforestation
Colombia's next president will face many pressing challenges, not the least of which is implementation of the FARC peace accord, but he or she must also take decisive action on Colombia's role in combatting climate change.
JPMorgan and BlackRock Invest in Amazon Destruction
Oakland, CA – Global financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock put the climate, indigenous peoples, and their customers at risk with their continued financing of companies that drill for oil in the Amazon rainforest, demonstrates a report, Investing in Amazon Destruction, released today by Amazon Watch.
Investing in Amazon Destruction
Despite the urgent imperative to keep at least two thirds of all fossil fuels in the ground in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, governments and companies continue to recklessly expand fossil fuel exploration and drilling across the globe.
"Equator Banks, Act!" Campaign Welcomes Decision to Revise the Equator Principles
The core group of organizations leading the global "Equator Banks, Act!" campaign welcomed the decision of the Equator Principles Association to start a full revision process of the Equator Principles.
"Our Grandchildren Will Thank Us for the Territory We Are Defending"
The Achuar have a concrete plan for defending their ancestral homeland: they're demanding that the Peruvian government provide legal recognition of their collective territory and they're actively campaigning to keep out extractive industries, including oil, mining, and logging.
Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Reject Ecuador’s Plans for New Oil Tender
Quito, Ecuador – Representatives of six indigenous nationalities traveled from their Amazonian communities to Quito this morning to reject plans by the new government of Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno to auction off oil blocks that overlap their titled rainforest territories.
Two Decades of Fellowship with the U’wa People of Colombia
"The power of our struggle and resistance in defense of our worldview ... has guaranteed that we have not faltered."
My First Decade at Amazon Watch
Over ten years, I have been privileged to play a role in most of the organization's major campaign initiatives. While the moments of exhilaration, frustration, learning, anger, and beauty could fill a book, I want to share ten snapshots of key experiences that represent what serving with Amazon Watch has meant to me.
Signs of Lasting Trauma in People Evicted to Make Way for Giant Mine in Ecuador
"This development model impacts communities. The mine displaces people, and the impact is direct. It's this industry that makes children lack nutrition."
Record Amazon Fires Stun Scientists; Sign of Sick, Degraded Forests
"The very agents of wanton destruction of the Amazon are now controlling the legislative and executive branches of the federal government and working day and night to increase deforestation and degradation via bills and acts that are being tolerated by the judiciary."
Us and Them: Affected Peoples vs. Chevron in Canada
"It's a fundamental question of whether corporations like Chevron should be allowed to use their financial muscle to destroy people with an absolutely vital claim to reparations for damages that were caused to them over many years."