"Belo Sun is expelling us from our ancestral territory. It robs us of our souls by distancing us from our traditional practices and culture. And now it's trying to criminalize us as invaders of our own land."
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.
Investors Must Respect Indigenous Rights to Protect the Amazon
Respecting Indigenous Rights: An Actionable Toolkit for Institutional Investors provides investors with a starting point to educate themselves and others about Indigenous rights, as well as practical tools to develop policies, case studies, and data sources to identify and address Indigenous rights abuses.
Peruvian Congress Just Legalized Deforestation
"Most experts in Peru agree that the interest behind modifying the Forestry Law is to adapt to the new import restrictions of products that deforest the Amazon in the European and U.S. markets in an underhanded way. The authorities of these countries must make a firm statement that they will not ‘fall for’ the game. Millions of hectares of forest...
An Emergency Action Plan to End the Killings in the Peruvian Amazon
In collaboration with AIDESEP and its most affected federations and other allies, we have issued a call to implement and support nine emergency measures aimed at preventing further murders and combating impunity.
Mining Company Belo Sun Sues Environmental Defenders in Intimidation Tactic, NGOs Say
Mongabay | “This is an attempt to silence families and leaders who are on the frontline of the struggle for agrarian reform, and to intimidate national and international networks that monitor and denounce the destruction caused by large enterprises and companies in Volta Grande do Xingu.”
Amazon Watch is building on more than 28 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Amazon Emergency: Nine Urgent Measures to Ensure Justice and Effective Protection for Defenders in Peru
Apu Quinto Inuma Alvarado is yet another victim of the violence unleashed in the Peruvian Amazon
The murder of Apu Quinto cannot remain "just another case" that generates indignation and is then forgotten. On the contrary, it is time to assume and declare that the Amazon is in emergency, in order to make the protection of defenders a national and international priority.
Indigenous Organization Opposes Sale of Controversial Warintza Mining Project on Their Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon
“We oppose any entity providing additional investment for this project in our territory or any attempt to sell the project to another company using and promoting the name of the Shuar people.”
New Policy Paper Provides Roadmap to Tackle Organized Crime in the Amazon
Lima, Peru – A new policy paper by Amazon Underworld, Amazon Watch, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, and InfoAmazonia details a roadmap for governments across the region to tackle the ruthless expansion of crime organizations and illicit markets in the most biodiverse region of the world.
Amazon Underworld
Criminal Economies in the World's Largest Rainforest
This report shows how criminal organizations and armed groups have expanded their presence, increased their political control, and diversified their economies in the Amazon with disastrous impacts on Indigenous peoples.
The Growing Threat of Organized Crime in the Amazon
Supporting Indigenous rights and territories is an essential element of any strategy
Organized crime has been present in the region for many years, and it has recently become a major threat to the Amazon and Indigenous rights and territories.
Indigenous Women Reforesting Hearts and Minds to Heal Mother Earth
“The struggle for Mother Earth is the mother of all struggles!”
“We are here to say that we are the healing of the Earth, we are the ancestral voice of the Earth speaking to us. It is not possible to think about valuing human rights if you kill the Earth."
Unmasking Canada’s Extractive Industry Violations at the UN Human Rights Council
Pressure mounts in Geneva against Canada as civil society demands Indigenous and socio-environmental rights commitments
Civil society organizations also urge Canada to enact regulations ensuring gold's origin traceability, especially when mining occurs in Amazonian countries. They call for a comprehensive energy transition plan that respects human rights and promotes the gradual abandonment of extractive industries that jeopardize the Amazon's ecological balance.
Seven Challenges for the New Ecuadorian Government
Ecuador’s powerful business class is in power yet again following the election of Daniel Noboa
We question whether he will prioritize the protection of nature and the rights of Indigenous peoples as he promised during his campaign or – more likely – carry on with the extractivist agenda of prior administrations and continue to disregard Indigenous rights.
Brazil’s Supreme Court Rejects the Marco Temporal, but the Fight for Indigenous Land Rights Continues
"After many years of struggles, mobilizations, and anxieties, this outcome dictates Brazil's future of Indigenous land demarcations. We shall indeed celebrate the strength of Brazil's Indigenous peoples."
Brazil’s Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Indigenous Land Rights in Historic Win
Court voted against agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988
The Guardian | Nine of the court’s 11 members voted against what rights groups had dubbed the “time limit trick” – an agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent Indigenous communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988.
