The global shift in climate policy that we need will only happen if leaders listen to the voices of Indigenous and frontline communities, and if we collectively push for action.
Mining Out of the Amazon
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.
In Ecuador, Booming Profits in Small-scale Gold Mining Reveal a Tainted Industry
Mongabay | Lax regulation, corruption, and organized crime have enabled multimillion-dollar proceeds from drug trafficking to be laundered through illegally mined gold.
A Reprieve Among the Flames as a Munduruku Territory Advances
Brazil’s Justice Minister’s declaration of Sawré Muybu territory in the eastern Amazon moves an endangered land and its communities closer to federal protection
While the Amazon continued to burn and suffer a historic drought, the news demonstrated how the determined struggle for ancestral land offers a key solution to today’s crisis.
Brazil’s Justice Minister Clears Munduruku Territory for Formal Titling
The “declaration” of Sawré Muybu territory upholds embattled Indigenous land rights in an endangered Amazonian region
“This is an enormous triumph for the Munduruku people, and for all of us who fight for Indigenous rights, for the forest, and for climate justice. It is proof that, even in the most ruthless of contexts, it is possible to achieve remarkable victories."
Attacks on Indigenous Rights in Brazil Are Fueling Amazon Fires and Climate Change
A brazen new institutional assault on Indigenous rights by a Supreme Court Justice is underway, threatening to undo fundamental constitutional protections of Brazil’s Indigenous communities
As Brazil stands at a critical crossroads, the support and vigilance of the international community are essential to ensuring that Indigenous rights are upheld and the Amazon rainforest is preserved for future generations.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 28 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Daniel Noboa’s Calls for Renewable Energy Investments in Ecuador at Extreme Odds With Divisive Copper-Gold Project in Amazon
“Instead of appealing to foreign investors about renewables in Ecuador, the Noboa administration must first confront the alarming consequences of expanding mining into the Amazon."
Gold, Gangs, and Governance
How Illegal Mining and Organized Crime Threaten Ecuador's Amazon and Its Indigenous Peoples
This report exposes how criminal economies not only pose a threat to Indigenous peoples but also severely compromise the ecological integrity of the Amazon.
Can Mining Override Agrarian Reform and Food Sovereignty in the Amazon?
Brazil’s Institute of Agrarian and Colonization Reform refuses to repeal a Bolsonaro-era rule authorizing mining and other industrial projects on protected lands in the Amazon
We recommend that INCRA immediately suspend IN 112 and replace it with a policy that better regulates the historical uneven relationship between large private enterprises and small farmers in rural settlements.
Solaris Stock Price Plummets As Indigenous Resistance Mounts
Solaris Resources hit its lowest stock price this week as Indigenous organizations once again initiated multiple actions to reject its flagship copper-gold Warintza project in Ecuador.
Solaris Stock Drops To an All Time Low After Misleading Statement
“The company’s rosy and clear-cut description of its Warintza model is quickly falling apart in the eyes of investors and shareholders who have been fed inaccurate information for years. The share price plummeting to rock-bottom today is a testament to that.”
Indigenous Rights Under Siege: Brazil’s New Battle for the Amazon and Cultural Survival
Despite a Supreme Court victory, new legislative and judicial attacks threaten the future of Indigenous lands and environmental protection
As Brazil stands at a crossroads, the international community's support and vigilance are crucial in ensuring that Indigenous rights are upheld and the Amazon rainforest is preserved for future generations.
2022-2023 Annual Report
For 26 years, Amazon Watch has worked in solidarity with Indigenous peoples to advance their territorial land rights in the Amazon Basin, defending this extraordinary biome from a range of threats.
Coming Together to Demand the Amazon as a No-Go Zone at FOSPA
Amazon Watch participation in the 11th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum strengthened a regional coalition for an Amazon free of mining
"Their money will run out, but our territory will remain here. We're not going to sell ourselves or our land to be destroyed."
Investor Eye on the Amazon
Updates for shareholders and activists concerned about rainforest protection and human rights
The companies and banks behind Amazon destruction are feeling the heat as this year’s season of shareholder meetings comes to a close.
Ecuadorian Indigenous Organizations Deny "Agreement" Announced by Solaris Resources
AGM to occur amidst financial setbacks, decreasing share prices, and social conflicts resulting from flagship mining project in the Ecuadorian Amazon
“Solaris has entered our territories illegally and without consultation, co-opting former leaders, dividing communities and families, and provoking confrontations."
