More About Brazil

Justice for Isac Tembé!

Isac was only 24 years old when he was murdered last Friday by the Brazilian military police

Last Friday, February 12th, Isac Tembé left his home on the Alto Rio Guama Indigenous Territory, in the northeast of the Amazonian state of Pará, to go hunting nearby with a group of friends. He never returned. The young Indigenous leader was murdered; shot point-blank in the chest by a member of Brazil's military police, on his own land.

COVID-19 Threatens the Future of the Amazon and Its Peoples

Due to the inaction and discrimination by Amazonian governments, Indigenous peoples have called upon international allies to show solidarity at this critical moment to protect Indigenous rights and lives. They have called on allies – including Amazon Watch – to unite and work together to raise awareness and solidarity funding to ensure medicine, oxygen tanks, logistics, and communication channels are available to serve the most vulnerable populations.

Banks Are Budging!

Pushing big finance on climate in the year to come

We are only a few weeks into 2021 and today we've announced the inspiring news that European banks that are collectively responsible for financing the trade of over $5.5 billion in Amazon oil to the U.S. from 2009 to 2020 have committed to immediate exclusion measures on the trading of oil from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters of Ecuador! These commitments come in response to the August 2020 report by Stand.earth and Amazon Watch that exposed how European banks financed the trade of $10 billion USD of oil from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region to the U.S. This is the first time global commercial banks have adopted policies that exclude finance for extractive activities in the Amazon rainforest. It's both an encouraging sign of things to come and a great motivator to ramp up the pressure – now!

The Munduruku Demand That Mining Giant Anglo American Publicly Commit to Not Mine on Indigenous Lands

As recently as November 2020, Anglo American had 13 copper prospecting and research permits on Sawré Muybu Indigenous land, which is part of the Munduruku territory

Indigenous lands are protected by the Brazilian Constitution, and current attempts to change this regulatory framework represent a major threat to the rights of Indigenous peoples, to the integrity of their territories – which remain barriers against deforestation and the degradation of Brazilian biomes – and to the ecological and climatic balance resulting from the protection of Indigenous lands, particularly in the Amazon. The Munduruku have spoken: no mining in our lands!

The Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB) Denounces Mining Giant Anglo American's Intention to Prospect in Amazonian Indigenous Territories

APIB, in partnership with Amazon Watch, presented an open letter to mining company Anglo American, calling on it to make a public commitment not to mine on Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon

The Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples and Amazon Watch issued a letter to mining giant Anglo American calling on it to make a public commitment not to conduct mining activities on Indigenous lands in Brazil, regardless of changes in Brazilian legislation.

Together We Stepped Up for the Amazon in 2020!

2020 was defined by fundamental challenges and transformations. We've all had to adapt and create a new way of living and connecting. Most of us could have never imagined that caring for one another would involve so much isolation. It has become commonplace to call these times unprecedented, but Indigenous peoples had already warned us that destroying Mother Earth would have devastating consequences on our lives. More specifically, they told us that deforestation could unleash diseases that we've never known of. They showed us that pandemics and the destruction of the world's rainforests are interconnected and that we must act now if we are to avoid future crises for humanity and the planet.