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    Watch Belo Monte Documentary Today!

    Today is International Day of Action for Rivers, and what better way to commemorate it than watching the award-winning documentary film, Belo Monte: After the Flood!

    March 14, 2017
    1,653 views
    2 min read

    Brazil: Hate Speech Threatens the Xingu

    Imperatriz Leopoldinense probably had no idea where it would lead them when they chose to speak out about the Xingu, but they chose the right path. Because today, to defend the Brazilian Indian is to defend the future of our country.

    February 22, 2017
    1,591 views
    4 min read

    Counterintuitive: Global Hydropower Boom Will Add To Climate Change

    "The new study confirms that reservoirs are major emitters of methane, a particularly aggressive greenhouse gas," said Kate Horner, Executive Director of International Rivers, adding that hydropower dams "can no longer be considered a clean and green source of electricity."

    February 14, 2017
    3,545 views
    7 min read

    Indigenous Rights and Territories Under Attack in Brazil

    Make no mistake about it, indigenous rights and territories are under attack in Brazil. We recently reported on attempts by the administration of President Michel Temer to roll back indigenous rights and environmental protections, moves that fundamentally undermine land demarcation norms while portending dire consequences for the Amazon and its...

    February 14, 2017
    5,468 views
    3 min read

    Siemens, the Pope and the Law of the Jungle

    At Belo Monte, the writing is on the wall because, all over the Amazon, new dams are planned or being built. A key role in the protection of the forests, rivers and animals will now be played by the indigenous person.

    February 10, 2017
    1,213 views
    11 min read

    Amazon Watch is building on more than three decades of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.

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    Brazil’s Hydroelectric Plans Threaten Its Paris Climate Commitments

    Brazil's government wants to build dams in Amazonia with "big reservoirs." That is quite a point of departure compared to the run-of-river dams that have dominated the country's planning and construction activity over the last two decades.

    February 1, 2017
    2,208 views
    6 min read

    Victories by Brazil’s Indigenous Movement Demonstrate Ways To Resist Authoritarianism

    From North to South America and around the world, the ascendency of authoritarian leaders portends dangerous days ahead. Yet at the same time, remarkable stories continue to emerge of determined resistance to these brutal regressions, led by the continent's indigenous peoples from the Amazon to Standing Rock.

    November 18, 2016
    2,399 views
    3 min read

    Belo Monte: After the Flood

    Belo Monte: After the Flood is a documentary exploring the effects of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the environment and peoples of the Brazilian city of Altamira and the Xingu River basin, a tributary to the Amazon River.

    October 25, 2016
    4,002 views
    2 min read

    Brazil’s New Government Needs Economic Growth and May Sacrifice the Amazon To Get It

    The impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, coup or not, represents a fundamental realigning of modern Brazil. For some in the country, the crisis is an opportunity. These politicians and businessmen are now exploiting the upheaval to roll-back environmental laws and get their hands on the vast natural resources found in protected regions...

    September 7, 2016
    4,405 views
    3 min read

    Brazil Judge Suspends Operating License for Belo Monte Hydrodam

    A judge in Brazil's Amazonian state of Para suspended the operating license of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River for failing to provide required water and sewage services to local communities.

    September 2, 2016
    1,966 views
    2 min read

    Victory on Brazil’s Tapajós River and the Battle that Lies Ahead

    Last week, in a stunning turn of events, Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA definitively shelved plans to carve the São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam into the heart of the Amazon. Deeming the project a socio-environmental liability for its devastating impacts upon the lands and way of life of the Munduruku people, IBAMA's bold move could reflect a...

    August 9, 2016
    2,582 views
    4 min read

    Indigenous Tribe Applauds State Move To Cancel Brazil Amazon Dam

    Indigenous people living in Brazil's rainforest have welcomed a decision by the national environment agency to cancel a proposed mega-dam in the Amazon which they say would have displaced communities while opening the sensitive region to logging.

    August 8, 2016
    3,791 views
    2 min read

    Major Amazon Dam Opposed by Tribes Fails To Get Environmental License

    Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch said: "We have been awaiting such a welcome announcement from the Brazilian government for more than a decade, while witnessing the tragic and unnecessary damming of the Madeira and Xingu rivers during this time."

