Today, Amazon Watch released a new report exposing the elevated risks of financially supporting state-run oil company Petroperú) amid its controversial plans to expedite new oil drilling in the Amazon.
Achuar
Assessing Petroperú’s Financial, Legal, Environmental, and Social Risks
Petroperú has plunged into massive indebtedness to complete its Talara Refinery Modernization Project and is now financially obligated to maximize its oil production to sustain itself, despite growing Indigenous and community opposition.
The Achuar and Wampis Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon Continue Their Fight Against Oil Exploration in Block 64
Watch this video update from David Peas, the Vice President of the National Federation of the Achuar of Peru, as he asks for continued support to keep Petroperú out of Block 64
David Peas, the Vice President of the National Federation of the Achuar of Peru, just sent us this personal message of gratitude and continued resistance.
The Risks of Investing in Petroperú
This risk assessment describes the political, social, financial, environmental, and legal risks associated with investing in Petroperú. It also compiles the perspective of some communities that could be affected by the threat of oil operations by Petroperú, in particular, the Achuar People of the Pastaza River and the Autonomous Territorial...
Vanguard Funds Indigenous Rights Violations in Peru’s Amazon
Asset manager Vanguard must stop investing in Indigenous rights violations and environmental destruction
The Achuar and Wampis have good reason to oppose further oil extraction: The Northern Peruvian Oil Pipeline, which runs through their territories, has repeatedly ruptured, causing countless spills and constant threats to the environment and safety of their communities.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Sarayaku’s Kawsak Sacha Is What the World Needs Now!
The Kawsak Sacha proposal aims to sustainably preserve and conserve territorial spaces, the material and spiritual relationship established there by native peoples with the living forest and the beings that inhabit it.
Petroperú’s Ongoing Threat to the Amazon
Intense market and supply chain conditions – due in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have led to increasing inflation around the world, and Peru has been no exception. Today, the controversial Talara oil refinery will be inaugurated and touted by the government as a solution to the current energy crisis. It is not.
New Oil Company Enters Failed Block 64, Again
Achuar and Wampis communities are mobilizing against Petroperú’s intention to exploit the northern Peruvian oil block
If you have followed Amazon Watch’s campaigns over the years, the name Block 64 might ring a bell. Over the course of almost 30 years, the Peruvian government has encouraged a steady parade of international oil companies to explore and exploit the oil concession, located near the border with Ecuador. All have hit a major obstacle: the vehement...
Blue-Washing? GeoPark Tries to Launder Its Image Through U.N. Collaboration
Can the United Nations support human rights defenders with one hand, while receiving money from an oil company with the other? An emerging scandal in the Colombian Amazon is forcing the U.N. to deal with the fallout from this contradiction.
"The oil companies are operating in the Amazon anyway, and we can help make sure they abide by human rights standards." Such was the rationale presented by the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia, Jessica Faieta. The UNDP managed to get itself into quite a pickle and found itself in the uncomfortable position of...
#AdiosGeoPark: Peruvian Indigenous Peoples Expel Another Oil Company
The Achuar People of the Pastaza and the Wampis Nation secure a new victory for the climate justice movement by defeating fossil fuel company GeoPark
Today, we celebrate a major victory after years of collaboration and hard work to fend off another multinational oil company that was supported by the world's largest investment firms and powerful governments.
Indigenous Resistance Expels Oil Company GeoPark from Peruvian Amazon
The Chile-based oil company's announcement follows years of protests, lawsuits, outreach to major shareholders, and direct advocacy with the CEO
"GeoPark's departure from Block 64 is a testament to the vision and persistence of the Achuar people and Wampis Nation. Let this be the final nail in Block 64's coffin," said Andrew Miller, Advocacy Director at Amazon Watch.
Help Us Protect the Headwaters of the Amazon from Oil Companies, Elders Say
Reuters | Indigenous leaders are calling for help to stop oil companies drilling in the headwaters of the Amazon river in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that encroaching on their homelands would destroy a bulwark against climate change.
Goldman Sachs' Climate Action Is Not Enough
"If Goldman truly wants to be a 'sustainability' leader, it must end corporate financing for fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon and around the world – particularly when that expansion happens on Indigenous territories."
Citi's New Environmental and Social Policy Falls Short
Citigroup's unambitious new policy, released just before its annual general meeting of shareholders, ignores the climate and Indigenous rights risks of oil drilling in the Amazon
"If Citi truly cares about being a leader on climate and Indigenous rights, it must end corporate financing for fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon and around the world – particularly when that expansion is planned for the territories of Indigenous peoples."
