According to Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch, "there is no plan for the removal of the mine waste – it's a ticking time bomb."
Xingu
Toxic Mega-Mine Looms Over Belo Monte’s Affected Communities
On the banks of Brazil's lower Xingu River, a toxic controversy looms large, threatening to heap insult upon the grievous injuries of the nearby Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. Belo Sun would become Brazil's largest open-pit gold mine, straddling the territories of three indigenous peoples and other traditional communities that are already reeling...
Amazon Threatened by China-Ecuador Loans for Oil
Meeting contractual loan payments with oil is a major driver behind Ecuador's effort to open up new, pristine Amazon indigenous rainforest territory to oil drilling. All this new drilling has led to massive impacts in the Amazon rainforest that have been dire both for its world-renowned biodiversity and its indigenous peoples.
"It Opens the Floodgate"
"You cannot deny land to indigenous people that are ancestrally attached to it and expect them to continue to exist as a culture," said Christian Poirier, program director at Amazon Watch.
Is Chinese Development Finance Enabling Rainforest Destruction in Brazil?
Brazil's current economic and political shifts and its effort to attract Chinese investment are part of a concerted effort by the Brazilian government to industrialize vast sections of the Amazon, with grave ramifications for the forests, rivers, and peoples who help sustain this irreplaceable biome for the benefit of humanity.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Watch Belo Monte Documentary Today!
Today is International Day of Action for Rivers, and what better way to commemorate it than watching the award-winning documentary film, Belo Monte: After the Flood!
Samba Parade Spotlights Threats To Rivers, Forests and Indigenous Rights at Rio’s Carnival
In a colorful and highly energized samba parade at Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Carnival on Monday morning, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, one of Brazil's most traditional and respected samba schools, paid a special tribute to indigenous peoples of the Amazon's Xingu River, highlighting threats to their territories, livelihoods and rights.
Brazil: Hate Speech Threatens the Xingu
Imperatriz Leopoldinense probably had no idea where it would lead them when they chose to speak out about the Xingu, but they chose the right path. Because today, to defend the Brazilian Indian is to defend the future of our country.
Counterintuitive: Global Hydropower Boom Will Add To Climate Change
"The new study confirms that reservoirs are major emitters of methane, a particularly aggressive greenhouse gas," said Kate Horner, Executive Director of International Rivers, adding that hydropower dams "can no longer be considered a clean and green source of electricity."
Indigenous Rights and Territories Under Attack in Brazil
Make no mistake about it, indigenous rights and territories are under attack in Brazil. We recently reported on attempts by the administration of President Michel Temer to roll back indigenous rights and environmental protections, moves that fundamentally undermine land demarcation norms while portending dire consequences for the Amazon and its...
Siemens, the Pope and the Law of the Jungle
At Belo Monte, the writing is on the wall because, all over the Amazon, new dams are planned or being built. A key role in the protection of the forests, rivers and animals will now be played by the indigenous person.
Brazil Alters Indigenous Land Demarcation Process, Sparking Conflict
With the issuance of a federal decree in mid-January, Brazil's government announced major changes to the procedure by which it formally demarcates indigenous lands – a move applauded by the ruralistas industrial agriculture lobby and large landowners, but greeted with alarm by indigenous land rights activists.
Battle for the Amazon: Tapajós Basin Threatened by Massive Development
Carlos Fávaro's dream of turning the Tapajós River into "Brazil's Mississippi" is now within the grasp of Brazil's agribusinessmen – with only indigenous people, traditional riverine communities, environmentalists and the ever-increasing concern of climate scientists about the damage that will be done to the forest, and thus indirectly...
Temer Government Set To Overthrow Brazil’s Environmental Agenda
Brazil's conservative National Congress has rushed to pass a wave of legislative initiatives, which taken all together, would dismantle much of the nation's body of law protecting the environment and indigenous people – an effort likely to escalate in 2017.
Top Scientists: Amazon’s Tapajós Dam Complex "a Crisis in the Making"
Brazil is forging ahead with plans to build a vast hydropower dam complex in the heart of the Amazon that would convert the now remote and wild Tapajós river system into a tamed industrial waterway for the purpose of transporting soybeans – development that scientists and NGOs say will threaten Amazonian biodiversity, ecosystems, traditional...
