“Oil extraction in our Ecuadorian Amazon has brought pollution, diseases, deforestation, destruction of our cultures, and the colonization of our territories. It is an existential threat to us, and it violates our fundamental rights as Indigenous peoples."
Dirty Energy
Crude Reality: One U.S. State Consumes Half the Oil from the Amazon Rainforest
As oil companies carve up more of the rainforest, a new study says no place in the world uses more oil from beneath the Amazon than California
NBC News | Waorani leader Nemo Guiquita has been fighting the expansion of oil drilling in her tribe’s ancestral homeland for years. She said her grandmother, Nayuma, was the first Waorani to make contact with the outside world 60 years ago. “The rainforest for us is home,” Guiquita said. “It’s our life, our pharmacy, our everything.”
Linked Fates
How California's oil imports affect the future of the Amazon rainforest
“Oil drilling in our Amazon has brought contamination, disease, deforestation, destruction of our cultures, and the colonization of our territories. It is an existential threat for us and violates our fundamental rights as Indigenous peoples.”
Linked Fates: Ending Amazon Crude Will Benefit Us All
New research shows that California is the world’s largest consumer of oil from the Amazon rainforest. California converts 50% of the Amazon oil exported globally into fuel for airports, corporations such as Amazon.com, trucking fleets such as PepsiCo, and retail gas giants such as COSTCO. This new investigation expands upon our previous research...
Brazilian Indigenous Leader Faces Renewed Attack Upon Returning from the COP26 Summit
Oakland, CA – Last Saturday, Brazilian Indigenous leader Alessandra Korap Munduruku had her house invaded in the Amazonian city of Santarém, days after returning from the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
COP26 Agreement Fails to Address Climate Emergency, Take Necessary Steps to Protect Amazon and Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Fossil fuel lobby outnumbered Indigenous representation two to one, nations struck deal on international carbon markets despite Indigenous opposition to carbon pricing
Glasgow, UK – Undermining global hopes for meaningful action, the 26th annual Conference of Parties (COP26) climate summit in Glasgow concluded over the weekend without successfully addressing key drivers of the climate crisis, among them the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the role of fossil fuels.
COP26: Frontline Communities Confront JPMorgan Chase on Violating Indigenous Rights and Financing the Climate Crisis
Glasgow, Scotland – Indigenous land defenders gathered outside the JPMorgan Chase offices in Glasgow’s financial district today to demand the bank stop financing fossil fuel extraction.
NGOs Release Letter Accusing Brazilian State of Pará of Greenwashing Through Carbon Credit Schemes
Last Saturday, the government of Pará (along with other Amazon governors) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LEAF Coalition to boost actions regarding sustainability and the bio-economy. While hailed by its advocates as an innovative step forward in halting deforestation, there are serious greenwashing concerns regarding the...
Ecuador’s Consultation Process for Indigenous Lands Comes Under the Microscope
Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has selected two legal cases, involving the Cofán and Waorani Indigenous peoples, as a basis to analyze the country’s process of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
Mongabay | Conflicts with mining companies have become even more serious, says Carlos Mazabanda, Ecuador field coordinator for Amazon Watch, as the state looks to expand its mining sector and relieve some of its dependence on oil. Many communities have been divided by mining companies, while conflicts in the southern province of Morona Santiago have resulted...
Financial and Scientific Resources, Full Recognition and Respect of Indigenous Rights, Can Halt Further Degradation of the Amazon
RAISG study reveals that the region has 22% deforestation, reached the point of no return
Glasgow, UK – During climate talks at COP26 in Glasgow, experts and representatives of Indigenous nationalities shared their vision regarding what the strategies should be to stop the continuous degradation and deforestation of Amazonia, which have led the rainforest to a point of no return: 22% percent of the total area of the basin has been...
Indigenous Delegates at COP26 Endorse Campaign Demanding Banks Exit Amazon Oil and Gas
Dutch bank ING becomes latest to end oil financing in region, implement demands of Stand.earth, Amazon Watch’s new campaign
The role of European lenders in backing the trade from the Amazon came under scrutiny in August 2020 after a report by advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch looking at oil exports from the region to the United States.
ING Will Not Finance Oil in Peru Amid Indigenous Calls to End Amazon Trade
Reuters | The role of European lenders in backing the trade from the Amazon came under scrutiny in August 2020 after a report by advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch looking at oil exports from the region to the United States.
Isolated Indigenous Peoples Under Threat of Oil Expansion
New access road under construction intends to go deep into Yasuní National Park's "No Go" Zone
In late October, Ecuador’s right-wing president Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency, citing rising violent crime. But the surprise move also conveniently suspended civil liberties just as civil society was gearing up to protest his economic and policy proposals seeking to implement neoliberal reforms and a business-friendly environment...
Oil Executives Deny Misinformation on Climate Change, Despite Evidence
Mongabay | “Chevron has about 70 serious cases of environmental impunity in 31 countries worldwide, owing over $50 billion in settlement debts. When are you going to cut the check?” Tlaib said at the hearing. “You can poison the planet to make money, but we are going to defend the planet so we can live.”
As Donziger Is Jailed for Fighting Chevron, Congress Calls for His Release
Despite this, yesterday was a nightmare for Chevron and a victory for environmental justice
Chevron thought it would get away with its crimes after Kaplan’s 2014 decision. But Donziger didn’t give up and neither did the people of Ecuador. Now they have a rapidly-growing international movement behind them not only calling for Donziger’s freedom but that the executives of Chevron should be on trial for their crimes. This was not Chevron’s...
