"The political and economic interests behind the destruction of the Amazon rainforest – including Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro – are losing a powerful ally with Trump’s election defeat. This is unequivocally good news for the rainforest and her peoples, which are under a sustained assault," said Leila Salazar-López, Amazon Watch Executive...
FPIC
Statement on Violence and Deprivation of Freedom Against Forest Defender Salomé Aranda
As the network of Amazonian Women, we express our total rejection of violence and deprivation of liberty that Salomé Aranda – our sister, leader, and defender of the Amazon rainforest – is suffering. We demand her immediate release and that a transparent investigation be carried out on the situation of systematic violence that our sister has...
U.S. Firms Continue to Fund Network of Destruction in the Amazon
Financial giants BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard, among those that invested more than US $18 billion in nine companies tied to conflicts on Indigenous lands
Bolsonaro and his henchmen would have us believe that "the Amazon doesn't catch fire," "the Amazon isn't burning," or even that "Africa is burning much more than Brazil." Yet these flimsy arguments cannot withstand the accurate documentation of how this year's heartbreaking burning season has laid waste to Brazilian ecosystems while incinerating...
American Financiers Invested More Than US$18 Billion in Companies Linked to Indigenous Rights Violations in the Brazilian Amazon
A new report exposes international financiers – including BlackRock, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard, Bank of America, and Dimensional Fund Advisors – invested in companies complicit in land conflicts with Indigenous peoples
Brasília, Brazil and Oakland, USA – U.S.-based financial institutions play a key role in enabling the destructive actions of companies linked to violations of Indigenous rights and conflicts in Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon, according to a new report published today by the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB) and...
Complicity in Destruction III
How Global Corporations Enable Violations of Indigenous Peoples' Rights in The Brazilian Amazon
This new report, published by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples in partnership with Amazon Watch, reveals how a network of leading international financial institutions is linked to conflicts on Indigenous lands, illegal deforestation, land grabbing, the weakening of environmental protections, and the production and export of conflict...
Amazon Watch is building on more than 28 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Amazon Fires Mapping: Exposing the Destruction with Data
Bolsonaro and his henchmen would have us believe that "the Amazon doesn't catch fire," "the Amazon isn't burning," or even that "Africa is burning much more than Brazil." Yet these flimsy arguments cannot withstand the accurate documentation of how this year's heartbreaking burning season has laid waste to Brazilian ecosystems while incinerating...
Amazonian Indigenous Leader Wins RFK Human Rights Award
Indigenous Leader Alessandra Korap Munduruku Recognized for Longstanding Defense of Rights and Territories in the Brazilian Amazon
Washington, D.C. – Alessandra Korap Munduruku, a prominent Indigenous community leader from the Brazilian Amazon, will be recognized with the annual RFK Human Rights Award on Thursday, October 22nd. This global recognition comes among mounting threats targeting her and the Munduruku community, driven by illegal miners, loggers, and land grabbers...
Overflight Uncovers Environmental Destruction of Munduruku Indigenous Territory
In the Tapajós River basin, Amazônia Real's team, with support from Amazon Watch, spotted predatory deforestation, fires, and mining activity
Amazônia Real | On September 17, Amazônia Real, in partnership with Amazon Watch, witnessed this attack on the rainforest, Indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers, and biodiversity from up above during a flyover. From the sky, smoke from the fires obscures the environmental destruction on the ground – a combination of extensive deforested areas, pasture farms...
The Amazon’s Frontline Defenders Are Under Siege. Where Are Their Reinforcements?
CNN | Like in the United States, President Bolsonaro of Brazil's incendiary language discredits and all but sanctions persecution of select minority groups. In his address to the UN Assembly last month, Bolsonaro implicated "Brazilians of indigenous ancestry" for the Amazon's raging fires and deforestation. The previous year, he singled out Chief Raoni...
APIB Receives Letelier-Moffit Human Rights Award
44th Annual Institute for Policy Studies Letelier-Moffit Human Rights Awards Honor Two Outstanding Justice and Human Rights Champions, The Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB) and The Awood Center
International awardee APIB is a collective movement of indigenous populations across Brazil. Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's politics are threatening to the well-being of Brazil's Indigenous, Afro-descendant, women and LGBTQ+ population, in addition to the health of the Amazon Rainforest and the planet. APIB represents the strongest Indigenous...
Artists, Activists, and Storytellers Join Forces to Release a Hopeful New Animated Short Film
Opal Tometi, Emma Thompson, Gael García Bernal, and Nnimmo Bassey come together as an all-star cast of narrators for the film Message from the Future II: The Years of Repair
Oakland, CA – At a time when everyday life feels like an apocalyptic Hollywood movie, a new animated short film Message from the Future II: The Years of Repair imagines a future in which we emerge from our current crises to build back a better society. Produced by The Leap and The Intercept, the nine-minute film launched online today including a...
A Hopeful Message from the Future from Gael García Bernal and Emma Thompson
Our planet is on fire and we cannot breathe. From the criminal arson ravaging the Amazon rainforest for profit to the wildfires raging on the West Coast of the United States due to escalating climate chaos, our planet and communities are under attack. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of broken systems that perpetuate the...
The Shuar Arutam Will Not Be Divided by Solaris Mining Company
The company has led a divisive public relations campaign in attempts to manufacture consent for the Warintza mining project
"This 'Strategic Alliance' is not an 'innovative relationship' as Solaris portrays it. It is the same strategy that many mining and oil companies have used to advance their projects, while side-stepping and disrespecting the legitimate and traditional Indigenous organizational structures."
