Amazon Watch is saddened and outraged by the news of the brazen assassination of the recognized Shipibo medicine woman Olivia Arévalo. We express our condolences to her family in community of and stand in solidarity with the indigenous organizations that are denouncing this horrific act.
All: 2018
Why California’s Oil Policy Matters for the Amazon
Governor Brown's last chance to plan for managed decline of fossil fuel production
About half of the oil exports from the Western Amazon Basin come to California to be processed by refineries and used by consumers in the state. This means that more oil from the Amazon rainforest is used in California than anywhere else in the world, and California's demand for this toxic crude oil is literally driving continued destruction...
New Report Shines Light on Dark Days for Amazon Earth Defenders in Ecuador
The Human Rights Watch report found that the Correa government "amassed broad powers to curb public debate of its policies on the environment and other pressing issues..[then] abused these powers to harass, intimidate, and punish Ecuadorians who opposed oil and mining projects that the president endorsed...and used the criminal justice system to...
Indigenous Amazonian Leaders at U.N. to Demand an End to Resource Extraction and Threats Against Rights Defenders
Women's delegation from the Ecuadorian Amazon will bring call for permanent protection of rainforest lands to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous representatives from several nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon will attend the17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City from April 16 to 27.
Colombia’s Top Court Orders Government to Protect Amazon Forest in Landmark Case
Reuters | In its ruling, the court recognized Colombia's Amazon as an "entity subject of rights", which means that the rainforest has been granted the same legal rights as a human being.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Record Environmental Judgement Moves to Ontario Superior Court in Toronto
Long running dispute between petro-giant Chevron and Ecuadorian citizens has Canadian component
Toronto, Canada – This morning, Friends of the Earth Canada, the Steelworkers Humanity Fund of the United Steelworkers of Canada, and Amazon Watch filed an application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice calling on the court to unseal documents in the historic legal effort to enforce one of the largest environmental judgments in history.
A Village in Ecuador’s Amazon Fights for Life as Oil Wells Move In
Ecuador's Yasuní National Park is home to Indigenous people who live in near-total isolation from the rest of the world – and wish to remain that way
NRDC | To an outsider visiting the rainforest of Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places on earth, it seems almost inconceivable that Baihua and his people have survived as hunter-gatherers there in the 21st century – and even harder to believe they'll be able to do so for much longer.
NGOs Denounce Tapajós Basin Intimidation, Violence, Brazil Inaction
The 38 NGOs include Amazon Watch, Instituto Socioambiental, and WWF Brasil
Mongabay | Thirty-eight national and international NGOs issued a strongly worded statement demanding the Brazilian government uphold environmental laws, act on indigenous rights violations, and end escalating intimidation by the builders of hydroelectric dams on the Teles Pires River. Also condemned was the Temer administration's failure to prosecute illegal...
Institution Protecting Indigenous Rights in Brazil Under Attack
FUNAI's duty is to protect and promote the rights of Brazil's native peoples. Among its chief responsibilities is to identify, title, and supervise the country's vast array of indigenous territories. Yet the right to ancestral lands free from industrial activity - 98.5% of which fall within the Amazon's diverse ecosystems - presents an obstacle to...
Spring 2018 Investor Eye on the Amazon
A primer for shareholders concerned about rainforest protection and human rights
The Investor Eye on the Amazon provides an update on our campaigns targeting corporations with ties to dirty industry in the Amazon, and it aims to serve as a resource for socially-responsible investors, industry analysts, and researchers looking to better understand the risks associated with investment in extractive industries - and their own...
U.S. Senators Send Letters to BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase on Amazon Crude
Letters from Senators Whitehouse and Schatz request financial institutions address the climate and social risk of financing oil companies operating in the Amazon and other high-impact areas
"As the Senators' letter reminds us, climate change also poses a significant financial risk to the economy, especially for the fossil fuel industry and its financial backers. Investing in companies with particularly controversial operations, like those located on indigenous territories in the Amazon rainforest, poses an outsized risk because of...
From Ecuador’s Amazon to President’s Palace, Indigenous Women Demand End to Drilling
"Oil has not brought development for the Waorani"
Thomson Reuters | "We will return to our communities and wait for a response from the government," said Zoila Castillo, vice-president of the parliament of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. "If we do not receive a response in two weeks, we will be back."
Keep Off Our Land, Indigenous Women Tell Ecuador’s President
Women's movement demands an end to unrestricted oil drilling and mining on Indigenous lands and action on violence against land defenders in first meeting with President Lenin Moreno
The Guardian | "Your government cannot permit that our rights continue to be violated," Patricia Gualinga, an indigenous Kichwa from Sarayaku, told the president during the meeting. "Ecuador has to change its energy policy. It could be an example for the world," she said. Gualinga, who received death threats in January, said environmental defenders, particularly...
Amazonian Indigenous Women Take Demands for End to Oil and Mining Directly to Ecuador’s President
In a Meeting with President Moreno, the Women Called for an Amazon Free of Natural Resource Extraction and an End to Threats Against Them and Other Earth Defenders
Quito, Ecuador – After presenting to Ecuador's President Moreno their demands to end natural resource extraction in their Amazon rainforest territories in a meeting in the presidential palace late Thursday, a delegation of Amazonian indigenous women announced they will give him fifteen days to provide concrete responses. The women also...
