Mongabay | "We are the ones who care for nature," says Alessandra Munduruku, a young Munduruku indigenous leader in the Brazilian Amazon. "It isn't someone coming from on high who's going to teach us about caring for the forest."
All News Articles
Silencing Human Rights and Environmental Defenders
The overuse of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) by corporations
CSR and Business Ethics | The saga of cases of litigation initiated by Chevron following serious pollution in the Amazonian region of Ecuador is an infamous illustration of such legal tactic. The serious pollution created by oil spillage has led to a series of multiple country-based legal strategies by Chevron to avoid resp onsibility. After losing a case in Ecuador where...
The Erin Brockoviches of Ecuador
For these women, environmentalism and women's rights are closely linked: Past drilling projects have resulted in increased assaults, cancer, and infertility.
The New Republic | By fighting to protect their traditional land, indigenous women are making an innovative argument that the lives of the people and the wellbeing of the environment are inextricably linked – and a battle for one is a battle for the other.
Chevron’s SLAPP Suit Against Ecuadorians: Corporate Intimidation
Greenpeace | In perhaps the most vindictive SLAPP in history, Chevron – one of the world's largest corporations, with over $260 billion in assets – found a sympathetic New York judge to accept a RICO lawsuit against the victims of its vast oil pollution in Ecuador's Amazon basin.
As the U.S. Turns Its Back, Poor Countries Can Expect More Volatile Temperature Swings
Grist | It's not just the U.S. that's welching on its promise. Despite some encouraging signs, says Amazon Watch's Christian Poirier, global action is lacking. "I think a lot of it has to do with environmental racism," Poirier says.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Colombia’s Top Court Orders Government to Protect Amazon Forest in Landmark Case
Reuters | In its ruling, the court recognized Colombia's Amazon as an "entity subject of rights", which means that the rainforest has been granted the same legal rights as a human being.
A Village in Ecuador’s Amazon Fights for Life as Oil Wells Move In
Ecuador's Yasuní National Park is home to Indigenous people who live in near-total isolation from the rest of the world – and wish to remain that way
NRDC | To an outsider visiting the rainforest of Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places on earth, it seems almost inconceivable that Baihua and his people have survived as hunter-gatherers there in the 21st century – and even harder to believe they'll be able to do so for much longer.
NGOs Denounce Tapajós Basin Intimidation, Violence, Brazil Inaction
The 38 NGOs include Amazon Watch, Instituto Socioambiental, and WWF Brasil
Mongabay | Thirty-eight national and international NGOs issued a strongly worded statement demanding the Brazilian government uphold environmental laws, act on indigenous rights violations, and end escalating intimidation by the builders of hydroelectric dams on the Teles Pires River. Also condemned was the Temer administration's failure to prosecute illegal...
From Ecuador’s Amazon to President’s Palace, Indigenous Women Demand End to Drilling
"Oil has not brought development for the Waorani"
Thomson Reuters | "We will return to our communities and wait for a response from the government," said Zoila Castillo, vice-president of the parliament of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. "If we do not receive a response in two weeks, we will be back."
Keep Off Our Land, Indigenous Women Tell Ecuador’s President
Women's movement demands an end to unrestricted oil drilling and mining on Indigenous lands and action on violence against land defenders in first meeting with President Lenin Moreno
The Guardian | "Your government cannot permit that our rights continue to be violated," Patricia Gualinga, an indigenous Kichwa from Sarayaku, told the president during the meeting. "Ecuador has to change its energy policy. It could be an example for the world," she said. Gualinga, who received death threats in January, said environmental defenders, particularly...
World Water Day: Deadly Plight of Brazil’s River Defenders Goes Unheard
At a high-level talking shop for the global water industry in Brazil, river defenders and community activists – who are often murdered or criminalized for trying to protect their resources – have set up an alternative forum to share their stories
The Guardian | Alessandria Munduruku described how women have moved to the forefront of the community's campaign to protect territory. "The government doesn't care for us, only for agribusiness so our struggle is very difficult. We are up against illegal mines, loggers, ports, roads, agribusiness and investors from China and Canada," she said. "The men are weak...
Social-Good Deficiency?
Directors & Boards Magazine calls out BlackRock's hypocrisy as one of eight key topics they believe will be "On the Table for 2018" in the introduction to their First Quarter issue
Directors & Boards | The latest ESG push came from BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink sending an ultimatum to corporations across the country to make social good part of the overall business strategy plans or else. Turns out, BlackRock has investments in companies that are drilling in the Amazon, according to the nonprofit Amazon Watch.
Colombian Land Defenders: “They’re Killing Us One By One”
In western Colombia's Humanitarian Zone, outspoken community leaders fear for their lives after 32 other environmental activists and land defenders were murdered last year alone in their country
Mongabay | "They go on television saying that everything in Colombia is fine, that the war is over. The truth is that public order is only fine for those who have money, but for campesinos like us, it's worse than it was before."
