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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.

Resisting Another Record-Breaking Year of Deforestation and Destruction in the Brazilian Amazon

While Brazilian authorities deny the impact of the criminal arson, Amazon Watch and our allies exposed and challenged the growing fires and deforestation in the Amazon

Over the past year, Bolsonaro's government failed once again to present a plan to curb deforestation and instead further emboldened land grabbers to destroy the rainforest. Evidence points to the greatest loss of trees in the Brazilian Amazon since 2008. The destruction of the Amazon is linked to Indigenous rights violations and conflicts on Indigenous territories. This International Human Rights Day, we call on the world to fight for Indigenous rights and self-determination. Our ability to protect the Amazon and our climate depend on it.

Peruvian Indigenous Leaders Receive Death Threats

"We don't want to be the next victims"

Eight Indigenous leaders from Ucayali and Huánuco have received threats for months from narco-trafficking mafias, land invaders, and illegal loggers. Several days ago, they were in Lima demanding protection from the Peruvian government. They fear for their lives.

The Shuar Arutam Will Not Be Deterred and Have Already Decided: No Mining!

After voting repeatedly for over 18 years against mining on their territory, the Shuar bring their challenge before the ILO over rights violations

"The mining companies are dividing our organization. They are harassing the leaders of the PSHA who oppose mining projects. For this reason, we are exercising our right to self-determination. We have decided not to allow large-scale mining projects in our territory. We demand that the concessions that have been granted in our territory without our knowledge be canceled."

Our Voice Is Our Power

Indigenous women in the Amazon have been at the forefront of the fight against climate change and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and today we are stepping up into new leadership roles, successfully forcing out extractive industries and companies from our sacred territories.

Amazon Watch Testifies to U.S. Congress on Indigenous Rights in the Amazon

Amazon Watch's Executive Director, Leila Salazar-López, joined allied human rights organizations to testify today to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on the status of the human rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. She spoke specifically to the situation of Indigenous rights in the Amazon Basin.

Will President-elect Biden Protect the Amazon and Stop the Money Pipeline?

A Biden-Harris administration could play a key role in holding financiers accountable for climate destruction

President-elect Joe Biden managed to turn out a significant progressive base to secure the 2020 presidential election. For many voters, his commitments to address environmental and racial justice after several years of actions, protests and calls from activists led to grassroots mobilizations that delivered the presidency and a few flipped states to the democratic party. With this mandate, a Biden-Harris administration should take bold steps to address the causes of climate change and its impacts on frontline communities both here in the U.S. and in places like the Amazon, where U.S. companies operate and provide financing.

U.S. Firms Continue to Fund Network of Destruction in the Amazon

Financial giants BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard, among those that invested more than US $18 billion in nine companies tied to conflicts on Indigenous lands

As the Amazon rainforest smolders from another disastrous burning season and its Indigenous communities face spiking violence and land invasions incited by a racist president, we must stand in solidarity with Brazil's grassroots resistance. Amazon Watch's and APIB's innovative reporting does just this by helping the country's National Indigenous Movement to shine a spotlight on the pivotal role of global finance in shaping the future of Brazil's human rights and environmental landscape.