A wave of sadness has surged forth from the Amazon rainforest, washing over many who have supported indigenous rights in Peru. Yesterday we learned that the long-time Achuar leader Jiyukam Lucas Irar Miik had drown in the Pastaza River, as he returned to his home community of Puerto Rubina. As reported by his son, his boat hit a log and capsized...
The Amazon rainforest can seem unimaginably vast. Similarly, the fight to defend it from the onslaught of industrial-scale threats like oil drilling, logging, and huge dams can appear overwhelming. But across the region, local indigenous peoples and our work to support them is making the difference and protecting the lands they have known for...
Indigenous communities in Peru must clear 27 bureaucratic hurdles to obtain official recognition and formal land titles, a costly process that can take more than a decade, while concessionaires face between three and seven bureaucratic steps, depending on whether they seek permits for logging or mining, and can obtain their paperwork in less than...
In 2015, several indigenous peoples announced important advances in their decades-long struggles to defend their sacred homelands. The Achuar people of the Northern Peruvian Amazon and the U'wa people of the Colombian cloud forest both embody the power of grassroots resistance in the face of multi-billion dollar corporations.
Reuters | Indigenous protesters in Peru seized oil wells in an Amazonian oil block on Tuesday and said they also planned to halt output in a neighboring concession to press the government to address pollution and compensation demands.
Amazon Watch works hard to ensure that indigenous spokespeople are featured in media coverage related to their lands and rights, but rarely do we see a film 100% in their voice. That's why we're so eager for you to watch and share the film.
Fusion | According to Andrew E. Miller, with Amazon Watch, community-based documentation of the ongoing pollution in the region led to four rivers being declared "environmental emergency zones" by Peru's Environment Minister, though he told Fusion that "few actions were taken to actually address the crisis."
We are deeply appreciative for the honor of collaborating with indigenous peoples, organizations, and activists, from around the Amazon rainforest and elsewhere. It is extraordinary to find common cause in high-stakes human dramas that, we believe, will help shape the future of the entire planet.
PUINAMUDT | Puinamudt, Peru – Lack of a clear and precise response from the State regarding the demands of the communities from the Pastaza and Corrientes river basins (represented by the FEDIQUEP and FECONACO indigenous federations, respectively) has generated conflict during the most recent phase of dialogue related to the Block 192 consultations.
Last month in direct violation of its own laws on "free, prior, and informed consultation" Ecuadorian government officials and oil company technicians entered oil blocks 74 and 75 in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, without informing many of the communities whose ancestral territory the blocks overlap, in what appears to be part of a plan to...
This week Amazon Watch was proud to host a pioneering Climate Equity Strategy Session in partnership with the Sierra Club and the Hillary Institute, where representatives from indigenous and frontline communities, international NGOs, and climate and energy experts discussed the challenges and opportunities of keeping fossil fuels in the ground in...
International Institute on Law and Society (IIDS) | For the first time in Peru, an indigenous people demands the recognition of their legal personhood as a first nation or people and not simply as a "community".
This week hundreds of representatives from five indigenous nationalities came together in a special assembly to defend their Amazon territory from oil, mining, logging, destructive dams and the commodification of nature.
The Achuar and U'wa indigenous peoples have me in awe of the immense power of grassroots resistance in the face of multi-billion dollar corporations. Years after graduating from university, I find myself once again a student. Throughout my tenure at Amazon Watch, I have been honored to "informally apprentice" under our wise and humble indigenous...
Amazon Watch is proud to partner with indigenous women from across the Amazon basin to support their work to protect their ancestral territories from oil extraction and destructive mega-dam projects. These women are true leaders in the growing movement to protect the rainforest and all life.
The Guardian | Members of the indigenous Achuar tribe from the Peruvian Amazon have won an undisclosed sum from Occidental Petroleum in an out-of-court settlement after a long-running legal battle in the US courts.
"The parties are pleased to confirm a mutual settlement of the claims in the litigation. Under the settlement, the terms of which are confidential, Oxy will provide assistance for community development projects for the benefit of these five Achuar communities. All parties are satisfied with the resolution of this dispute."
Digital Journal | Members of two different Peruvian native groups have occupied the airport of Pluspetrol, an Argentine oil company that is accused of failing to compensate local communities for damage to the environment.
Fusion | No one ever expected Cuninico, a small riverside fishing village tucked in the heart of the world’s largest rainforest, to run out of drinking water. But it happened last June. Since then this remote Amazon hamlet has relied on state-run oil company PetroPeru to deliver shipments of bottled water from the nearest city, nine hours down river.
VICE | A conflict is raging in Peru's Amazon forests between indigenous groups and an Argentinian oil company. The Amazon dwellers have halted drilling and blockaded a jungle road for two weeks in protest of what they claim is a decades-long environmental catastrophe.
The Guardian | Hundreds of indigenous people deep in the Peruvian Amazon are blocking a major Amazon tributary following what they say is the government's failure to address a social and environmental crisis stemming from oil operations.
On July 17, Oliver Utne, a U.S. citizen residing in Ecuador with a valid visa, was abruptly questioned, detained, and forced to leave the country after being targeted by Ecuadorian immigration officials. Utne had been living in the country for several years and coordinating an innovative solar canoe project with the Achuar indigenous people.
The Planet / Sierra Club | Achuar resistance to oil exploration has achieved some success. Now the Ecuadorian government is attempting to take down indigenous leaders for defending their territory from oil development plans.
We know indigenous peoples are important stewards of the environment. But specifically how do they protect their territory? Watch a presentation by Amazon Watch's Andrew Miller on specific struggles in Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador.
Last week a delegation of indigenous leaders traveled from the Ecuadorian Amazon to the IACHR in Washington, DC to help advise the Ecuadorian government on consultation with indigenous peoples.
As Peru continues to expand oil activities in the Amazon, there's a new oil company with grand ambitions, Calgary-based Gran Tierra. Does Gran Tierra not understand the risks they are running? If so, they are in for a rude shock.
2013 follows a remarkable year for Amazon Watch and our partners in 2012: Talisman Energy and Conoco Phillips announced they would cease oil operations and leave the Peruvian Amazon; Belo Monte dam construction was significantly delayed in Brazil; and we celebrated the landmark decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in favor...
Alianza Arkana Blog | The situation in the Corrientes is not new, and well-documented, as FECONACO noted: "since the 80s, studies in the region have shown the effects of contamination in fish, waters, and even the public health in communities."
From the Amazon to the Andes, communities are protesting the devastation left by mining and oil projects. Successive governments have readily resorted to repressive measures.
We look forward to celebrating 30 years of achievements with Indigenous leaders, supporters, and allies. Amplify! will feature a cocktail reception, delicious vegetable-forward dinner, inspiring program with special guests from the Amazon, live entertainment, and after party.
