"These false authorizations not only legalize the advance of destruction, but also put our water, our health, and our food security at risk."
Land Rights
Amazon Fires and the Urgency of Indigenous Rights
Scientific research confirms that Indigenous-managed lands are the most effective barriers against deforestation and fire. Where Indigenous rights are secured and enforced, forests thrive – and so does our global climate.
Interview With Chief Raoni: “Congressmen Only Think About Destruction, Not About Future Generations”
Indigenous leader says he is skeptical about the practical effects of COP30 and laments that, under the Lula administration, projects such as Marco Temporal and the Destruction Bill are moving forward
O Globo | On the eve of COP30, Raoni is also skeptical about the environmental meeting to be held in Belém.
Amazon Watch Welcomes Historic Conviction of Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro for Coup Plot
"His arrest offers a welcome reprieve for the Amazon and its peoples by weakening the chance that his destructive agenda will return to the region,”
Defending the Defenders: Indigenous Peoples vs. Organized Crime in the Amazon
Organized crime is not just a threat to public safety. It is now one of the main drivers of Amazon deforestation and Indigenous displacement.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 28 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
California Lawmakers Seek to Curb Oil Imports from Amazon
Associated Press | “Consuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California is sending a powerful market signal by examining its crude footprint and role in Amazon destruction.”
Security at the Amazon’s Breaking Point: Tri-Border Report Spurs Concrete Actions After ATCO Summit
“The tri-border must be the test case: protect defenders, dismantle illicit economies, and pair enforcement with peacebuilding and restoration.”
Indigenous Groups Demand Action from South American Leaders at Amazon Summit
Associated Press | “There is no solution to any of the threats the Amazon is facing without its communities.”
New Report Released: In the Shadows of the State
Illicit Economies and Armed Control in the Triple Border Region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
"Peace and security in the Amazon are impossible without Indigenous peoples at the heart of the solution."
An Important People-Powered Win in Brazil, but the Fight Isn’t Over
A partial veto protects key environmental safeguards, but dangerous loopholes still put the Amazon at risk
With COP30 in Belém just months away, Brazil had a chance to send the world a bold message about its commitment to climate justice. Instead, it delivered a mixed one.
Brazil’s Partial Veto of “Devastation Bill” Stops Some Setbacks, but Critical Loopholes Remain
Amazon Watch warns that preserved provisions still threaten Indigenous land rights and environmental protections ahead of COP30
“This soy doesn’t feed our people. We don’t eat soy – it’s for export and corporate profit. Meanwhile, pesticides contaminate our water, our soil, and even the rain. It’s poisoning all of us, not just Indigenous peoples."
Indigenous Women March Against Ferrogrão Railway and “Devastation Bill” in Brazil
Over 5,000 women march in Brazil’s capital to defend their territories and the Amazon ahead of COP30
“This soy doesn’t feed our people. We don’t eat soy – it’s for export and corporate profit. Meanwhile, pesticides contaminate our water, our soil, and even the rain. It’s poisoning all of us, not just Indigenous peoples."
In Ecuador, Environmentalists Worry Noboa Is Unwinding Nation’s Green Reputation
Associated Press | “We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,"
Peru and Ecuador’s Crude Gamble Faces Indigenous Wall of Resistance
Indigenous nations reject Boluarte’s announcement on binational oil pipeline between Petroperú and Petroecuador
“Without our consent, this project has no legitimacy. Investors must be warned: any deal built on rights violations is built on quicksand.”
Lula, the World Is Watching: Veto the Devastation Bill Now!
International pressure grows in support of Brazil's civil society's call
“Our future will be condemned if President Lula doesn’t veto the Devastation Bill.”
From Climate Talks To Climate Backlash: Global Citizen NOW Becomes Platform To Oppose Brazil’s Anti-Environment Bill
Indigenous and environmental leaders call on President Lula to veto Bill 2.159/2021 during international event at COP30 host city
"Approving this bill would plunge the planet deeper into climate crisis. President Lula must veto it entirely – as an urgent act of leadership, of climate responsibility, and of defense for life and national sovereignty."
