Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – After learning that the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) will not release funds from the $640 million bridge loan issued in late December unless Brazilian legislation is honored, the dam consortium Norte Energia, S.A. (NESA) is threatening to drop the loan and is now seeking private funders to finance...
Inter-Press Service (IPS) | The growing presence of Chinese and Brazilian capital in Latin America's energy sector is facilitating the construction of hydroelectric complexes, but is also the fuelling nationalist stances that are adding to the environmental criticisms of those major projects.
This briefing paper focuses on the Brazilian government's plans to build the third-largest dam in the world and one of the Amazon's most controversial development projects.
The Guardian | Brazil's new president, Dilma Rousseff, has never been popular among environmentalists. Since the early days of predecessor Luis Inácio Lula da Silva's presidency many activists have seen her as a leader with an old-fashioned view of development. Something like "economic growth is priority number one, no matter if some hectares of Amazon...
The New York Times | A significant hurdle in the construction of a huge dam on a tributary of the Amazon river was removed this week when Brazilian authorities approved the clearing of hundreds of acres of forest at the dam site and the construction of new roads to service the project.
Brazília, Brazil – The Brazilian government has issued a "partial" installation license allowing the Belo Monte Dam Complex to break ground on the margins of the Amazon's Xingu River despite egregious disregard for human rights and environmental legislation, the unwavering protests of civil society and condemnations by its Federal Public...
Brasília and São Paulo, Brazil – The Belo Monte Dam Complex, slated to begin construction in April along the Xingu River in heart of the Brazilian Amazon, not only threatens ecological integrity and the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and other local communities but also presents tremendous risks for financiers, investors and the country's...
Belem, Brazil – International Rivers, Amazon Watch and the Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre celebrate the news that Bishop Erwin Kräutler will be one of four recipients of this year's Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize."
Santarém, Para, Brazil – For the people of the Amazon, the forests and the rivers are life. That is why they mobilized at the V Pan Amazon Forum in a global call to protect the rivers of the Amazon.
Los Angeles, CA – James Cameron, the creator of Avatar, has produced a short new film called "A Message from Pandora" – released this week — about an epic battle to stop the massive Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon.
Brasilia, Brazil – The technical team from Brazil's environmental protection agency, IBAMA, has issued its long-awaited technical assessment on the Belo Monte Dam Complex strongly recommending against a partial installation license until the dam building consortium, Norte Energia complies with upwards of 40 social and environmental...
EFE | Grupos de indígenas y organizaciones de derechos humanos han solicitado protección a la CIDH para que suspenda la construcción de la hidroeléctrica de Belo Monte, en la Amazonía brasileña, informó hoy la organización Amazon Watch.
Washington, D.C., Brazil – Today international and Brazilian human rights and environmental organizations submitted a formal petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), denouncing grave and imminent violations upon the rights of indigenous and riverine communities that will be affected by the construction of Belo Monte...
The Brazilian government is on the eve of granting permission begin construction on the Belo Monte Dam, which would carve the world's third largest hydroelectric dam into the heart of the Amazon. We need to take action now before it's too late.
The Guardian UK | One of the most important tributaries of the Amazon river has fallen to its lowest level in over a century, following a fierce drought that has isolated tens of thousands of rainforest inhabitants and raised concerns about the possible impact of climate change on the region.
In this year’s Amazon in Focus, we are pleased to present to you powerful and insightful articles from our campaigners in the field. The journeys and events that inspired these articles demonstrate the breadth of our work and, at the same time, the depth of our connection to our indigenous partners and the rainforest.
Roberto "Berito" Cobaria and Gilberto Cobaria from the U'wa people of Colombia were our guest speakers. James Cameron joined the luncheon by video to present A Message from Pandora, a special feature about the battle to stop the Belo Monte Dam.
The latest version of our Eye on the Amazon enewsletter is out and online. Among other developments, it highlights the historic agreement the Government of Ecuador has made with the United Nations to create a trust fund in exchange for refraining from drilling for oil in the Yasuni National Park.
CNN | Movie director, James Cameron has teamed up with environmental campaigners in an effort to help Brazilian tribes' epic fight against the construction of a controversial dam in northern Brazil. "Defending the Rivers of the Amazon" is a 10-minute interactive presentation created jointly by Amazon Watch and International Rivers.
Amazon Watch and International Rivers have teamed up to create a state-of-the-art 10-minute Google Earth 3-D tour and video narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver in support of Brazil's Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre. The video and tour allow viewers to learn about the harmful impacts of, and alternatives to the massive Belo Monte Dam Complex on...
Today, Amazon Watch and International Rivers are releasing a new Google Earth tour and YouTube video called "Defending the Rivers of the Amazon," narrated by Sigourney Weaver, to draw attention to the impacts of the proposed Belo Monte Dam Complex on the people and ecology of the Xingu River.If built, Belo Monte would
Amazon Watch and International Rivers | Sigourney Weaver Narrates New Google Earth Animation on Brazil's Controversial Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon Rainforest.
As many supporters of Amazon Watch know by now, Avatar director and powerhouse filmmaker James Cameron has joined forces with us on a critical campaign in Brazil. Treehugger.com takes a look at Cameron's work today.
"A Message from Pandora" is a special feature produced by James Cameron about the battle to stop the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon River.
Timed with the re-release of Avatar in theatres today, highly acclaimed director James Cameron has teamed up with Amazon Watch to produce a short feature "A Message from Pandora." The documentary spotlights the battle to stop the massive Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, which thousands of lo
It's a big day for Amazon Watch and our Brazil campaign team. We're involved in a major push to highlight the struggle against the Belo Monte Monster Dam in the Brazilian Amazon.
Altamira, Brazil – Hundreds of indigenous leaders from throughout the Brazilian Amazon Basin joined local riverbank dwellers and dam-affected people this week for the historic Terra Livre Regional Encampment.
Inter-Press Service (IPS) | ALTAMIRA, Brazil, Aug 10, 2010 (IPS) - "It's a fait accompli," acknowledges André Villas-Boas, head of the independent SocioEnvironmental Institute (ISA), resigned to the fact that the legal actions and protests have failed to block the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Brazil's Amazon jungle region.
Original Portuguese version belowWe, the indigenous peoples Juruna, Xipaya, Arara of Volta Grande, Kuruaia and Xicrin from the region of Altamira, the Guajajara, Gavião, Krikati, Awa Guajá, Kayapó of Mato Grosso and Pará, the Tembe, Aikeora, Suru?/p>