Trading in Pollution: European Banks Bankroll Billions in Amazon Oil
"I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of Indigenous peoples and communities without water, without food, and in devastating health conditions due to the pollution of the Coca and Napo rivers? It's time for the banks...
New Report Reveals European Banks Financing Trade of Controversial Amazon Oil to U.S.
Banks in Switzerland, France, Netherlands facilitate trade from Amazon Sacred Headwaters region in Ecuador, where oil extraction contributes to spills, human rights abuses, and climate destruction
"The oil industry has a toxic legacy in the Amazon, further exacerbated by recent spills that have contaminated rivers and disrupted the health and food security of Indigenous communities. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, oil companies continue to pursue expansion, putting Indigenous peoples at even greater risk. These banks cannot claim to...
Indigenous Resistance Expels Oil Company GeoPark from Peruvian Amazon
The Chile-based oil company's announcement follows years of protests, lawsuits, outreach to major shareholders, and direct advocacy with the CEO
"GeoPark's departure from Block 64 is a testament to the vision and persistence of the Achuar people and Wampis Nation. Let this be the final nail in Block 64's coffin," said Andrew Miller, Advocacy Director at Amazon Watch.
BlackRock's Silence on Forest Destruction
It says all you need to know about its ineffective climate policies
After years of pressure from shareholders and legislators, BlackRock finally seemed ready to acknowledge the climate crisis in January, when it announced it would "place climate at the center of its investment strategy." On the surface, the move seemed to send a clear message that business as usual was over. Yet, it has been far from clear what...
Forests and Human Rights: Principles for Asset Managers
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has no clear policy on forests, land, and human rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities
BlackRock's Big Problem | In light of BlackRock's commitments to center climate in its investment strategy and the responsibilities it has stemming from its continued financing of deforestation-linked commodities, the BlackRock's Big Problem campaign urges BlackRock and other asset managers to adopt policies on Forests, Land, and the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and...
Help Us Protect the Headwaters of the Amazon from Oil Companies, Elders Say
Reuters | Indigenous leaders are calling for help to stop oil companies drilling in the headwaters of the Amazon river in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that encroaching on their homelands would destroy a bulwark against climate change.
Investor Eye on the Amazon
A primer for shareholders concerned about rainforest protection and human rights
The Investor Eye on the Amazon newsletter serves as a resource for socially-responsible investors, industry analysts, and researchers looking to better understand the risks associated with financing climate-damaging industries in the Amazon, and what they can do to protect the region.
COP25: Amazonian Indigenous Leaders Share Conclusions on the Summit
Hearing a contradiction between what is being said and what is being done, indigenous leaders call for global support to stop new oil drilling, mining exploration, and deforestation in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters
Madrid, Spain – Indigenous leaders representing twenty nationalities from Ecuador and Peru called for global support to stop oil drilling and mining in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region – the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on the planet.
Indigenous Leaders Call for Global Support to Stop New Oil Drilling and Mining in the Heart of the Amazon at COP 25
Madrid, Spain – Indigenous leaders representing 20 nationalities from Ecuador and Peru called for global support to stop oil drilling and mining in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region – the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. A new report released today demonstrates that this is more than a regional issue: this is a global crisis...
Statement on the Killings of Firmino Guajajara and Raimundo Guajajara
This afternoon, an unidentified individual shot and killed two indigenous chiefs, Firmino Prexede Guajajara and Raimundo Guajajara, and injured two others.
Protest Statement: Damn Those Who Celebrate Belo Monte!
A Statement of Protest from Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre (Xingu Alive Forever Movement)
At a time when the people of the Xingu agonize over their lack of water, Bolsonaro hails the final turbine of Belo Monte. At a time when the fish of the Xingu River are reduced to skin and spine because there are no more nutrients in the river, Bolsonaro celebrates Belo Monte. When the forest tumbles like it never has before in the areas of Belo...
In Paris, Brazilian Indigenous Leaders Denounce the Role of French Financiers in Amazon Destruction
Eight Brazilian indigenous leaders led a spirited protest along with 100 supporters in a Parisian financial center today, targeting the key role of French investors behind mounting human rights and environmental destruction in the Amazon.
Victoria histórica en la lucha por los derechos indígenas contra la expansión de la frontera petrolera
La resistencia indígena a la extracción de petróleo en Ecuador obtuvo otra gran victoria esta semana. El éxito se alcanzó luego de un esfuerzo de varios años para detener los planes de perforación de Andes Petroleum en una concesión en el bosque tropical denominado como Bloque 79, que se superpone al territorio titulado de las nacionalidades...
Historic Victory in the Fight for Indigenous Rights and to End Amazon Crude
The decision from Ecuador's Energy Ministry comes on the heels of new momentum by the indigenous movement against extraction, attacks against indigenous earth defenders, and a global outcry over the destruction of the Amazon.
Indigenous Forest Guardian Murdered by Illegal Loggers in Brazilian Amazon
Another indigenous leader was gravely wounded in the ambush and a logger is reportedly missing
Earlier today, members of the Guajajara people's Forest Guardians, a volunteer land and environmental monitoring force, were ambushed by a group of illegal loggers in the Araribóia indigenous territory, leaving one Guardian dead and another gravely wounded. Forest defender Paulo Paulino Guajajara was killed by a shot to the face, while the attack...
Brazilian Indigenous Leaders Interrupt Global Summit to Tell Top Brands "Our Survival Is at Stake"
"The companies you represent bear part of the responsibility for the threat we Indigenous People are facing in Brazil. Be conscious about your responsibility. Everything is at stake, the rainforest, the climate and our survival," said Sonia Guajajara, one of the ten Indigenous leaders from APIB visiting Europe.
