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Indigenous Peoples Call for Urgent Action to Protect the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Region

Amazon rainforest and Indigenous rights under imminent threat from oil and mining

Lima, Peru – On the heels of widespread indigenous protests in Ecuador, and at the Latin American Parks Congress, the Indigenous federations that are part of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative called for emergency support to stop the governments of Ecuador and Peru from expanding new fossil fuel, mining, and large-scale industrial development in one of the critical headwaters regions of the Amazon River.

Power to the Protectors in Ecuador

Kichwa Communities Fight Fossil Fuel Expansion with Renewable Energy

This spring, we carried out the second install of our Power to the Protectors program in three Kichwa communities in the central Ecuadorian Amazon, all threatened by new oil expansion. The equipment and training provided will be essential tools to support the communities’ ability to monitor their territory, denounce rights violations, and share their vision and story with the world.

Amazonians Rising Up and Winning Against Oil!

"The government tried to sell our lands to the oil companies without our permission. Our rainforest is our life. We decide what happens in our lands. We will never sell our rainforest to the oil companies."

Respect Rights and Traditional Knowledge to Protect Mother Earth

Once a year, the United Nations Headquarters in New York welcomes hundreds of indigenous leaders and representatives from around the world for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Amazon Watch spent the week accompanying and amplifying the voices and solutions of Amazonian leaders from Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil.

Indigenous Groups in Ecuador Convene to Talk Resistance in the Amazon

The Shiwiar, Sapara and Kichwa nations met for a special assembly in the eastern Ecuadorian Amazon along the border with Peru in late March to discuss resistance strategies against oil, mining, and hydroelectric projects

"The Shiwiar, Sapara and Kichwa nationalities of Kawsak Sacha decide to leave the oil in the subsoil and declare their territories intangible in perpetuity, where it is forbidden to extract non-renewable natural resources. The governments in turn must respect this decision."

Defending Rights, Building Unity, and Protecting the Amazon Sacred Headwaters

In the remote, roadless rainforest territories along the border between Ecuador and Peru, over a dozen indigenous nationalities have launched an initiative to permanently protect about 60 million acres from industrial extraction and stop the drivers of deforestation. Dubbed the Amazon Sacred Headwaters, the initiative seeks to present a united front against the pressures on these indigenous territories and address climate change by keeping forests standing and fossil fuels in the ground.

Ecuador's Corruption Hangover

Despite efforts to curb corruption, President Moreno is following the same oil-stained playbook that helped get Ecuador into a cycle of debt and dependency. He has green-lighted new drilling in Yasuní National Park and plans to open up areas in the country's roadless southern rainforest, still hoping that Ecuador can drill its way to prosperity.

Good News for Yasuní Park and Indigenous Rights!

Last week, Ecuador's Energy Minister, Carlos Pérez García, announced that – at least for now – the government will not pursue oil drilling in the "buffer zone" protected areas of Yasuní National Park, reversing plans revealed last month in a leaked draft decree. This is an important victory for our collective work to keep fossil fuels in the ground from California to the Amazon!