This month, Amazon Watch and the Chapra Nation fulfilled a dream years in the making: we brought solar energy, freezers, and internet connectivity to 12 communities across Chapra territory.
Indigenous-led renewable energy solutions can strengthen self-determination, protect forests, and equip communities to defend their territories and build resilient futures.
“We are showing the Brazilian government and companies that we don’t need a dam to generate energy. We are showing the Brazilian government and companies that we are capable of anything.”
This spring, we carried out the second install of our Power to the Protectors program in three Kichwa communities in the central Ecuadorian Amazon, all threatened by new oil expansion.
We are extremely proud to have accompanied Colombia's U'wa people for twenty years.
"These communities are true climate leaders" said Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director at Amazon Watch. "Lighting the way for our climate and our forests, these indigenous earth defenders know that the solution to climate change must include stopping the destruction of the Amazon rainforest."
"The government can't call us hypocrites for opposing oil extraction yet using dirty diesel generators. We've made the first big step towards being fossil fuel-free – the government should learn from us."
The Ecologist | Brazil's devastating drought could have the unexpected consequence of finally prompting one of the sunniest countries in the world to take solar power seriously.
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