Tired of Superheroes? Here Are Some Movies With Real Heroes Fighting for Our Future
Check out one of the stunning new films recently released about the Amazon and the heroic environmental defenders protecting it and defending us from climate change.
Brazil’s Dispossessed: Belo Monte Dam Ruinous for Indigenous Cultures
Hydropower is often touted as a climate-friendly source of energy, and Brazil has the potential to be one of the world’s greatest producers. Yet the human consequences of damming rivers have proven devastating. A prime example is seen in the charge of ethnocide lodged against the parties responsible for building the Belo Monte Dam.
Victories by Brazil’s Indigenous Movement Demonstrate Ways To Resist Authoritarianism
From North to South America and around the world, the ascendency of authoritarian leaders portends dangerous days ahead. Yet at the same time, remarkable stories continue to emerge of determined resistance to these brutal regressions, led by the continent's indigenous peoples from the Amazon to Standing Rock.
Belo Monte: After the Flood
Belo Monte: After the Flood is a documentary exploring the effects of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the environment and peoples of the Brazilian city of Altamira and the Xingu River basin, a tributary to the Amazon River.
Amazon Watch 20th Anniversary Gala
Thank you to all our friends and supporters who joined us at our 20th Anniversary Gala on Wednesday in San Francisco, where we shared food, music, dancing, and inspiring words about our last 20 years and our vision for the years to come supporting indigenous peoples and protecting the Amazon.
An Indigenous Community’s Battle To Save Their Home in the Amazon – In Pictures
There are currently over 60 major hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon. The third largest project is the Belo Monte on the Xingu River, Brazil, which has already displaced 20,000 indigenous and riverine people.
Brazil’s New Government Needs Economic Growth and May Sacrifice the Amazon To Get It
The impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, coup or not, represents a fundamental realigning of modern Brazil. For some in the country, the crisis is an opportunity. These politicians and businessmen are now exploiting the upheaval to roll-back environmental laws and get their hands on the vast natural resources found in protected regions...
Brazil Judge Suspends Operating License for Belo Monte Hydrodam
A judge in Brazil's Amazonian state of Para suspended the operating license of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River for failing to provide required water and sewage services to local communities.
Victory on Brazil’s Tapajós River and the Battle that Lies Ahead
Last week, in a stunning turn of events, Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA definitively shelved plans to carve the São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam into the heart of the Amazon. Deeming the project a socio-environmental liability for its devastating impacts upon the lands and way of life of the Munduruku people, IBAMA's bold move could reflect a...
Indigenous Tribe Applauds State Move To Cancel Brazil Amazon Dam
Indigenous people living in Brazil's rainforest have welcomed a decision by the national environment agency to cancel a proposed mega-dam in the Amazon which they say would have displaced communities while opening the sensitive region to logging.
Major Amazon Dam Opposed by Tribes Fails To Get Environmental License
Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch said: "We have been awaiting such a welcome announcement from the Brazilian government for more than a decade, while witnessing the tragic and unnecessary damming of the Madeira and Xingu rivers during this time."
Brazilian Government Cancels Mega-dam on the Amazon’s Tapajós River
Brasilia, Brazil – Brazil's Federal Environmental Agency announced the cancellation of licensing for the polemic São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam, the largest hydroelectric project planned for the Amazon.
Indigenous People Protest Against the Violation of Their Rights in Front of Brasilia Embassies
Last week's indigenous mobilization in Brasilia – detailed in the following blog from the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) – came as a response to the current, alarming and mounting assault on the rights of Brazil's indigenous peoples. The Brasilia protest articulated an appeal from indigenous leadership to national governments via their...
Unclean Hands: Corruption Plagues Ecuador’s Oil Deals with China
Ecuador is desperate to drill because it owes China billions as part of loan deals between the two countries that have Ecuador handing over much of its oil to China through 2024. The oil price crash has also exacerbated the issue, forcing Ecuador to deliver twice or three times the amount of crude to pay off the debt. Sound like a bad deal? It is...