Indigenous Women March in Ecuador, Vow to “Defend Our Territory”
Women from different regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon gathered in the city of Puyo, Ecuador to mark International Women's Day
Mongabay | About 350 Indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon gathered here yesterday to celebrate International Women's Day, and, they say, to fight back against a system that violates their rights. Many women spoke out specifically against the extractive industries operating in their territories.
Indigenous Amazonian Women: Defending Mother Earth
Cultural Survival | On March 21st, 2016, International Women's Day, an Amazonian women's alliance was born when indigenous women from seven nationalities – Kichwa, Sápara, Shiwiar, Shuar, Achuar, Andoa, and Waorani – joined forces for the first time, marching together in defense of their rights, rainforests, and future generations.
A Gold Mine Swallowed Their Village. This Amazon Tribe Is Here to Take It Back
Climate Home News | "Game used to be very easy here – pig, deer, tapir. But it is all gone due to the machines and pollution. Now, only one stream still has fish, but they are all sick from mercury. This damage will remain forever."
Ecuador Votes to Reduce Oil Exploitation in Yasuní National Park
Mongabay | A decisive battle is just beginning for Indigenous peoples and ecologists who have been watching helplessly as state-owned oil company Petroamazonas settles into Yasuní National Park, one of the world's most biodiverse areas, to take advantage of its oil reserves.
They Owned an Island, Now They Are Urban Poor
Construction of the Belo Monte dam has cast men, women and children who lived rich lives along the Xingu River to the outskirts of Altamira, Brazil’s most violent city. Here, to the sound of gunfire, they must live behind barred windows, and buy food with money they’ve never had – or needed before
The Guardian | "I had a better life than anyone in São Paulo. If I wanted to work my land, I did. If I didn't, the land would be there the next day. If I wanted to fish, I did, but if I'd rather pick açaí, I did. I had a river, I had woods, I had tranquility. On the island, I didn't have any doors. I had a place ... And on the island, we didn't get sick."
Native Brazilians Try to Close Major Illegal Mining Site Polluting River in Pará
Folha de S.Paulo | Tired of waiting for the government to take action against the major illegal mining sites located in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory and in the Crepor National Forest, Munduruku warriors and leaders organized an expedition to drive non-indigenous prospectors out of the area.
Does BlackRock Practice What It Preaches for the Social Good?
Firm reportedly has investments in companies funding Amazon drilling
Directors & Boards | Amazon Watch's Executive Director Leila Salazar-López said, "Statements about climate risk and social purpose are no substitute for this concrete action. Divesting from Amazon crude, with its egregious environmental and human rights implications, is one good place to start."
Pope Francis Says Amazon Indigenous People Under Greater Threat Than Ever
Andrew Miller of the NGO Amazon Watch said the pope's words "deepened prior comments in favor of indigenous rights and protecting the Amazon. Now the question is: will Pope Francis make similar comments before larger crowds in Lima and in dialogues with Peruvian decision makers?"
Rainforest Pays the Price for Brazil’s Crisis
"While there is forest, people will not stop cutting it down. [Conservation] policy today is like trying to use a towel to dry a piece of ice. We are only retarding the process. It will keep melting until there is nothing left."
U.N. Lambasts Latin America for Abusing Indigenous Rights
"Criminalization is really about using the justice system to stop indigenous peoples from pursing their own activities and their own actions against projects that are destructive to them."
New Round of Oil Drilling Goes Deeper into Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park
"Drilling in Yasuni directly contradicts Moreno's UN pledge and the expanded protections proposed in the referendum," said Carlos Mazabanda, Ecuador Field Coordinator with Amazon Watch.
Brazil Announces End to Amazon Mega-dam Building Policy
The government's hydroelectric dams policy change announced this week will surely be greeted as a hopeful sign by environmentalists and indigenous groups. But experts warn that a much bigger strategic policy shift is needed regarding infrastructure planning and agribusiness before the Amazon can be deemed safe from major deforestation.
Brazil Wavers on Environment, and Earth’s Largest Wetland Starts to Wither
Farmers often don’t focus on the long-term damage caused by their crops, which erode the soil, polluting and diverting rivers. This alters the rhythms of the wet and dry seasons in the Pantanal, permanently flooding large areas. “They don’t think about tomorrow. As long as they’re fine now, they don’t care about what happens next.”
Mining Concessions in Ecuador Stalled Over Compliance with Indigenous Rights
New mining concessions are now stalled until the companies can prove they've complied with all regulations under the constitution. This includes Article 57, which states that indigenous groups have the right to free and prior consultation before extractive projects take place near their land.
Amazonian Leaders Promote Vision for “Living Forests” at the Climate Change Conference
The Kawsak Sacha "Living Forests" vision is vital for many reasons, most fundamentally that maintaining the ecological balance of the Amazon is essential to Earth's health and capacity to mitigate climate change.
Indigenous Groups Win Greater Climate Recognition at Bonn Summit
Indigenous groups claimed a victory at the UN climate talks in Bonn on Wednesday as governments acknowledged for the first time that they can play a leadership role in protecting forests and keeping global temperatures at a safe level.
