Destructive Infrastructure

Deforestation May Soar Now That Colombian Civil War Is Over

The end of war doesn't necessarily bring peace to the environment. An increase in illegal logging could be one of the unexpected consequences of peace in Colombia.

August 2, 2017

5,221 views

3 min read

China’s Other Big Export: Pollution

A true climate leader would invest in the preservation of areas of global ecological importance rather than destroy them.

July 21, 2017

4,435 views

4 min read

Brazilian Indigenous Group Occupies Amazon Dam, Halts Construction To Demand Rights

At dawn on Sunday, July 16th, 200 representatives of the indigenous Munduruku nation occupied the main work camp of the São Manoel hydroelectric dam on the Teles Pires River in the Brazilian Amazon, paralyzing the project.

July 18, 2017

6,251 views

5 min read

Ecuadorian Government Refuses To Appear at Hearing on Threat of Extractive Industry to Indigenous Peoples

The absence of government representatives at the hearing doesn’t bode well for such a visit, nor for an improvement in respect for human rights in the country. Hopefully, the new government will soon remember that, as a member of the Organization of American States, it’s not an option but an obligation to participate in the IACHR.

July 13, 2017

2,569 views

3 min read

Deforestation Soars in Colombia After Farc Rebels’ Demobilization

"The Farc would limit logging to two hectares a year in the municipality," said Jaime Pacheco, mayor of the town of Uribe, in eastern Meta province. "In one week [last year], 100 hectares were cleared and there is little we can do about it."

July 13, 2017

874 views

3 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 Indigenous People Outraged as Agency Targeted in Conservative-led Cuts

The Brazilian agency charged with protecting nearly a million indigenous people and their extensive reserves is barely functioning after a debilitating assault from a powerful group of conservative politicians and a cost-cutting government.

July 10, 2017

1,964 views

5 min read

Violence Against Indigenous Peoples Destroys Our Common Home

Over 60 uncontacted tribal peoples remain in the Brazilian Amazon. Protecting their independence would also preserve millions of hectares of tropical rainforest.

July 10, 2017

3,403 views

6 min read

Brazil’s Rollbacks Jeopardize the Amazon’s Future

As steward of globally critical ecosystems like the Amazon rainforest, Brazil should immediately cease its attacks on environmental and indigenous rights protections.

July 5, 2017

1,060 views

4 min read

New Highway Brings Deforestation Near Two Colombian National Parks

In the depths of the Ecuadorian Amazon, on its border with Peru, indigenous communities have been denouncing what they say is an uncontrolled onslaught of illegal logging and hunting.

June 27, 2017

1,227 views

6 min read

Long Road Ahead To Indigenous Land and Forest Rights in Peru

"It’s important that there is a clear road map, so the benefits of land and forest tenure reforms reach the communities they were meant to benefit."

June 23, 2017

5,846 views

6 min read

"This Is My Land": The Indigenous Women Chiefs Protecting the Amazon

Chiefs such as Tuire at the forefront of protests against illegal logging and mining, and have proved themselves to be valuable leaders and passionate, brave spokespeople.

June 23, 2017

4,154 views

6 min read

Politics of Death: Land Conflict and Murder Go "Hand in Hand" in Brazil

"Since the government has slowed down the recognition of indigenous lands, communities have found themselves in direct conflict... with modernised agribusiness who are intent on using the land for soy or other monocultures."

June 23, 2017

1,303 views

4 min read

Amazon Forest Endangered Despite Brazilian President’s Vetoes of Environmental Protection Reductions

In a letter denouncing the president for using the vetoes to obscure his intention to reduce forest protections through other means, a group of Brazilian and international NGOs warned that ruralista lawmakers would likely amend the new legislation to slash the protections on an even greater area of forest.

June 21, 2017

4,287 views

4 min read

Temer Faces Political Test Over Amazon Bill

President Michel Temer must choose whether or not to sign a bill freeing up a large section of the Amazon to agriculture, as Brazilian activists warn that the country's environmental commitments could be sacrificed to demands fuelled by its political crisis.

June 14, 2017

3,914 views

3 min read

Amazon Protectors: Brazil’s Indigenous People Struggle To Stave Off Loggers

As politicians plan a radical shift in how land for Brazil's 900,000 aboriginal people is demarcated, environmentalists say places like Reserve 124, where territory is formally owned by indigenous communities, represent the best chance to save endangered forests.