A New 100-Page Report Raises Alarm over Chevron’s Impact on Planet
Mongabay | “It says horrible things about large companies, multi-national companies,” said environmental anthropologist Nan Greer in an interview. “It says that they can completely walk around international laws, national laws, the laws of their domicile.”
Lawyer Who Sued Chevron over “Amazon Chernobyl” Ordered to Prison After 800+ Days of House Arrest
Democracy Now! | “Chevron and these two judges, really allies of the fossil fuel industry, are trying to use me as a weapon to intimidate activists and lawyers who do this work,” says Donziger. “I need to be prosecuted by a neutral prosecutor, not by Chevron.”
Breaking: Donziger’s Appeal Denied, Must Report to Prison Wednesday
Congress, international groups demand Chevron stop targeting activists and Attorney General Garland to release US human rights lawyer
New York, NY – After an unprecedented 800+ days of home detention, human rights attorney Steven Donziger, who helped win the historic $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron for deliberate pollution of the Ecuadorian Amazon for over two decades, was sentenced to six months in prison.
We’re Ending Amazon Crude
Human rights and environmental NGOs, alongside Indigenous organizations, are calling on all banks to Exit Amazon Oil and Gas immediately
On November 1, climate activists and policy makers from all over the world will be convening at the 26th annual Conference of the Parties (COP) in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss global efforts to address the climate crisis.
What Do You Get for Beating Chevron in Court? A “Two-by-Four Between the Eyes” and Six Months in Jail
Despite the UN’s demand for Donziger’s release, judge gives him the maximum sentence, a chilling message to anyone working to address the climate crisis and resist corporate exploitation
"It is emblematic of the larger trend of silencing activists, many of whom are fighting for the solutions desperately needed to combat the global climate crisis exacerbated by multinational fossil fuel companies. Donziger's fate could have lasting effects on environmental and corporate accountability activists, against whom threats and legal...
Ecuador's New Presidential Administration Opens Doors to Expand Extraction
During his first 100 days in office, Ecuador’s new president, Guillermo Lasso, made it clear that his government’s economic policy will be based on extractivism. According to the new administration, natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals, found in Ecuadorian subsoil are "essential," given the economic situation he inherited due to poor...
Indigenous Warrior Women Take Fight to Save Ancestral Lands to Brazilian Capital
Jair Bolsonaro is backing a legal move to open up large tracts of indigenous territory to commercial exploitation that tribal members call an "extermination effort"
The Guardian | Sônia Guajajara, a prominent indigenous leader, said: "These are all highly orchestrated measures which are designed to take away the land rights of indigenous people and open these lands up for exploitation … It's all about profit and money. We champion biodiversity, keeping the forest standing, which is precisely what ensures us life. All they...
Indigenous Leaders Push New Target to Protect Amazon from Deforestation
Reuters | "We invite the global community to join us to reverse the destruction of our home and by doing so safeguard the future of the planet," said José Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, lead coordinator for COICA, which represents Indigenous groups in nine Amazon-basin nations.
This Attorney Took On Chevron. Then Chevron-Linked Judges and Private Prosecutors Had Him Locked Up.
Slate | "It's scary going after a large corporation [and] it's scary going after governments because they have so much power and so much influence that they can do a lot of damage to someone's life," Raveson said. "If the lawyers who bring [environmental justice cases like Donziger's] are subject to biased determinations as to whether or not they should...
How Chevron Made #FreeDonziger a Rallying Cry for the End of Oil
The campaign is now a global movement to protect and defend human and environmental rights against polluters
Chevron did not realize that in its persecution of Donziger it would mobilize tens of thousands to demand accountability against its pollution in Ecuador, and around the world. Last Friday, rallies calling for Donziger's immediate release took place in over a dozen cities including, New York, Los Angeles, Richmond, CA, Miami, San Antonio, Seattle...
Report: Global Banks Fail for Financing, Investment in Oil and Gas in the Amazon Rainforest
Banks remain highly exposed to risk of fueling corruption, human rights violations, and environmental harms despite commitments; advocacy groups call for end to new financing by 2022, existing financing by 2025
San Francisco, CA – A new scorecard and report released today by environmental advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch fails global banks for their financing and investment in the oil and gas industry in the Amazon rainforest, revealing that despite sustainability commitments and risk management screening processes, banks remain highly...
New Report by Human Rights Coalition in Ecuador Exposes Mounting Threats Against Rights Defenders
Research reveals government and industry complicity in systemic rights violations against defenders and provides recommendations for urgent action
Quito, Ecuador – Today, Ecuador's Alliance for Human Rights delivered a hard-hitting new report to government authorities and the Ombudsman's Office on the critical situation of rights defenders in the country.
Rights Defenders Under Threat in Ecuador
How Government Protection Is Insufficient and Favors Industry Interests
The Alliance for Human Rights in Ecuador released a report revealing the intensifying dangers that rights defenders face as part of their struggles to protect and defend their territories, autonomy, and identity, and shining a spotlight on government and industry complicity to undermine their vital work. It was delivered to government authorities...
Civil Society to the United Nations Development Programme: Sever Ties to the Oil Industry
UNDP Executive Board must exclude all fossil fuels from current and future alliances to protect Indigenous and traditional communities, the environment, and our climate
New York, NY – Prompted by the recent alliance in Colombia between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and GeoPark, an oil company credibly accused of human rights and environmental malfeasance in the Amazon rainforest, an international group of more than forty organizations wrote to the UNDP Executive Board on Friday, June 4. The...