You Can’t Kill a River
Why the Volta Grande still lives – and how the peoples of the Xingu continue to oppose mining company Belo Sun
In the Volta Grande do Xingu, the river still runs. Even with turbines and licenses strangling it, the Xingu endures because the peoples who protect it refuse to disappear.
Protesters Bring “Planet in Crisis” to COP30 Headquarters in Belém
Demonstration marks the release of a political declaration by the “Mutirão dos Povos,” a coalition of Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and social movements from across the Amazon
“There is no Amazon without its peoples. The territories protected by our communities are the last strongholds against destruction.”
Indigenous Wampis Are Ambushed in Peru After Government Backs Out of Anti-mining Joint Patrol
Associated Press | Indigenous leaders say the incident highlights the growing risks faced by land defenders and the government’s failure to uphold its promises.
Wampís Territorial Guards Attacked While Defending Their Lands
Peruvian government fails to deliver on anti-mining commitments
"The Wampis have to confront illegal gold miners alone, despite the Peruvian government's supposed offensive against organized crime promoting gold exploitation."
Amazon Crime Crisis: U.N. Backs Indigenous Demands
U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: governments and UNODC must include Indigenous Peoples in anti-crime and environmental policies
Amazonian Indigenous leaders delivered a clear and urgent message: organized crime and illegal economies are devastating the Amazon and threatening the survival of Indigenous Peoples.
Connecting Frontline Struggles and Fenceline Communities of California’s Oil Addiction
Delegation of Amazonian Indigenous leaders to California builds solidarity and accountability over the state's consumption of Amazon crude
“California is complicit in violating our rights by continuing to consume crude that our courts and voters have said must stay in the ground."
Exclusive London Climate Week Preview of “When Waterfalls Die”
New documentary by acclaimed journalist Brandi Morin captures Shuar People's resistance to copper mining project threatening 268 square kilometers of pristine Amazon rainforest
“This isn’t just their story – it’s humanity’s final crossroads between ancient wisdom and corporate greed. When the last defender falls, we all lose something irreplaceable.”
California Is to Examine Its Amazon Oil Ties Following Pleas from Indigenous Leaders from Ecuador
Associated Press | “Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting – in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same.”
Indigenous Amazonian Delegation Receives Honors in California Senate
“California is complicit in violating our rights by continuing to consume crude that our courts and voters have said must stay in the ground. We are calling on California to take action to phase out its imports of oil that has come at a high price for our forests, our peoples, and our climate.”
Drilling Toward Disaster
Amazon Crude and Ecuador’s Oil Gamble
The Amazon is rapidly becoming a new frontier for oil production. This coincides with the Amazon biome reaching an existential tipping point. Amazon crude from Ecuador is a major contributor to this dangerous cycle.
Mura People Rise Against Mining Invasion in Brazil
A powerful new alliance emerges to confront extractivism on Indigenous lands
“What happened at this large meeting was not just a gathering of the Mura most directly affected by the Brazil Potash project. Rather, the significance of this event lies in the fact that this struggle has become, first and foremost, the struggle of all Indigenous peoples.”
Amazonian Indigenous Delegation to Visit Sacramento and Bay Area to Expose New Oil Threat and Call for California Action
A delegation of Indigenous leaders from Ecuador’s Amazon will visit Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area the week of June 16, 2025, to raise alarm over a looming oil expansion threat and deepen ties with California frontline and policy communities.
“We Will Not Retreat:” Mura Take Land Defense to Global Stage at COP30
Indigenous leaders mobilize internationally following court decisions greenlighting potash mining on their ancestral territory
“They want to divide us so they can silence us. But what’s at stake is the future of our land, our water, and the life of our people. And we will not stand by in silence.”
