Amazon Watch
    Amazon Watch

    Land Rights

    Ecuador Announces Launch of New Oil Auction for End of 2026

    Indigenous leaders warn investors of longstanding opposition, uncertain returns, and material risks

    "Yesterday's announcement changes nothing on the ground. Indigenous nations have opposed oil extraction in these territories for decades, previous rounds failed to deliver, and the fundamental obstacles remain."

    October 2, 2026
    8,461 views
    3 min read

    Juma Xipaia Denounces Canada’s Belo Sun Mining Corp in New York Event

    Prominent Brazilian Indigenous leader protested Amazonian mega-gold mine during a Climate Week NYC action as Brazil’s Supreme Court weighs ruling over the future of the project; Leonardo DiCaprio promotes a video on Indigenous resistance to Belo Sun

    “Listen to the Indigenous peoples who are saying no to this project of death,” said Juma Xipaia, founder of Instituto Juma.

    September 23, 2026
    8,722 views
    2 min read

    Three Years After Ecuador’s Historic Yasuní Vote, the Oil Still Flows

    Three years after Ecuadorians voted to keep Yasuní’s oil in the ground, extraction continues, threatening Indigenous Peoples living in isolation and a historic climate precedent

    The Waorani people took to the streets of Puyo to mark the three-year anniversary of Ecuador's historic Yasuní referendum and protest the government’s failure to carry out the will of voters.

    September 22, 2026
    8,537 views
    5 min read

    Amazon Watch is building on more than three decades of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.

    DONATE NOW

    The Belo Sun Case Reaches Brazil’s Supreme Court

    Federal prosecutors are asking the court to “urgently” suspend Belo Sun’s installation license. The request was signed by Brazil’s deputy prosecutor general and is now before Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin.

    Sumaúma | "After so many years of violations and irregularities that have marked the project’s environmental licensing process, we hope the Supreme Court will examine the case with the attention and responsibility it requires.”

    September 14, 2026
    5,011 views
    5 min read

    Rubio’s Regional Tour Doubles Down on Failed Militarized Approach to the Amazon

    Amazon Watch statement on Marco Rubio's trip to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

    “The Trump administration’s hyper-militarized approach to addressing ‘narco-terrorism’ in the Andean-Amazon region is likely to fail, while exacerbating violence against communities caught in the crossfire.”

    September 10, 2026
    8,399 views
    4 min read

    Capirona Sings for Its Rivers

    “We cannot afford to abandon our struggle. For now, we need clean water, but we will keep fighting to heal the rivers and secure alternative livelihoods for our community.”

    September 8, 2026
    9,933 views
    4 min read

    Rio Mural Honors Women Defending the Amazon’s Rivers

    Yesterday, I participated in the inauguration of a monumental new mural in Rio de Janeiro celebrating Indigenous, Quilombola, and riverine women who defend the Amazon’s rivers and territories.

    September 1, 2026
    13,013 views
    5 min read

    Monumental Rio Mural Celebrates Women Defending Amazon Rivers

    The 30-foot Rio de Janeiro mural symbolizes the struggle of Indigenous, Quilombola, and riverine women to defend Amazonian rivers from industrial threats

    “When I look at these three women – Indigenous, riverine, and Quilombola – I also see a message about where many of the answers to the climate crisis lie: in the territories and in knowledge that generations have passed down.”

    September 1, 2026
    8,618 views
    4 min read

    Amazonian Communities Move To Protect Tocantins River Fish Nursery

    Community-led heritage declaration and federal petition aim to protect a unique and biodiverse 43-kilometer rocky ecosystem threatened with destruction in 2027

    “We learned to fish by knowing every rock, every eddy, and every path through the Pedral. You cannot separate our lives from the Pedral do Lourenção.”

    August 20, 2026
    8,375 views
    3 min read

    The Amazon Is Not a Resource Reserve: It Is a Territory of Life

    This week, Indigenous peoples and communities from the nine countries of the Amazon Basin are gathering at the Pan-Amazonian Social Forum in Puyo, Ecuador. The gathering is considering how to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

    El País | We know another kind of wealth. It is in our rivers, in the animals and plants, in the knowledge passed down by our elders, and in the relationships that allow the world as we know it to continue to exist.

    August 19, 2026
    6,885 views
    4 min read

    Indigenous Communities and Social Movements Unite Against Mining in Ecuador’s Amazon

    The action, held on the Jatunyaku River in Napo, formed part of the official program of the XII Pan-Amazonian Social Forum under the banner “Adoke Öme – One Territory, Free from Extractivism.”

    On the Jatunyaku River, community representatives unfurled two banners bearing the messages that have echoed for years: "Water is life” and "Love the Amazon."

    August 19, 2026
    8,388 views
    5 min read

    Belo Sun’s Reported “Legal Victory” Does Not Resolve Key Disputes Over Amazonian Gold Project

    Brazilian court decision dismissed a duplicative claim without ruling on Indigenous consultation, environmental assessments, tailings-dam safety, or ongoing legal challenges related to Indigenous rights and public land access on the Xingu River’s Volta Grande.

    “Belo Sun has an established pattern of making questionable statements to investors about the standing of its mega-mine, both concerning its legal standing and level of standing with affected communities.”

    August 4, 2026
    8,493 views
    3 min read

    They Delivered Justice, Not a Favor

    The Remanso Massacre was not an isolated act. It is part of a wider pattern of violence sweeping across the Colombian Amazon and the tri-border zone where Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador converge.

    July 10, 2026
    11,056 views
    4 min read

    El Niño Returns to an Amazon Already on the Brink

    Global El Niño and Coastal El Niño could combine to create wildfire conditions resembling the catastrophic Amazon fire seasons of 2019 and 2024

    A future where forests thrive and Indigenous rights are respected is possible. But it requires acting with far greater urgency than the world has managed so far.

    June 18, 2026
    12,549 views
    4 min read

    Brazil’s Supreme Court Approves Reduction of Amazonian Park, Paving the Way for Megarailroad

    Despite the ruling, the Ferrogrão “grain railway,” backed by U.S.-based Cargill, remains stalled without an environmental license and continues to face major legal and regulatory challenges

    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.

    May 22, 2026
    8,233 views
    4 min read

    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."

    May 21, 2026
    8,444 views
    3 min read