Brazil's Indigenous Lands at Stake Before Marco Temporal Decision
Amid an impending Supreme Court decision, our latest report dives into the risks of this legal thesis, potentially jeopardizing Indigenous territories for the benefit of powerful mining companies
We stand on the edge of a decision that will significantly impact Indigenous peoples’ lands, their lives, and our collective future. If approved, it's not just a win for mining magnates like Vale, Bunge, and Anglo American. It's an irreversible loss for Indigenous rights, the Amazon rainforest, and for 77 yet-to-be-recognized Indigenous...
Victory: Belo Sun Is One Step Closer to Having Its License Permanently Denied
Environmental licensing shifted to federal jurisdiction under Brazil's environmental agency after Belo Sun's arguments were debunked
In a significant victory for the Amazon and Indigenous rights, the environmental licensing process for the Belo Sun mining project in the Volta Grande region of the Xingu River has been successfully shifted from state to federal jurisdiction.
Canada Emerges As Key Culprit in Amazon Destruction
Despite its “climate forward” image, Canada is linked to corporate abuses and rights violations across mining and oil extractive projects in the Amazon
The rights violations discovered in the operations of Canadian companies in the Amazon rainforest are deeply troubling, particularly considering Canada's efforts to present itself as a human rights leader in the world.
Report Reveals Shocking Rights Violations by Canadian Corporations in Latin America
A groundbreaking report was unveiled at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review Process pre-session in Geneva. This in-depth investigation highlights extensive human rights and environmental breaches by Canadian companies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Unmasking Canada: Rights Violations Across Latin America
Amazon Watch was joined by more than 50 civil society organizations to compile three critical reports - covering Regional, Amazonian, and Oil and Gas - under the campaign Unmasking Canada: Rights Violations Across Latin America.
The Shuar Arutam People Continue Their Resistance Against Mining
The movement against mining in Ecuador is gaining momentum
This is an important moment for celebration. It is monumental that the PSHA ratified its resistance to mining activity in its territory because the community has faced divide-and-conquer strategies from the mining industry and the Ecuadorian government.
Latin American Delegation to Implicate Canadian Corporations at the United Nations
New reports uncover widespread abuse by Canadian companies and urges immediate intervention through the Universal Periodic Review process
Despite Canada’s “climate forward” public image, it acts as a safe haven for extractive industries and companies operating in Latin America, including regions of climatic significance such as the Amazon.
Amazon Nations Failed to Protect the Rainforest and Our Collective Future
While ambitious efforts to strengthen Pan-Amazonian collaboration are positive, and the summit’s final text contains a series of good intentions, Amazon Watch considers that the document falls short in advancing critical protections for the rainforest and human rights.
Brazil Gold Mine Puts Indigenous Territory “At Risk,” Advocates Say
Al Jazeera | “The guaranteed right to our territory is at risk,” Lorena Curuaia, a leader of the Curuaia Indigenous people, told Al Jazeera. “We could lose territories that we have lived in for thousands of years.”
Canada’s Belo Sun Mining Is Still Threatening the Brazilian Amazon
The Canadian mining company Belo Sun continues to threaten life in the Volta Grande do Xingu, and our campaign to halt the proposed largest open-pit gold mine in Brazil at the heart of the Amazon rainforest is in full swing.
From the Rainforest to the Interamerican Commission: Protecting the Brazilian Amazon
How Amazon Watch and allies bring Indigenous leadership and demands to international decision-makers
In the last couple of years, we have grown our work in international advocacy and legal strategies to denounce the threats the Brazilian government tries to pose to the environment and Indigenous peoples by pushing for a set of bill of laws known as the “Destruction Package.”
Illegal Miners Suspected in Killing of Yanomami Indigenous Child and Wounding of Five in Brazilian Amazon
"This tragic attack demonstrates the Brazilian authorities’ ongoing challenges in containing illegal mining on Brazil’s Indigenous territories and guaranteeing the Yanomami community's safety."
Indigenous Peoples Reject Canadian Copper Mining Project in Ecuadorian Amazon
Solaris Resources faces rising risk as new Shuar Arutam leadership denounces company ahead of Annual General Meeting
"Mining 'development' is a myth. It is ravaging communities and Ecuador’s unique ecosystems. People have had enough. We are putting companies and investors on notice that they are not welcome in our territories, and we defend our rights.”
Brazil’s Pivotal Indigenous Land Rights Ruling Faces Another Delay
Delay prolongs risks for the climate and Indigenous lives
“The Supreme Court’s definitive ruling denying the Marco Temporal thesis is the only means to counter the moves of Brazil’s agribusiness-oriented Congress and guarantee these proposed legislation's unconstitutionality.”