A Message of Thanks from Indigenous Earth Defender Miguel Guimaraes!
"It’s a joy for me that so many people from around the world know about the situation we are facing in the Peruvian Amazon. Thank you so much for all the support!”
Solaris Resources Faces Major Setback As Deal With Zijin Mining Falls Through
Project controversies, regulatory delay, and investor skepticism doom CAD$130 million deal over Ecuadorian Amazon project
Canada’s Solaris Resources announced yesterday that a CAD$130 million investment deal with Chinese firm Zijin Mining was dead, abruptly ending a much touted infusion of capital needed to advance its flagship Warintza project.
Safeguarding the Right to Self-determination at UNPFII
At the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Amazon Watch amplified Indigenous voices of strong female leaders underscoring the urgency of safeguarding the right to self-determination on the path to COP30
Achieving Indigenous autonomies and territorial governance, where self-determination is exercised, requires dismantling the mandates imposed by colonial and extractivist states and transforming them based on indigenous worldviews of harmony and collectivity.
Unmasking the Environmental and Human Rights Threats of Canadian Corporations
Despite its promises, Canada rejects key recommendations on the framework of the Universal Periodic Review and remains a threat to human rights and the environment
Contrary to upholding Indigenous rights, Canada rejected crucial recommendations regarding the regulation of its companies operating in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Indigenous Women Embody Leadership, Resistance, and Resilience
We are honored to partner with inspiring Indigenous women leaders and draw attention to their visionary work.
Shuar Arutam People Notch Major Wins Against Amazon Mining in March
In a span of only three weeks, the PSHA launch a series of successful actions at a local, national, and international level to reaffirm their opposition against Solaris Resources’ Warintza project
The past month saw significant victories for the Shuar, turning the tide against Canadian mining company Solaris Resources.
Latest Blow for Solaris Resources: ILO Finds Shuar Arutam People Were Not Consulted on Warintza and Panantza Mining Projects
“Today’s decision affirms what we’ve been saying all along. We have not been consulted. We have not provided our consent. Our land is not for sale. We will defend our territory, our forests, our rivers, and our culture."
Activists Crash Canadian Mining Conference to Denounce Amazon Destruction
Amazon Watch needed to show up at PDAC because another narrative is needed - one that doesn’t accept the destruction of the world’s largest forest as a necessary byproduct of advancing modern society.
Ecuador’s Indigenous Organizations Unanimously Reject Canadian Mining
"We know the government is in Canada trying to sign agreements with mining companies, but there has been no consultation for the Warintza project. The project violates the Ecuadorian constitution and our rights. Let it be known that we have not given our consent."
Ecuador’s President Ignores Indigenous Opposition to Mining at PDAC
Official leader of Shuar-Artuam People of Ecuador rejects statements alleging community support for Solaris Warintza mining project
"The rosy picture painted today by the government and mining sector is misleading to investors. The reality is that the mining industry is reeling from local resistance to its projects and adverse decisions from its highest court."
Ecuadorian Indigenous Nation Asks British Columbia Securities Commission to Investigate Solaris
Indigenous organizations unite against controversial Amazon copper mining project
"The Shuar Arutam people have rejected the Warintza project for many years. Despite this, the company insists on promoting the project by dividing the communities and trying to reach agreements with other Indigenous organizations."
Over 100 International Organizations Denounce Belo Sun’s Efforts to Criminalize Brazilian Land Defenders
Canadian mining company Belo Sun is attempting to build the largest open-pit gold mine in Brazil, and now it has filed a criminal lawsuit against local community members and activists who are speaking out about the environmental and human rights impacts of the project
“We must halt all mining ventures in the Amazon, as they pose grave and irreversible threats to global climate stability and the future of humanity.”
Guardians Unite: Defending the Xingu Against Belo Sun’s Threat
The Gathering was a key moment to reaffirm our collective resistance and understand the realities of communities grappling not only with the disastrous Belo Monte hydroelectric dam but also the looming threat of Belo Sun’s proposed mine.
Belo Sun Mining Seeks to Criminalize Amazon Defenders
The Canadian gold mining company’s criminal lawsuit attempts to silence and intimidate defenders of the Volta Grande do Xingú, including community leaders, Amazon Watch, and other environmental and human rights activists
In a blatant effort to intimidate and silence its critics, Belo Sun Mining has filed a criminal lawsuit targeting more than 30 people – most of them small-scale farmers – as well as community leaders, environmental defenders, researchers, and representatives of Brazilian and international organizations.
