Amazon in Crisis 2020 | Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch

Amazon in Crisis 2020

Summer 2020 | Amazon Watch | Report

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UPDATE: Just after this report went to press, the Achuar and Wampis peoples of the Peruvian Amazon achieved a monumental victory when GeoPark announced that it would leave their territories! The Chile-based oil company’s announcement follows years of protests, lawsuits, outreach to major shareholders, and direct advocacy with the CEO.

Thank you for your support of our critical work to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest, advance Indigenous-led solutions and demand climate justice! Our work has always been important, but considering the current crises facing the Amazon, its forest guardians and all of humanity, it’s more critical than ever to unite to stop the destruction and defend the defenders.

The Amazon and our global climate are in crisis. Following rampant deforestation and fires that ravaged the Amazon rainforest last year, the Amazon is now facing a tipping point of ecological collapse. The Amazon is also facing a humanitarian crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading exponentially across the region, with the potential of ethnocide of Indigenous peoples if immediate and ongoing action is not taken.

While the challenges may seem daunting, we still have time to shift from “tipping point to turning point” for the Amazon, the global climate and all of humanity.

At Amazon Watch, we have and are taking immediate action by responding to the calls and demands of Indigenous peoples across the Amazon to respect rights, lives and territories that are increasingly threatened by land-grabbers, extractive activities, agribusiness expansion, governments, corporations, international financiers, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

With increased capacity and resources over the last year, we have expanded direct support and coordination with partners on the ground across the Amazon – including legal and communications capacity – and distribution of over $1 million in rapid response grants to support women defenders, stop fires and prevent COVID-19. We have also expanded our global advocacy and communication campaigns in coordination with Indigenous and international allies, including over 250 organizations who signed a global call for an immediate moratorium on all extractive activities in the Amazon. And, we are building a Pan-Amazon Alliance and launching global initiatives in solidarity with Indigenous peoples including the Amazon Emergency Fund and Artists for Amazonía.

In unity, we are building a global movement to act for the Amazon, Indigenous rights and climate justice. Our movement is intersectional and is rooted in principles and practices of solidarity, equity, justice, anti-racism and decolonization. Our movement recognizes that the systems that violate human rights also violate Mother Earth and need to be transformed. This is a turning point for humanity to come together to resist systems of oppression and exploitation and uplift visionary solutions to protect and restore the balance of nature and human rights.

Thank you for standing with us during these challenging, but transformative times. Your support means solidarity with Indigenous peoples at a time when the world desperately needs their wisdom, guidance and solutions to restore the balance of nature and respect for humanity and all life.

With deep gratitude for your support,

Leila Salazar-López
Executive Director

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