La comunidad indígena Uwa, que desde 1995 se ha opuesto a la explotación de recursos naturales en su territorio sagrado y ancestral, anunció que simultáneamente a la gran Minga Nacional, este 12 y 13 de octubre realizará una actividad de resistencia en Cubará, Boyacá, para manifestar su oposición contra las actividade
All Campaign Updates
U'wa Resistance Against Petroleum and Megaprojects
Thursday, October 8, 2009By: Actualidad ÉtnicaThe U'wa indigenous community, that has opposed the exploitation of natural resources in their sacred and ancestral territory since 1995, announced that they will carry out a resistance action in Cubará, Boyacá on October 12 and 13.
Open Letter from the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon to Ecuador and the World
Open Letter from theConfederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazonto Ecuador and the WorldPuyo, EcuadorUnión BaseSeptember 30, 2009The Governing Council of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon CONFENIAE, denounces and holds responsible the government of Ra
The Madeira Dams: Impacts and Actions in Bolivian Territory
Jirau and Santo Antonio promise to cost much more than the stated financial value of their construction: deforestation, disease, damage to fish populations, just to name a few.
APRODEH: Open Letter To Peruvian President Alan Garcia
Dr. Alan García PérezPresident of the Republic of PeruMr.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
A People Beyond the Riverbanks
Written By Cristiano Navarro, Brasil de FatoTranslated by Natalia TaddeiBolivians will be affected by the dam projects, yet their lands have been not included Brazil's environmental impact study.
Tragic history repeats itself on Brazil's Madeira River
By: Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch Brazil Program CoordinatorAlong the banks of Brazil's Madeira River, the rusty remnants of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, built a century ago to run steam engines from Porto Velho to Guajará-Mirim in Bolivia, lay in ruins.
"There's an impending catastrophe" Deforestation Increases Mercury Poisoning in Fish
Written by: Cristiano Navarro, Brasil de FatoTranslated by: Natalia TaddeiPorto Velho (RO)Once a year, Pierre-Louis de Catheu, a farmer in the South of France, enjoys the duck-hunting season. In the last two seasons, he has had problems with his ammunition.
AIDESEP Warns that Persecution Continues, Announcing they will Withdraw from the Dialogue Table Should it Persist
AIDESEP demanded that Peru's Executive and Legislative branches halt the persecution of indigenous leaders throughout the country. If they don't, indigenous representatives will be obligated to withdraw from the Coordination Group for the Amazon Peoples.
AIDESEP Statement: A Historic Day for Indigenous Peoples
Speaking on behalf of indigenous peoples, the vice-president of the Inter-Ethinc Association for Development in the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP), Daysi Zapata, expressed her satisfaction with the decision of the Congress of the Republic to repeal the illegitimate legislative decrees 1090 and 1064 and called on the government to
NGO Letter to Obama Administration about Crisis in Peru
June 12, 2009The Honorable Hillary ClintonSecretary of State United States Department of State2201 C Street NWWashington, District of Columbia 20520Dear Madam Secretary:We are writing to request that the United States Government take immediate, concrete and public action to help r
PERU: Statement of the Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
The Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues expresses her deep concern on the reports received during the Eighth Session of the UNPFII, regarding the current situation in Peru.
Photos of Awajun indigenous protesters in Bagua
Awajun indigenous protesters in Bagua, northern Peru, where armed police put many of them into hospital in a May 10th attack on their peaceful blockade of the Corral Quemado Bridge (see photos and video here).
Video and photos of police attack near Bagua, Peru
On Sunday, May 10, armed police attacked and broke up a peaceful demonstration on the Corral Quemado Bridge close to the northern Peruvian town of Bagua, resulting in several serious injuries and one person missing, feared dead.
URGENTE: Indígenas andinos y amazónicos anuncian huelga de hambre en el Congreso Demandan que el Pleno apruebe la derogatoria de los decretos legislativos del TLC con Estados Unidos
COORDINADORA ANDINA DE ORGANIZACIONES INDÍGENAS – CAOIBolivia, Ecuador, Perú, Colombia, Chile, Argentina URGENTE.
