Amazon Watch
    Amazon Watch

    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.

    Brazilian Government Authorizes In-person Meeting Between Mining Company and Indigenous Peoples

    Brazil's National Indigenous Foundation approved the in-person meeting due to alleged lack of internet connection and by claiming complete vaccination of Indigenous people, however only 77% have received the first vaccine in the region, and only 34% the second dose

    Pará, Brazil – In a white paper published on February 10, 2021, the Brazilian National Indigenous Foundation provided details on "health protocols" so that Canadian mining company, Belo Sun, can hold meetings to present and validate its Environmental Impact Study to Indigenous residents from the Indigenous Lands located in Pará state – Arara da...

    March 12, 2021
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    A Mistake or Cunning Strategy? We Demand Answers from Anglo American!

    Amazon Watch | Anglo American is once again evading explanations for its intentions to mine on Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon. On November 20, 2020, Anglo American stated that it had given up all applications for mining exploration inside Indigenous lands in Brazil. Following the release of the Complicity in Destruction III report by the...

    March 11, 2021
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    The Right to Live in Peace in the Peruvian Amazon

    Zulema, Indigenous leader of the Kakataibo people, seeks justice after the murder of her husband, Apu Arbildo Melendez

    Over the last seven years the Indigenous community of Unipacuyacu – inhabited by members of the Kakataibo people within the central region of the Peruvian Amazon – has lost five of their people at the hands of land-grabbers, who are linked to drug networks. This is the price they have paid for not ending their pursuit to secure legal titles for...

    March 5, 2021
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    Electoral Upheaval Rocks Ecuador, as Indigenous and Environmental Defenders Score Huge Gains

    As an organization dedicated to advancing Indigenous rights and protecting the Amazon, we support the calls from our Indigenous partners for any new government to respect the clear mandate of Indigenous peoples for an end to new oil and mining extraction and guarantee their rights to territory, self-determination, and to live in an environment...

    February 24, 2021
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    Amazon Watch is building on more than three decades of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.

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    Munduruku Demand That Anglo American Commit to Not Mine on Indigenous Lands

    As recently as November 2020, Anglo American had 13 copper prospecting and research permits on Sawré Muybu Indigenous land, which is part of the Munduruku territory

    Indigenous lands are protected by the Brazilian Constitution, and current attempts to change this regulatory framework represent a major threat to the rights of Indigenous peoples, to the integrity of their territories – which remain barriers against deforestation and the degradation of Brazilian biomes – and to the ecological and climatic balance...

    January 8, 2021
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    APIB Denounces Anglo American's Intention to Prospect in Indigenous Territories

    APIB, in partnership with Amazon Watch, presented an open letter to mining company Anglo American, calling on it to make a public commitment not to mine on Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon

    The Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples and Amazon Watch issued a letter to mining giant Anglo American calling on it to make a public commitment not to conduct mining activities on Indigenous lands in Brazil, regardless of changes in Brazilian legislation.

    January 5, 2021
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    Letter from APIB and Amazon Watch to Anglo American

    The Munduruku address mining on Indigenous lands and threats to their people and territory, as Anglo American seeks at least 27 research permits in Munduruku territory

    We invite Anglo American to make a public commitment to refrain from carrying out any mining activities on Indigenous lands in Brazil, regardless of changes in Brazilian legislation, in line with its human rights and biodiversity protection commitments, in particular the Declaration of ICMM's position on Mining and Protected Areas.

    December 22, 2020
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    The Shuar Arutam Will Not Be Deterred and Have Already Decided: No Mining!

    After voting repeatedly for over 18 years against mining on their territory, the Shuar bring their challenge before the ILO over rights violations

    "The mining companies are dividing our organization. They are harassing the leaders of the PSHA who oppose mining projects. For this reason, we are exercising our right to self-determination. We have decided not to allow large-scale mining projects in our territory. We demand that the concessions that have been granted in our territory without our...

    December 8, 2020
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    Manufacturing Consent: Ecuador to Draft New Bill on the Consultation of Indigenous Peoples, Without Consulting Them

    "We demand that an FPIC law be put forth in harmony with and respect for our peoples and nations and our ways and time frames for discussion, analysis, and decision-making. We are not going to acquiesce to an illegitimate law written from their desks in Quito," said a CONFENIAE statement. "Since this will be a law regarding the collective rights...