Report: The Five Biggest Financiers of New Amazon Oil Boom
BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, HSBC, and JP Morgan Chase defy their own commitments by backing dangerous oil and gas extraction in the western Amazon
Oakland, CA – A report released today by Amazon Watch shows how five American and British financial institutions are actively accelerating climate change and human rights abuses by providing billions of dollars in debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the western Amazon. Already, millions of acres of the western Amazon...
COP25: Amazonian Indigenous Leaders Share Conclusions on the Summit
Hearing a contradiction between what is being said and what is being done, indigenous leaders call for global support to stop new oil drilling, mining exploration, and deforestation in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters
Madrid, Spain – Indigenous leaders representing twenty nationalities from Ecuador and Peru called for global support to stop oil drilling and mining in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region – the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on the planet.
Indigenous Leaders Call for Global Support to Stop New Oil Drilling and Mining in the Heart of the Amazon at COP 25
Madrid, Spain – Indigenous leaders representing 20 nationalities from Ecuador and Peru called for global support to stop oil drilling and mining in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region – the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. A new report released today demonstrates that this is more than a regional issue: this is a global crisis...
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...
Declaration for the Protection of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters
We, the Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador and Peru together with our allies, call on the global community for solidarity, as our very survival depends on the survival of the Amazon rainforest which is under constant and unprecedented attack.
An Earthquake Rocks GeoPark
"As the Achuar People, along with the Wampis Nation, we completely reject the entry of GeoPark into our territory. You all are aware of human rights and environmental law, yet you still insist on polluting our lands. Understand that no matter how much you insist on entering our territory, we are never going to allow oil companies to come in."
Amazon Leaders Tell GeoPark CEO James Park: Leave Our Territory
Eight Achuar and Wampis leaders from the Peruvian Amazon confronted GeoPark executives at the oil company’s annual shareholder meeting
Nelton Yankur Antich, president FENAP, which represents 45 communities located in both the Pastaza and Morona river basins, said, "We are here specifically to manifest our decision not to permit the entry of GeoPark into our territory."
Indigenous Tribe Halts Oil Drilling in Amazon – for Now
WhoWhatWhy | "The Achuar and the Wampis communities have an opportunity now to convince GeoPark that this project is fatally flawed, before the company attempts to push it forward and exacerbates socio-environmental conflicts in the rainforest."
Peru Native Groups Use New Legal Strategy to Push Back on Oil, Mining Plans
Reuters | Indigenous groups in Peru are turning to the courts with a new legal strategy for keeping mining and oil projects off their land, racking up victories that could make it harder for companies to secure permits in the major minerals producer.
Statement on GeoPark's Withdrawal of Its Request for a Drilling Permit
Late on Thursday, June 20th, the Chile-based oil company GeoPark withdrew its request for an environmental permit to begin oil drilling in a concession area known as Block 64, located in the northern Peruvian Amazon. The company's about-face came after a concerted campaign of protests from indigenous Achuar and Wampi communities opposed to oil...
“My Message for GeoPark? Don’t Enter Achuar Territory.”
An indigenous delegation from the Peruvian Amazon prepares to take the fight to GeoPark's doorstep
"We don't want the oil company to enter our territory because they contaminate everything – the air we breathe, the forest from which we source our food. As our ancestors left our territory to us, we want to leave it for future generations."
For the Achuar, Life Comes Before Oil
Two million acres of Achuar land is threatened by Geopark’s imminent exploitation of Block 64
Intercontinental Cry | "This is not the first time a company has tried to come into our territories – coming in with trickery – but the response has always been the same over four decades: we don't want oil."
Amazon in Focus 2019 / 2017-2018 Annual Report
Protecting and restoring the Amazon, indigenous rights, and the climate, requires greater unity across movements. Accomplishing the required transition from fossil fuels and protection of indigenous stewards of vital forests is the most urgent task we face today. We hope that you will join us in partnership this year and for many years to come.
Danger Zone for Peru’s Achuar People
The risk of new oil drilling in Achuar territory is more alarming than it has been since I started with Amazon Watch over twelve years ago. Fortunately, the Achuar are determined to protect their lands and families from contamination and they also benefit from the support of steadfast allies, both Peruvian and international.
GeoPark Fomenting Social Conflicts in Peru’s Amazon
Washington, DC – A detailed new report published by the non-governmental organization Center for Public Policy and Human Rights (Equidad Perú) identifies the oil company GeoPark as responsible for dangerous divide-and-conquer strategies in the Peruvian Amazon. The company is also facing related criticisms of downplaying environmental concerns in...