June 6, 2017

2,327 views

4 min read

Resistance and Risk in the Peruvian Amazon

The expansion of oil palm plantations is an emerging threat to the Amazon in Peru and beyond. The rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia have been devastated by oil palm, a legacy that does not bode well for the Western Hemisphere.

June 6, 2017

1,294 views

5 min read

Brazil’s Archaeologists Join Fight To Preserve Country’s Ancient Lands

Brazil's archaeologists have lined up alongside conservationists and indigenous rights campaigners to protest against government proposals that they see as a threat to pre-colonial cultural heritage as well as forests, native communities and biodiversity.

May 16, 2017

3,299 views

3 min read

Shipibo Leader Demands #LandRightsNow in Amazon and End To Repression of Indigenous Activists

Over the last several weeks, we were honored to support the activities of Shipibo indigenous activist Ronald Suárez at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City and during the Peoples Climate March in Washington, DC.

May 9, 2017

6,197 views

4 min read

Brazil’s Deforestation "Sheriff" Has Been Fired

According to Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch Program Director, "The dismissal of Thelma Krug reflects a growing wariness that the Brazilian government's tools for monitoring deforestation are not keeping pace with the diverse and sophisticated methods used by loggers to avoid detection."

May 2, 2017

2,992 views

3 min read

Business as Usual: A Resurgence of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

The rise in deforestation over the last five years should not be a surprise, given that the underlying factors behind forest clearing continue to grow year by year.

April 27, 2017

3,953 views

7 min read

Brazil Slashes Environment Budget by 43%

Brazil accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical forest. After several years of decline, deforestation – driven by beef, soy and timber industries – appears to be increasing again.

April 12, 2017

4,717 views

2 min read

Community Consent: Business Lessons from the Amazon

From the snow-covered plains of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota to Shuar rainforest territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon, there is a resurgence of resistance to extractive industry projects around the world. These conflicts have major implications for China, Latin America's largest trading partner, whose state run companies are...

March 29, 2017

3,037 views

10 min read

Brazil’s Dam Menace Looms Large Despite Recent Victory

In Brazil, hydroelectric dams are a reflection of the system's problems: corruption, injustice and inequality.

December 19, 2016

1,808 views

8 min read

Amazon Land Rights Face Greatest Threat

“Not only is securing land tenure the right thing to do, it’s one of the world’s most cost-effective climate mitigation strategies”

October 19, 2016

2,813 views

4 min read

Environmental Official Murdered in Brazilian Amazon

Araújo is the latest in a long list of environmentalists assassinated in Brazil. According to the NGO Global Witness, 448 environmentalists were killed in Brazil from 2002-2013. This was half of the total killed worldwide.

October 19, 2016

5,780 views

2 min read

U.S. Imports of Amazon Crude Oil Driving Expansion of Oil Operations

Crude oil imported to the U.S. from the Amazon, most of which gets refined in California, is driving expansion of oil operations into the rainforest, according to a new report.

October 1, 2016

1,758 views

5 min read

Finally, a Gross Climate Habit Californians Should Feel Really Guilty About

The analysis, done by Amazon Watch, a nonprofit working to protect the rainforest, is the first to document the extent to which Amazon rainforest crude oil is present in the United States. Not only does this oil contribute to local air pollution and global climate change, but the expansion of fossil fuel extraction in the Amazon Basin threatens...

September 28, 2016

4,699 views

3 min read

U.S. Drives Rainforest Destruction By Importing Amazon Oil, Study Finds

U.S. imports of crude oil from the Amazon are driving the destruction of some of the rainforest ecosystem's most pristine areas and releasing copious amounts of greenhouse gases, according to a new report conducted by environmental group Amazon Watch.

September 28, 2016

5,013 views

3 min read

Protection of Amazon’s Biodiversity Could Fuel "Fourth Industrial Revolution"

The Amazon rainforest holds the biological keys to kick-start a "fourth industrial revolution" if its biodiversity is protected, said a study published on Friday.

September 16, 2016

1,569 views

2 min read

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

"We give to Amazon Watch because you have impact. You've changed corporate practices and showcased what a real solidarity organization looks like."

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