    November 18, 2020
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    Will President-elect Biden Protect the Amazon and Stop the Money Pipeline?

    A Biden-Harris administration could play a key role in holding financiers accountable for climate destruction

    President-elect Joe Biden managed to turn out a significant progressive base to secure the 2020 presidential election. For many voters, his commitments to address environmental and racial justice after several years of actions, protests and calls from activists led to grassroots mobilizations that delivered the presidency and a few flipped states...

    November 13, 2020
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    American Financiers Invested More Than US$18 Billion in Companies Linked to Indigenous Rights Violations in the Brazilian Amazon

    A new report exposes international financiers – including BlackRock, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard, Bank of America, and Dimensional Fund Advisors – invested in companies complicit in land conflicts with Indigenous peoples

    Brasília, Brazil and Oakland, USA – U.S.-based financial institutions play a key role in enabling the destructive actions of companies linked to violations of Indigenous rights and conflicts in Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon, according to a new report published today by the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB) and...

    October 27, 2020
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    Complicity in Destruction III

    How Global Corporations Enable Violations of Indigenous Peoples' Rights in The Brazilian Amazon

    This new report, published by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples in partnership with Amazon Watch, reveals how a network of leading international financial institutions is linked to conflicts on Indigenous lands, illegal deforestation, land grabbing, the weakening of environmental protections, and the production and export of conflict...

    October 2020
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    The Shuar Arutam Will Not Be Divided by Solaris Mining Company

    The company has led a divisive public relations campaign in attempts to manufacture consent for the Warintza mining project

    "This 'Strategic Alliance' is not an 'innovative relationship' as Solaris portrays it. It is the same strategy that many mining and oil companies have used to advance their projects, while side-stepping and disrespecting the legitimate and traditional Indigenous organizational structures."

    September 25, 2020
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    Mining on Indigenous Territories Brings Ecological Devastation, Land Invasions, and Violence

    Two new reports detail potential scale of harm caused by mining projects in Indigenous communities, including water pollution and increasing the spread of COVID-19

    "We, the Yanomami people, have long been forced to live with the invasion of illegal mining. Miners are contaminating our rivers with mercury, carving out our lands, and killing our animals and our environment. Our health is poor as a result of drinking water contaminated by mining. Right now, they could potentially infect almost half of our...

    July 2, 2020
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    Unless Forced to Act, the Government Would Simply Leave Us to Die

    Beset by the Bolsonaro administration's negligence on public healthcare, Indigenous peoples take resistance to the Supreme Court

    Folha de São Paulo | The first Indigenous person to die from COVID-19 was Alvanei Xirixana, a 15-year-old Yanomami boy, who was not even a member of a high-risk group. More than 20,000 wildcat miners have invaded Yanomami lands. It's not an exaggeration to say that the Yanomami and the peoples living in voluntary isolation there are in grave danger of disappearing...

    June 30, 2020
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    Murder of Two Yanomami by Illegal Miners Heightens Fears of Renewed Cycle of Violence

    The Indigenous Hutukara Yanomami Association demands a rigorous investigation of the murders and reinforces the need for the Brazilian government to immediately expel more than 20,000 miners illegally operating on Yanomami land

    "The murder of two more Yanomami by miners must be rigorously investigated and reinforces the need for the Brazilian State to act urgently and immediately remove all the miners who are illegally exploiting the Yanomami Territory and harassing and assaulting the Indigenous communities who live there."

    June 30, 2020
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    Is BlackRock the New Vampire Squid?

    The investment giant casts itself as socially responsible while contributing to the climate catastrophe, evading regulatory scrutiny, and angling to influence a Biden administration

    The New Republic | Luiz Eloy, a member of the Terena people and a lawyer with the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, said in an email that BlackRock has "changed absolutely nothing to alter its investment strategy, which pours money into the very companies that brutalize us and take down forests on an industrial scale. Talk means nothing to us, not after...

