In our Winter 2015 issue, we bring you the latest updates and investor risks associated with companies operating or investing in the Amazon region.
GDF Suez
French Multinational GDF Suez Criticized for Lead Role in Building the Controversial Madeira Dam in the Brazilian Amazon
GDF Suez Nominated for Most Environmentally Irresponsible Company in the 2010 "Public Eye Awards"
This week, a coalition of civil society organizations from Brazil, France, the United States and Peru sent a letter to Mr.
Letter to GDF Suez Protesting the Company's Destructive Role in the Madeira River Complex
The following letter was sent by a coalition of civil society organizations from Brazil, France, the United States and Peru to Mr.
GDF Suez is nominated for a "prize" for its disrespect to the environment linked to the Jirau dam
Folha Online | Translated by Katherine NeedlesSee original article in Portuguese below.The French-Belgian company GDF Suez, participating in the construction of the Jirau dam on the Madeira River in Rondônia, has been nominated for a kind of "international prize" for irresponsible environmental behavior.
BNDES: Brazil's powerhouse bank
Al Jazeera English | With his slicked-back hair, neatly trimmed, close-cropped beard, and impeccably pressed suits, Luciano Coutinho looks like any other obscure Brazilian banker.But he is anything but an average banking man.Coutinho is the president of the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - Brazil's national de
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Brazil Bank Funds Destructive Projects, Say Activists
Interpress Service (IPS) | RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 26 (IPS) - Public money in Brazil is being used by the state development bank to finance deforestation projects and others that trample rights, concentrate wealth, and encourage "imperialist" expansion of large national companies, according to activists at a three-day meeting in this southeastern city.
Letter from Peoples Affected by Brazil's Development Bank
The following letter came out of a three-day meeting organized by the Plataforma BNDES, a group of Brazilian and South American civil society organizations and social movements pushing to reform Brazil's Development Bank (BNDES) from a highly questionable and destr
Looking ahead, Brazil's farmers take up reforestation
The Washington Post | LUCAS DO RIO VERDE, BRAZIL – For nearly 20 years, Luiz Alberto Bortolini cleared trees and planted soybeans as fast as he could, one of many pioneers who turned this barren outpost into prosperous farmland.Now, he and hundreds of other successful farmers are replanting trees as part of an ambitious initiative to
Civil Society Holds the First Meeting of Peoples Affected by BNDES Financed Projects
Plataforma BNDES | November 11, 2009 - From the 23rd to the 25th of November, the Plataforma BNDES, a representative body of more than thirty organizations, social movements and networks from Brazilian civil society, will be hosting the first annual 'Meeting of Populations Affected by BNDES Financed Projects' at the Circo Voador in Rio de Janei
Declaration to Reform Brazil's National Development Bank
The following declaration, entitled "Towards a Democratic BNDES," is authored by a group of Brazilian civil society organizations and social movements, called the "Plataforma BNDES".
The Madeira Dams: Impacts and Actions in Bolivian Territory
Jirau and Santo Antonio promise to cost much more than the stated financial value of their construction: deforestation, disease, damage to fish populations, just to name a few.
A People Beyond the Riverbanks
Written By Cristiano Navarro, Brasil de FatoTranslated by Natalia TaddeiBolivians will be affected by the dam projects, yet their lands have been not included Brazil's environmental impact study.
Tragic history repeats itself on Brazil's Madeira River
By: Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch Brazil Program CoordinatorAlong the banks of Brazil's Madeira River, the rusty remnants of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, built a century ago to run steam engines from Porto Velho to Guajará-Mirim in Bolivia, lay in ruins.
"There's an impending catastrophe" Deforestation Increases Mercury Poisoning in Fish
Written by: Cristiano Navarro, Brasil de FatoTranslated by: Natalia TaddeiPorto Velho (RO)Once a year, Pierre-Louis de Catheu, a farmer in the South of France, enjoys the duck-hunting season. In the last two seasons, he has had problems with his ammunition.
