Press Releases

IUCN Approves Indigenous Peoples' Global Call to Action to Protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025 to Avoid Catastrophic "Tipping Point" of No Return

Marseille, France – Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have approved motion 129, a call-to-action titled "Avoid the point of no return in the Amazon by protecting 80% by 2025." The motion – which was approved after several debates – was proposed by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and various civil organizations. This coalition calls for a global pact to protect the world's largest tropical forest, which is on the verge of reaching a point of no return.

Thousands of Indigenous Women Will March in Brazil This Week

After pro-Bolsonaro rally on Brazil's Independence Day, 4,000 Indigenous women from 150 nations will gather in Brasília to continue the mobilization against the marco temporal trial, in defense of their rights and territories

Brasília, Brazil – While supporters of far-right President Bolsonaro took to the streets yesterday to slam Brazil's Supreme Court and cast doubt on the integrity of next year's elections, a more important mobilization was taking place in Brasília for the future of our planet. Delegations of Indigenous women were arriving in Brazil's capital throughout the day for the Second National March of Indigenous Women, with the theme "Original women: Reforesting minds for the healing of the Earth."

We Demand the Annulment of Unconstitutional Executive Decrees That Seek to Intensify Hydrocarbon and Mining Extraction in Ecuador

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso issued Executive Decrees 95 and 151 which immediately formalize profound transformations of Ecuador's oil and mining policies. These documents have raised our concern about the violation of our essential rights to participate in decisions that may affect us. These new policies risk serious and irreparable damage by expanding the extractive frontier and ignoring existing social conflicts.

Forests & Finance Coalition Warns Foreign Investors About the Risk of the Anti-environment Agenda in the Brazilian Congress

Bills being processed in the Brazilian Congress, with irreversible consequences to the Amazon forest and Indigenous peoples, could bring serious risks to the operations of financial institutions. An alert from the Coalition and other partners adds to the agenda of denunciations by Indigenous peoples.

Brasília, Brazil – In a letter sent today to 80 international and Brazilian financial institutions, Forest & Finance Coalition, together with the Association of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB), the Climate Observatory, and 45 allied organizations, warn about the risks of investments in Brazil in light of a suite of legislative changes being currently pushed in the Brazilian Congress. If approved, these bills will result in irreversible consequences for the protection of critical ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest and the guarantee of the rights of Indigenous peoples, posing serious risks for many financial institutions operating in Brazil.

European Bank Intesa Commits to Exclude Amazon Oil from Headwaters Region of Ecuador, Peru

Stand.earth, Amazon Watch call on other banks to follow suit

"Intesa's new commitment to exclude oil from the Amazon Headwaters region shows how banks can expand Amazon-specific exclusion policies beyond just trade financing. While the policy falls short of the call for banks to extend Amazon oil exclusions to the entire Amazon Biome, it illustrates how geographic exclusions are a necessary part of banks' climate commitments, in order to safeguard globally important ecosystems from oil expansion and to foster the just transition called for by Indigenous leaders in the Amazon," said Angeline Robertson, Senior Investigative Researcher at Stand.earth Research Group.

Investor Alert: Belo Sun Discloses Misleading Information to Investors Regarding Controversial Gold Mining Project in the Brazilian Amazon

Oakland, CA – In a complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission, an international coalition of civil society organizations calls attention to the repeated dissemination of misleading information by Belo Sun Mining Corp (TSXV:BSX), including statements by CEO Peter Tagliamonte, downplaying socio-environmental, legal, and financial risks of the company’s “Volta Grande” project along the Xingu River.

Victory: Anglo American Agrees to Withdraw 27 Mining Research Applications in Territories Following Sustained Pressure By Indigenous Movement

The campaign demanding Anglo American, one of the world’s biggest mining companies, end its plans to exploit indigenous territories, followed the October 2020 Complicity in Destruction III report. The company still has 86 active mining interests in the Brazilian National Mining Agency (ANM) database that impact indigenous territories

Pará, Brazil – British mining company Anglo American has formally committed to withdraw 27 approved applications to research minerals inside Indigenous territories located in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará from the Brazilian National Mining Agency (ANM). The commitment was announced on May 24, after pressure from the Munduruku people, the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), and Amazon Watch.