    August 8, 2016
    5,410 views
    3 min read

    Indigenous People Protest Against the Violation of Their Rights in Front of Brasilia Embassies

    Last week's indigenous mobilization in Brasilia – detailed in the following blog from the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) – came as a response to the current, alarming and mounting assault on the rights of Brazil's indigenous peoples. The Brasilia protest articulated an appeal from indigenous leadership to national governments via their...

    July 14, 2016
    5,084 views
    5 min read

    Brazil: Rules Protecting Amazon Under Threat in New Political Fight

    Renewed attempts by top lawmakers to remove environmental licensing requirements for "strategic" development projects in Brazil have been stalled. Controversial schemes include stalled plans for the São Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric complex – which critics warn could infringe on indigenous lands, destroy local biodiversity and trigger...

    June 6, 2016
    3,110 views
    4 min read

    Brazil Prepares to Roll Back Green Laws

    Taking advantage of Brazil's present political turbulence, as the battle to impeach President Dilma Rousseff reaches its climax, reactionary politicians are quietly rolling back environmental and indigenous protection laws in defiance of the country's commitments under the Paris Agreement.

    May 12, 2016
    1,033 views
    4 min read

    Brazil’s Congress Moves Ahead to End Nation’s Environmental Safeguards

    A Commission in the Brazilian Senate has quietly approved a constitutional amendment that would shred the environmental safeguards currently required for public works. If ratified, the amendment could give a green light and fast track approval to major infrastructure projects nationwide including the controversial Sao Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric...

    May 9, 2016
    6,095 views
    4 min read

    Belo Monte and How NOT to Produce Energy in the 21st Century

    The most important project of President Dilma Rousseff's energy program is also a monumental example of how energy should not be produced in the 21st century. In addition to its high price tag, the dam is associated with corruption and massive human rights violations due to its social and environmental impacts.

    May 6, 2016
    3,953 views
    4 min read

    Indigenous Representatives Call on GE to Save Their Amazon Home

    Jacksonville, FL – Earlier today, Munduruku Indigenous leaders from the Amazon participated in General Electric's Annual General Meeting, where they asked the company not to take part in a controversial mega dam project in the heart of the Amazon.

    April 27, 2016
    4,559 views
    2 min read

    Bold Moves Block Tapajós Mega-dam and Uphold Indigenous Rights, for Now

    In the shadow of last week's contentious vote to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's indigenous agency FUNAI and environmental agency IBAMA made unexpected, decisive rulings in defense of indigenous rights and ecological protection in the Amazon.

    April 26, 2016
    5,438 views
    3 min read

    Amazon Mega-dam Suspended, Providing Hope for Indigenous People and Biodiversity

    This Wednesday, IBAMA, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Resources suspended the São Luiz do Tapajós dam’s license, citing its threat to the Indigenous lands of the Munduruku Indians, a land claim just recently recognized by FUNAI, Brazil’s National Indian Foundation. The decision could still be reversed by the Brazilian...

    April 25, 2016
    6,536 views
    10 min read

    Brazil Amazon Dam Project Suspended Over Concerns for Indigenous People

    While the recession may have forced a pause in the development of the region, Brazil’s political crisis, which looks set to see President Dilma Rousseff removed from office next month, could change that dynamic. “We are living in a moment of great instability. Potentially, a new Ibama president could reverse the decision.”

    April 25, 2016
    2,510 views
    3 min read

    Insider Claims Rousseff Coalition Took Funds from Belo Monte Mega-Dam

    "It further confirms what we've suspected since the project was rammed forward, in violation of Brazil's legislation and constitution," said Christian Poirier, program director of Amazon Watch. "Today's news sheds further light on the rampant corruption that underpins the construction of Belo Monte. Aside from its looming ethical...

    April 8, 2016
    3,781 views
    3 min read

    Belo Monte and the Face of Development We Refuse To See

    It does not come as a surprise to those who have followed the Belo Monte saga over the last six years that the mega-dam has been allowed to begin operating this year without first complying with most of its legally mandated socio-environmental conditions.

    April 4, 2016
    3,224 views
    12 min read