Invasión de Ecopetrol y FFMM, violación de derechos más grande contra los U'wa
En un documento entregado al director HSE y Gestión Social de Ecopetrol, Napo León Gómez y al Teniente Coronel Juan Carlos González, Comandante del Batallón Especial Energético Vial No.1, la comunidad U'wa dejó claro, una vez más, su rechazo a cualquier tipo de actividad dentro de su territorio que atente su cosmovisi
Indigenous Peoples Summit on Climate Change
Indigenous peoples from around the world gathered in Anchorage, Alaska April 20-24 to exchange their knowledge and experience in confronting the impacts of climate change, and to develop key messages and recommendations to be articulated to the world at the Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Talisman AGM in Calgary Statement by Gregor MacLennan Amazon Watch Peru Coordinator
Good Morning Chairman Manzoni, Board of Directors, Shareholders, My name is Gregor MacLennan, and I represent Amazon Watch, a human rights and environmental organization that has 15 years of experience working with indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We are also shareholders in Talisman.
Brazilian Social Movement Condemns "Dictatorship on the Madeira River"
The Brazilian Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) issued the following statement to denounce the treatment of riverine communities who are being impacted by the construction of the Santo Antônio and Jirau dams on the Madeira River in Brazil's Rondônia state.
ACTION PLATFORM OF THE AMAZONIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (AIDESEP)
1. Repeal of all legislative decrees and laws that impinge upon the rights of indigenous peoples. These laws include Law 29317 that modifies Legislative Decree 1090 also known as the NEW FOREST AND WILDLIFE LAW, Law 29338, the Water Resources Law, and Legislative Decrees 1089, 1064 and 1020.2.
Earth Day: Do Environmental Rights Equal Human Rights?
By: Priscila Neri Witness: www.witness.orgWhat images come to mind when you think of human rights? Pictures of torture, unjust detention, police brutality, political persecution? Or do you think about climate change? What about when you think of the environmental movement? Do you picture polluted oceans, de
Despite Protests, Work Continues on Madeira River Dams
Recent events surrounding the Santo Antonio and Jirau hydroelectric dam schemes underway on the Amazon’s Madeira River highlight the controversial nature of these projects as well as the lack of public consensus around the Brazilian government’s “development” plans for the Amazon basin.
AIDESEP, COMARU, CITIZEN ACTION FOR CAMISEA AND OTHERS EXPRESS OUR OBJECTION TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 7TH CAMISEA CONSULTATION MEETING, ORGANIZED BY THE INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK - IDB
The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest – AIDESEP, The Machiguenga Council of the Urubamba River – COMARU, Citizen Action for Camisea and other civil society organizations, by signing below, are expressing our objection to the organization of the Interamerican Development Bank’s (IDB)
Ecuadorian Government Provisionally Delays Suspension of Environmental Organization's Legal Status
Members of Acción Ecológica, a close partner organization of Amazon Watch, were notified yesterday by Ecuador's Ministry of Health that the suspension of their legal status to operate in the country was provisionally put on hold. The Ecuadorian government will reach a final decision on this matter within two months.
Brazil's Madeira Riverbank Dwellers Call for Help
Members of the riverbank communities on Brazil’s Madeira River sent a letter to Brazil’s President Lula da Silva prior to his visit to see work on the two dam sites of Santo Antonio and Jirau, key projects of the Initiative for the Regional Integration of Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA).
COIAB meets with Prince Charles in Manaus
The coordinator-general of the National Indigenous Organization of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Jecinaldo Satere, delivered a document to the heir of the British throne detailing the position of indigenous peoples on environmental issues.
Amazon Watch on Good Morning America
Amazon Watch was featured on Good Morning America in its recent series of reports about the Amazon. The report, which aired on March 11 and was entitled "At Home in the Amazon", focuses on the plight of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, deep in the rainforest.
Yasuní: The Last Chance or the First Step?
Yasuní: The Last Chance or the First Step?By Esperanza MartínezAcción EcologicaOn Februray 5, 2009, presidential decree number 1572 indefinitely extended an initiative not to exploit crude oil located in Yasuní National Park in Ecuador.With this, the Yasuní-ITT ini
U'wa Statements on the 10th Anniversary of the Murder of Terry, Ingrid, and Lahe
CONTEXT: March 4, 2009 marks a decade after the murder in Colombia of Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok and Lahe'ena'e Gay, who were all passionate advocates of indigenous rights around the world. The three activists were kidnapped by armed men during a visit to the territory of Colombia’s U’wa indigenous people.