World Water Day: Deadly Plight of Brazil’s River Defenders Goes Unheard
At a high-level talking shop for the global water industry in Brazil, river defenders and community activists – who are often murdered or criminalized for trying to protect their resources – have set up an alternative forum to share their stories
The Guardian | Alessandria Munduruku described how women have moved to the forefront of the community's campaign to protect territory. "The government doesn't care for us, only for agribusiness so our struggle is very difficult. We are up against illegal mines, loggers, ports, roads, agribusiness and investors from China and Canada," she said. "The men are weak...
Standing Shoulder-to-Shoulder with Indigenous Women at Risk in Ecuador
A call for international solidarity to protect the rights and lives of Earth Defenders
"We are marching for our lives! Our sisters are being threatened, our rights are being trampled, and our territories are being destroyed. We are here as women to defend the Amazon against extraction. Enough is Enough!"
Social-Good Deficiency?
Directors & Boards Magazine calls out BlackRock's hypocrisy as one of eight key topics they believe will be "On the Table for 2018" in the introduction to their First Quarter issue
Directors & Boards | The latest ESG push came from BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink sending an ultimatum to corporations across the country to make social good part of the overall business strategy plans or else. Turns out, BlackRock has investments in companies that are drilling in the Amazon, according to the nonprofit Amazon Watch.
Colombian Land Defenders: “They’re Killing Us One By One”
In western Colombia's Humanitarian Zone, outspoken community leaders fear for their lives after 32 other environmental activists and land defenders were murdered last year alone in their country
Mongabay | "They go on television saying that everything in Colombia is fine, that the war is over. The truth is that public order is only fine for those who have money, but for campesinos like us, it's worse than it was before."
Indigenous Women March in Ecuador, Vow to “Defend Our Territory”
Women from different regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon gathered in the city of Puyo, Ecuador to mark International Women's Day
Mongabay | About 350 Indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon gathered here yesterday to celebrate International Women's Day, and, they say, to fight back against a system that violates their rights. Many women spoke out specifically against the extractive industries operating in their territories.
Indigenous Amazonian Women: Defending Mother Earth
Cultural Survival | On March 21st, 2016, International Women's Day, an Amazonian women's alliance was born when indigenous women from seven nationalities – Kichwa, Sápara, Shiwiar, Shuar, Achuar, Andoa, and Waorani – joined forces for the first time, marching together in defense of their rights, rainforests, and future generations.
Letter from Leading Environment and Human Rights Groups on Ending Amazon Crude
We write to you – entities involved in the processing, use, regulation, and financing of Amazon crude – to request that you take action to stem the influx of Amazon crude oil into the United States in order to stop Amazon destruction, respect indigenous rights, and prevent runaway climate change.
Ending Amazon Crude Key to Fossil-Free Movement, Say Leading Environmental and Human Rights Groups
BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase and Amazon.com Challenged to End Their Support of Oil Drilling in the Amazon for the Good of Indigenous Rights and the Climate
Over fifty environmental and human rights organizations have signed on to an open letter in support of Amazon Watch's campaign to End Amazon Crude, recognizing it as a crucial component of the global movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground and protect the climate and indigenous rights.
Ecuador to Offer New Oil Concessions Despite Government Pledge to the Contrary
Announcement Contradicts Promise to Consult with Indigenous Communities About Mining and Drilling on Their Territories
Quito, Ecuador – Ecuador's Minister of Hydrocarbons announced this week that the government will auction sixteen oil concessions in the country's remote southern rainforests, despite adamant indigenous opposition and a recent, explicit government promise to the contrary.
Could This Be a Turning Point for Ecuador?
Moreno has his work cut out for him to get the country out from under the long shadow of Correa, and it remains to be seen how long Ecuadorians will give him to accomplish this challenging task. He should embrace the indigenous movement's call for no new expansion of extractive industries and permanent protection for their territories and join the...
A Gold Mine Swallowed Their Village. This Amazon Tribe Is Here to Take It Back
Climate Home News | "Game used to be very easy here – pig, deer, tapir. But it is all gone due to the machines and pollution. Now, only one stream still has fish, but they are all sick from mercury. This damage will remain forever."
Ecuador Votes to Reduce Oil Exploitation in Yasuní National Park
Mongabay | A decisive battle is just beginning for Indigenous peoples and ecologists who have been watching helplessly as state-owned oil company Petroamazonas settles into Yasuní National Park, one of the world's most biodiverse areas, to take advantage of its oil reserves.
Call for Accountability Following Attack on Amazonian Land Defender Patricia Gualinga
"If the intent to attack and threaten me was to instill fear to paralyze me, it failed. Following this incident, I am more motivated than ever to stand strong and work to defend the rights and territories of Sarayaku and all of the Amazon threatened by extraction," said Patricia Gualinga in reference to the recent attack.
Why It’s Time for Amazon.com to Protect the Real Amazon
Amazon.com is one of the world's largest retailers, ships millions of packages around the world every day, and prides itself on innovation – including expanding its own vehicle fleet. So why hasn't it been a pioneer in greening its transport operations? Why has it remained silent on the protection of the biome that serves as its namesake? It's...
Amazon.com Challenged to Protect Its Threatened Rainforest Namesake
Amazon Watch launched a campaign today on calling on e-commerce giant Amazon.com to take real action to stop destruction of the biome after which CEO Jeff Bezos named his company.
