Mining in the Amazon has terrible effects on the livelihoods and health of Indigenous peoples and frontline communities as well as the overall balance of the Amazon’s biological diversity. Yet, mining giants with well-known track records of devastation and rights violations are eyeing Indigenous and traditional communities’ lands and other protected areas in the Amazon.
Despite committing to withdraw from all mining interests in Indigenous lands, multinational companies continue to bulldoze through communities and their territories to complete their mining projects. Banks and asset managers are once again behind this extractive surge by financing these company’s projects.
The Globe and Mail | "Belo Sun has already shown they want to do the absolute minimum to receive their license to drill and it's encouraging that the federal courts have shown they are not going to let this slide," said Christian Poirier, an activist with the organization Amazon Watch. "Clarifying that you're going to use this much arsenic or dump that much slag by...
Reuters | Judge Claudio Henrique de Pina said it was "unquestionable" that the mine would have a "negative and irreversible" impact on the quality of life and cultural heritage of the Paquiçamba, Arara da Volta Grande and Ituna/Itatá indigenous communities that straddle the Xingu river.
Mining.com | A Brazilian federal court has revoked Canadian miner Belo Sun Mining's license for the Volta Grande project, which would have become the country's largest gold mine, in the Amazonic state of Para. The ruling, which established the miner failed to assess the impact on local indigenous communities, is a major blow to Belo Sun's ambitions, said...
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day in Brazil last month, a group of high-profile Brazilian artists announced that they were fed up with the mounting attacks against Brazil's indigenous peoples and called on the public to take urgent action in support of indigenous rights.
"It was the happiest day of my life that I never saw coming. It was a victory and now I know I can smile again to life. On that day nothing else, not even all of what my family had been through, mattered."
China Dialogue | "The recently acquired debt is driving a new Amazonian oil boom, setting the stage for a major battle over rights and resources that will shape the future of the Amazon and its people."
My journey over the past four years in this fight against the Belo Monte dam has been intense, but accompanying the Klamath delegation to the Xingu brought hope not only to the local populations of the Xingu, but also to myself!
The Xikrin, Juruna and Arara are not alone in facing threats to their rights and environments. Many more monster dam and mining projects are on the chalkboard for the Amazon.
Reuters | As Brazil struggles to solve land disputes between Indians and farmers on the expanding frontier of its agricultural heartland, more tensions over forest and mineral resources are brewing in the remote Amazon.
"We want to show solidarity in the struggle to preserve and protect inherited cultures and natural resources from shortsighted projects like the proposed Belo Monte dam."
Terra Magazine | The resolute action demonstrates that the Mundurukú have not been bowed by intimidation: they are taking matters into their own hands and will continue to do so in defense of their lands, rivers, and future generations.
Folha de S.Paulo | São Paulo, Brazil – Today, the Folha website published the English version of "The Battle of Belo Monte", the first multimedia article from the "All About" series that launched other digital dossiers over 2014.
Washington Post | Economists and opposition leaders say this focus on Brazil's "national champions" neglects smaller, nimbler firms that are developing new technologies and products to diversify a commodity-dependent economy. They also say that BNDES's huge loans are fueling inflation that the Central Bank of Brazil must scramble to control.
IPS | The Brazilian government, which is already building the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingú river in the northeastern Amazon state of Pará, also wants to construct another huge hydropower complex on the Tapajós river, in the same state.
Mongabay.com | "We applaud the MPF for taking vigorous steps to uphold Brazilian environmental and human rights legislation, putting the brakes on a project that would heap further tragedy on the communities already faced with the disastrous Belo Monte dam," said Amazon Watch's Christian Poirier in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Brazilian federal prosecutors issued a warning Wednesday that they could seek to block licensing for the country's largest gold-mining project because Canada's Belo Sun Mining Corp. hasn't produced a study explaining its impact on local indigenous communities.
Associated Press | Sao Paulo, Brazil – Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that the consortium building a huge dam in the heart of the Amazon rain forest spied on an environmental activist group opposed to the dam.
Today is International Mother Language Day, a day promoted by UNESCO to recognize the intrinsic value in the diversity of languages across the world and the importance of their conservation for the good of humanity.
Toronto Star | The Brazilian government wants to see more research on a massive gold-mining project near the Amazon River before the Canadian firm behind it goes ahead with developments.
Salon.com | Three years after Avatar's Quito premiere, declarations of martial readiness are multiplying and gaining volume throughout the tribal territories of Ecuador's mountainous southeast. The warnings bare sharpest teeth in the Shuar country of the Cordillera del Condor, the rain forest mountain range targeted by President Rafael Correa for the...
I am writing on behalf of the magical and mystical Amazon rainforest and the traditional populations that inhabit its sacred places. Last year you followed our battles and supported us, and your actions made a difference.
A Pública | "It's going to start", warned a friend who worked on the dam's construction. "The Madeira River is dangerous, it demands respect. The engineers say that they have all the technology, but nothing controls the reaction of this river."
I'm writing with a soulful message from the EDM (electronic dance music) community, straight from the hearts of two ambassadors that have long supported our work – Janine and Ken Jordan.
Last month the sixth Pan Amazon Social Forum brought together hundreds of community leaders, academics, and NGO representatives from across the Amazon to discuss and debate common challenges and forge collaborative solutions.
In recognition of the International Day of Human Rights, people all over the world participated in an "International Day of Action for Justice Now" to stop the Belo Monte Dam in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.
Right now we are witnessing a critical moment in Brazil's history. Brazil's current energy polices have created glaring setbacks for the rights of indigenous peoples, the environment and Brazilian democracy. It's time to take action for justice.
Conflicts have erupted on the brink of the VIII Forum on Indigenous people and the electric sector. In three regions, indigenous peoples have found themselves face-to-face with what "development" really means for them.
After 35 days of protests and 11 days of occupation, the indigenous peoples and traditional groups occupying the Belo Monte construction site have left, with their heads held high. Most of them were heard for the very first time; and that fact alone was already a sign of victory.
With my heart racing and under a light rain, I climb up the Pimental cofferdam, together with the indigenous warriors who are writing their own history here. Within minutes the raised earthen dam bed is taken by people who have lived here much longer than we can imagine.