Environmental lawsuits filed against Amazon dam projects
Recharge News | Civil lawsuits have been filed against Brazil's environment institute for ignoring environmental concerns when issuing licenses to allow the construction of two dams on the Amazon's Madeira River.
Spain's Banco Santander Criticized for Hypocrisy Funding Destructive Dam in the Amazon While Adopting Green Principles
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Washington, D.C., May 14, 2009- Spain's Banco Santander, which has been facing growing criticism for being a lead financier in a highly controversial dam project in the Brazilian Amazon, recently signed on to the "Equator Principles," a set of socially and environmentally responsible financing guidelines adopted by a growing
Varias ONG critican al Banco Santander por financiar una presa en la Amazonía
EFE | Washington, 14 mayo - Una coalición de organizaciones medioambientales instaron hoy al Banco Santander a retirarse de un consorcio que construye una presa en la Amazonía que, a su juicio, provocará graves daños ecológicos y sociales."Si (el Santander) quiere ser considerado como un banco responsable, no puede fina
Brazilian Social Movement Condemns "Dictatorship on the Madeira River"
The Brazilian Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) issued the following statement to denounce the treatment of riverine communities who are being impacted by the construction of the Santo Antônio and Jirau dams on the Madeira River in Brazil's Rondônia state.
With an eye on Copenhagen, indigenous groups talk climate change
Climate Wire | Indigenous people from around the world are meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, this week to discuss climate change – which has led to conditions they didn't create but that they often suffer from disproportionately, many said.And as the world negotiates a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, indigenous groups say they w
Despite Protests, Work Continues on Madeira River Dams
Recent events surrounding the Santo Antonio and Jirau hydroelectric dam schemes underway on the Amazon’s Madeira River highlight the controversial nature of these projects as well as the lack of public consensus around the Brazilian government’s “development” plans for the Amazon basin.
Brazil's Madeira Riverbank Dwellers Call for Help
Members of the riverbank communities on Brazil’s Madeira River sent a letter to Brazil’s President Lula da Silva prior to his visit to see work on the two dam sites of Santo Antonio and Jirau, key projects of the Initiative for the Regional Integration of Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA).
Civil Society Organizations from 13 Countries Highlight Inter-American Development Bank Failure
Development Model Condemned as 50th Bank Meeting Approaches
March 18 (IDB.50 Coalition) - As the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Medellin, Colombia, a coalition of 42 civil society organizations from across Latin America is calling it to account for its failure to eradicate poverty and inequality across the region.In a paralle
COIAB meets with Prince Charles in Manaus
The coordinator-general of the National Indigenous Organization of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Jecinaldo Satere, delivered a document to the heir of the British throne detailing the position of indigenous peoples on environmental issues.
S.O.S. Amazon! Over 1700 People Create Human Banner and Urge Global Action
Brazilian Indigenous Leaders Unite International Efforts to Defend the Amazon Rainforest during the World Social Forum
BELEM, Brazil – Indigenous people from across Latin America today led over 1700 participants of World Social Forum to form a human banner, using their bodies to draw attention to the increasingly precarious situation of the Amazon rainforest.
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: "Wake Up, World!" - SOS from the Amazon
Interpress Service | BELÉM, Brazil, Jan 27 (IPS) - A human banner made up of more than 1,000 people, seen and photographed from the air, sent the message "SOS Amazon" to the world, in the first action taken by indigenous people hours before the opening in northern Brazil on Tuesday of the 2009 World Social Forum (WSF).The mass message ref
Doubt, Anger Over Brazil Dams As Work Begins Along Amazon Tributary, Many Question Human, Environmental Costs
The Washington Post | Porto Velho, Brazil – It is quiet here on the wrong side of progress. Hot wind blows dust across the dry bluffs. The brown river runs wide and placid.In his painted wooden skiff, Francisco Evangelista de Abreu, a fisherman, motors up-current. Two river dolphins crest and submerge. His mind is elsewhere.
