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.
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...
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.
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...
"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.
Lima, Peru – On the heels of widespread indigenous protests in Ecuador, and at the Latin American Parks Congress, the Indigenous federations that are part of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative called for emergency support to stop the governments of Ecuador and Peru from expanding new fossil fuel, mining, and large-scale industrial development...
We, the Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador and Peru together with our allies, call on the global community for solidarity, as our very survival depends on the survival of the Amazon rainforest which is under constant and unprecedented attack.
"There must be justice to have peace," said Leila Salazar-López, Amazon Watch Executive Director. "Ecuador has a new opportunity to truly be a plurinational state that guarantees the economic, social, and cultural rights of indigenous peoples, as established in its constitution, and implement international human rights treaties to which it is...
Quito, Ecuador – We are women of peace, defenders of our territories and our families. We are making this statement after much pain and indignation, witnessing so much inhuman repression, and after many days of suffering, racism and violence against our brothers and sisters who participate in the National Strike, where people are demonstrating in...
Brasília, Brazil – A delegation of Indigenous leaders will visit twelve European countries between October 17 and November 20 to report serious violations against Brazilian Indigenous Peoples since President Jair Bolsonaro took office. Led by the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), in partnership with civil society organizations...
Puyo, Pastaza – The Amazon Women Defenders of the Rainforest are concerned about the current situation in Ecuador brought about by the recent economic measures adopted by the government of President Lenin Moreno, and we are bearing witness to threats to human rights.
"This moment of crisis presents Ecuador with a unique opportunity to heed the call of its people, support indigenous-led solutions, begin a transition to a post-petroleum economy, and put into practice the visionary concepts guaranteed by their Constitution, including the rights of nature and 'buen vivir' (living well), as well as respecting...
"We need a real commitment from Bolsonaro's government to protect Brazil's forests and their indigenous and traditional communities, who are the true guardians of the Amazon. Bolsonaro has promised 'zero tolerance' for explosive deforestation and subsequent widespread arson; however, his policies and rhetoric have actually encouraged such crimes."
"Bolsonaro's speech is outrageous, undemocratic, racist, and deeply violent against the indigenous peoples of Brazil... Bolsonaro must be held responsible for the destruction of the Amazon and the brutalizing of indigenous peoples underway in Brazil today."
"We do not accept and will never accept the Brazilian government appointing our indigenous representation on its own without consulting us through our recognized and supported organizations and leaders."
CalMatters | The central theory of the Tropical Forest Standard has been proven false time and time again, first with the Kyoto Protocol, then with numerous public and private programs known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, or REDD+.
August 13th, more than 2,000 indigenous women leaders from across Brazil will stage a mobilization in the nation’s capital as part of the country’s first Indigenous Women's March. Entitled "Territory: our body, our spirit,” this historic gathering responds to escalating violations of indigenous rights under the Bolsonaro government, as native...
On Saturday July 26, dozens of heavily armed wildcat gold miners invaded the remote Amazonian territory of the Waiãpi indigenous people in the Brazilian state of Amapá, driving out residents by threatening violence. This invasion followed the miners’ murder of local leader Emyra Waiãpi on Monday July 22nd, who was stabbed to death before his body...
The Investor Eye on the Amazon provides an update on our campaigns targeting corporations with ties to dirty industry in the Amazon, and it aims to serve as a resource for socially-responsible investors, industry analysts, and researchers looking to better understand the risks associated with investment in extractive industries - and their own...
"As the Achuar People, along with the Wampis Nation, we completely reject the entry of GeoPark into our territory. You all are aware of human rights and environmental law, yet you still insist on polluting our lands. Understand that no matter how much you insist on entering our territory, we are never going to allow oil companies to come in."
Nelton Yankur Antich, president FENAP, which represents 45 communities located in both the Pastaza and Morona river basins, said, "We are here specifically to manifest our decision not to permit the entry of GeoPark into our territory."
Late on Thursday, June 20th, the Chile-based oil company GeoPark withdrew its request for an environmental permit to begin oil drilling in a concession area known as Block 64, located in the northern Peruvian Amazon. The company's about-face came after a concerted campaign of protests from indigenous Achuar and Wampi communities opposed to oil...
"The government tried to sell our lands to the oil companies without our permission. Our rainforest is our life. We decide what happens in our lands. We will never sell our rainforest to the oil companies."
"We don't want the oil company to enter our territory because they contaminate everything – the air we breathe, the forest from which we source our food. As our ancestors left our territory to us, we want to leave it for future generations."
"The decision to put a hold on auctioning blocks 86 and 87 shows that the advocacy made by Shiwiar, Sapara, and Kichwa indigenous peoples to protect their territories, that are part of the best preserved tropical forests in the country, has been successful. While we celebrate this victory, we know that the next step must not be further...
A new report from Amazon Watch shows for the first time how firms that fuel the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon under Brazil's new president openly trade with and receive financing from a range of companies and major investors in Europe and North America. Although these producers of soy, cattle, and timber for export have documented links to...
We cannot simply offset our way to a climate stable world. We need real climate action that addresses the primary cause of climate change: fossil fuel extraction and commodity-driven deforestation, and calls for climate justice.
The risk of new oil drilling in Achuar territory is more alarming than it has been since I started with Amazon Watch over twelve years ago. Fortunately, the Achuar are determined to protect their lands and families from contamination and they also benefit from the support of steadfast allies, both Peruvian and international.
Amazon Watch’s expertise and history as a principled ally to indigenous peoples uniquely positions the organization to help shape the global narrative on why and how we must defend the Amazon.
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