Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a law reducing the size of the Jamanxim National Park, allowing the Ferrogrão railway project to move closer to environmental licensing.
Land Rights
Brazilian Court Mounts Pressure on Canadian Mining Companies Operating in the Amazon
Court of Appeals rulings reinforce Indigenous claims concerning lack of consultations while prohibiting government agencies from representing Canadian interests in legal proceedings
“Waking up to this news brought us extreme happiness. Every victory, small or large, strengthens our work even more."
Peru’s Amazon at a Crossroads as Drug Trafficking Expands Across Indigenous Territories
A new report on the impact of drug trafficking on Indigenous Peoples in Peru warns that the country faces a defining decision: confront the rapid expansion of organized crime in the Amazon, or risk allowing new systems of criminal power to take root across vast regions of the country.
Indigenous Peoples Brought the Amazon Crime Crisis to the U.N. What Happens Next?
“It is fundamental that states understand Indigenous peoples are crucial actors when it comes to security and containing organized crime."
Brazilian Court To Rule on Whether Belo Sun’s Amazon Gold Mine Stays Suspended
Associated Press | Scientists said that any dam failure could send toxic waste rapidly into the river, threatening Indigenous and riverine communities as well as the ecosystem.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 28 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Hope and Action To Phase Out Fossil Fuels
Traveling back to Bogotá from the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, I struggled to name a feeling I had never experienced after a climate conference: hope!
Indigenous Amazon Groups Urge the U.N. To Curb Organized Crime, Not Militarize Territories
Associated Press | “In light of this situation, it is essential that responses to organized crime and illicit economies do not translate into new processes of militarization, criminalization, or the subordination of Indigenous governance systems.”
Indigenous Peoples Call on U.N. Action as Organized Crime Expands Across the Amazon
Indigenous leaders who gathered at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues are demanding a decisive shift away from failed militarized responses toward rights-based approaches that center Indigenous territorial governance, autonomy, and community-led security systems in efforts to confront organized crime. They warn that current state responses are not only insufficient but, in many cases, actively deepen violence and insecurity in their territories.
Indigenous leaders who gathered at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues are demanding a decisive shift away from failed militarized responses toward rights-based approaches that center Indigenous territorial governance, autonomy, and community-led security systems in efforts to confront organized crime.
A New Gold Rush Threatens the Amazon
Whenever gold returns to the center of global geopolitics, the Amazon comes back into the crosshairs. The war between the United States and Iran has put the metal back on the radar of markets, investors, and the extractive industry.
Amazon Indigenous Delegation Arrives to Historic Conference on Transition Away From Fossil Fuels
The First Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels marks a turning point in climate diplomacy. It is the first time countries will explicitly address the root cause of the climate crisis: the unmitigated proliferation of fossil fuels.
Amazon Watch and Allied Organizations Release Landmark Report on Amazon Crime
In the context of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Amazon Watch, together with allied organizations, presents the first report to analyze how illicit economies and repressive government responses threaten the rights, territories, and physical and cultural survival of Indigenous peoples.
Brasília Becomes Indigenous Territory
Last week, Brazil’s capital Brasília was transformed into a center of Indigenous resistance. With more than 7,000 Indigenous people occupying the capital, the 2026 Free Land Camp (ATL) pressured Brazil’s government to uphold native land rights
In a Major March, Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Demand Land Demarcation and the Cancellation of Ferrogrão
More than 7,000 Indigenous people marched through the streets of Brasília yesterday under the banner “Demarcate, Lula! A sovereign Brazil is one with demarcated and protected Indigenous lands.”
Major Indigenous Protest in Brazil Targets Belo Sun Gold Mine Project
Thousands of Indigenous people marched in Brazil’s capital yesterday, during the second day of the 2026 Free Land Camp (ATL), the country’s largest Indigenous mobilization, to denounce land rights violations driven by large-scale mining, agribusiness, and logging projects.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Peru Must Protect Kakataibo People in Isolation
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has issued a clear mandate, ordering the Peruvian State to protect the Kakataibo people living in voluntary isolation in the Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve.
“The rainforest speaks with the voice of a woman.”
Ecuador’s Indigenous Women March Against Oil
On International Women's Day, Indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon traveled by foot, car, and canoe to Puyo with a single, unified demand: No more oil in the Amazon.
Middle Xingu Indigenous Women Mark One Month of Mobilization Against Belo Sun’s Advance in the Amazon
One month into their occupation of the Altamira headquarters of Brazil’s National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), Indigenous women from the Middle Xingu region led a peaceful action.
Bringing Down a Decree: Inside the Indigenous Victory on the Tapajós River
On January 30, I witnessed the inauguration of the Munduruku people’s Pariri Association headquarters at the Praia do Mangue Indigenous Reserve.
Indigenous Women Occupy Federal Agency to Demand Suspension of Belo Sun Mining’s License
More than 140 Indigenous people have occupied the Brazilian federal Indigenous agency FUNAI’s regional office to demand the suspension of Belo Sun’s mining license for its “Volta Grande” gold mine on the banks of the Xingu River.
When Criminal Networks Invade the Amazon, Indigenous Autonomy Resists
More than 60 Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru gathered in the Peruvian Amazon to confront a rapidly growing threat.
“The River Won”: How Campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon Stopped Privatisation of Waterway
The Guardian | "A victory for life.” That was the triumphal message from Indigenous campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon this week after they staved off a threat to the Tapajós River by occupying a grain terminal operated by Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the United States.
Pushing Back Against the “Donroe Doctrine”
When Petro met Trump on February 3rd, the stakes were high. The Trump Administration had decertified Colombia from receiving security assistance on grounds that it was not adequately addressing drug trafficking.
Brazil Court Revives Belo Sun’s Controversial Amazon Gold Mine
“We are already suffering the impacts of the Belo Monte dam.. If another project of this scale comes, the Volta Grande will not withstand it.”
Indigenous Resistance Forces Brazil To Revoke Amazon Waterway Decree
“This proves that life – the river – has no price. It cannot be sold, it is not negotiable. That’s why we will never back down.”
From Pandora to the Amazon, Indigenous Leadership Is Protecting Life on Earth
More than a decade after Avatar brought global attention to the destruction of Indigenous lands, Amazon Watch has released a new short video.
Indigenous Leaders Defending the Amazon Take Center Stage in New Amazon Watch Video
New short video narrated by Avatar star Oona Chaplin features director James Cameron, legendary Chief Raoni Metuktire, and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Alessandra Korap Munduruku
Indigenous Protesters Intercept Grain Barge, Escalating Demands to Repeal Decree Privatizing Amazonian Rivers
Today, 400 Indigenous peoples in four boats intercepted a grain barge on the Tapajós River in the city of Santarém (PA).
Indigenous Peoples Maintain Indefinite Blockade of Cargill on the Tapajós River
Today the Indigenous occupation at Cargill’s grain terminal in Santarém entered its 20th day, deepening the movement’s standoff with the Lula administration over plans to dredge the Tapajós and privatize Amazonian rivers.
Indigenous Peoples Block Access to Santarém Airport in Protest of Tapajós River Dredging
Indigenous Peoples from the Tapajós region blocked the main access road to Santarém International Airport today, escalating a mobilization ongoing since January 22.