    June 26, 2020
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    Proposed Gold Mine in Brazilian Amazon Presents Unacceptable Degree of Risk

    Hydrogeologist recommends that Canadian company Belo Sun’s license be revoked

    An expert study released today reveals serious deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment submitted to Brazilian authorities by Canadian mining company Belo Sun. The analysis exposes an unacceptable degree of risk, resulting in a scenario where the tailings dam at the proposed Volta Grande gold mine will fail, contaminate the Xingu River...

    June 17, 2020
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    Miners Out, COVID-19 Out: The Yanomami and Ye'kwana People Launch a Global Campaign to Expel Miners from Their Territory

    Indigenous leaders demand the urgent removal of 20,000 illegal gold miners from their lands to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through their villages. The disease could infect up to 40% of Yanomami communities if wildcat mining remains, threatening a new ethnocide.

    Roraima State, Brazil – In a new global campaign led by a coalition of Yanomami and Ye'kwana organizations, Indigenous leaders define the #MinersOutCovidOut campaign as "a cry for help against an old nightmare which has turned even more deadly." Launching internationally today, the campaign demands that the Brazilian government immediately remove...

    June 11, 2020
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    One Legal Victory, but Two More Allies Have Fallen in Brazil

    Killers of forest guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara are finally indicted, as two more Indigenous people are murdered

    Impunity cannot be brought to an end solely by increasing indictments and convictions against low-level henchmen. Instead, those who benefit and profit from these acts of violence must also face consequences, including the companies that benefit from illegal land grabbing and Amazon deforestation, like mining, agribusiness and logging.

    April 23, 2020
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    International Organizations Amplify Indigenous Peoples' Demands in Response to Coronavirus Pandemic

    Among the demands, Indigenous peoples call for an Amazon-wide moratorium on all extractive activity on their territories

    COVID-19 poses a mortal threat to Amazonian Indigenous peoples. As of April 7th there have already been at least 1,868 cases of the disease in the region and 59 deaths. Those numbers are likely to explode in the coming weeks, and we need to take action now to prevent more deaths.

    April 8, 2020
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    Coronavirus, Land Invaders, and Missionaries… OUT!

    Indigenous leaders are demanding that the Brazilian government remove illegal loggers and miners and prohibit missionary groups from entering their territories

    Encouraged by Bolsonaro's project to open up Indigenous territories for economic exploitation, non-Indigenous people are putting more than 300,000 Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus. What's worse is that the deforestation caused by these criminal industries is encroaching upon the territory of...

    March 26, 2020
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    Haaland, Omar, and Brazilian Congresswomen Call for Global Solidarity

    "We, Indigenous peoples, are the main target of Bolsonaro’s government. The Amazon is on fire. Laws and policies to protect the environment and uphold our rights are being dismantled. Our institutions are being gutted. The president has taken action against demarcation of our lands, threatening our existence. This puts lives at risk, especially in...

    February 27, 2020
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    Bolsonaro Threatens the Indigenous Right to Be

    Brazil's president once again attempts to erase the Indigenous way of life through his policies and actions. "Is this what we want: to wipe out the Indigenous peoples? Is this Brazil's policy?" asked Brazilian Congresswoman Joênia Wapichana.

    February 20, 2020
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    BlackRock's Agribusiness Engagement Guidelines Draw Scrutiny from Environmental Groups

    Amazon Watch and Friends of the Earth demand real action on deforestation and human rights

    "BlackRock is clearly feeling the pressure from the climate and Indigenous rights movement to align its investment practices with a sustainable world, which includes how it engages with and invests in agribusiness," said Moira Birss, Climate and Finance Director at Amazon Watch. "Its new statement identifies many of the key risk factors of the...

    February 7, 2020
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    Joaquin Phoenix Makes Film with Extinction Rebellion and Amazon Watch

    Sônia Guajajara, Executive Coordinator of the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples said: "This film is very important for us at this moment. It demonstrates the artists' engagement in Amazon protection by showing the key role Indigenous peoples play in defending the forests, the planet, and life itself."

    February 6, 2020
    2,541 views
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    BlackRock Issues Investment Stewardship Statement on Agribusiness

    "BlackRock is clearly feeling the pressure from the climate and Indigenous rights movement to align its investment practices with a sustainable world, which includes how it engages with and invests in agribusiness," said Moira Birss, Climate and Finance Director at Amazon Watch.

    February 5, 2020
    6,239 views
    2 min read