The Amazon is a no-go zone for oil drilling
The western Amazon is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. This vital rainforest is under threat from previous and ongoing oil extraction – which pollutes rivers, harms wildlife and human health, and opens the forest to roads, deforestation, and further exploitation.
Amazon Watch works in close partnership with Indigenous peoples to stop oil extraction at the source and reduce global demand for Amazon oil. Together, we are building pressure on governments, corporations, and consumers to phase out Amazon crude and protect the rainforest – before it’s too late.
Campaign goals
- Oil companies cancel their drilling plans in the Amazon
- Financiers and insurers withdraw support for Amazon oil projects
- The State of California – the largest importer of Amazon crude – ends imports altogether
- Indigenous communities in Ecuador and Peru obtain justice for the devastating impacts oil operations in their territories, including those affected by Chevron
Recent highlights
- Safeguarding the Ecuadorian Amazon: Working with Indigenous partners to block the government’s plans to open 14 oil blocks across 2.3 million roadless hectares in southern Ecuador, while amplifying calls for the protection of Yasuní National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
- Demanding justice for oil-impacted communities in northern Peru: Amplifying the demands of the Achuar, Chapra, and Wampis peoples that state oil company Petroperú both halt plans to exploit oil block 64 and remediate hundreds of toxic, unaddressed oil spills in their ancestral territories.
- Resisting oil extraction in Colombia: Accompanying Indigenous and campesino communities in the Putumayo region who oppose oil companies in their territories due to environmental harm and human rights violations.
- Urging California to stop importing Amazon crude: Following extensive meetings with California officials, we accompanied a delegation of Ecuadorian Indigenous leaders to the State Capitol, which led to the California State Senate passing a resolution to assess its Amazon crude imports and pursue a phase-out.
Latest campaign news and updates
Bay Area Communities Mark 13th Annual Anti-Chevron Day
Investor votes on Indigenous rights and human rights due diligence resolutions underscore escalating scrutiny of Chevron’s global operations
Shareholders, Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders, and environmental justice advocates converged on Chevron's Annual General Meeting today.
Bay Area Communities Mark 13th Annual Anti-Chevron Day
Community organizations, environmental justice advocates, and international frontline leaders will gather across the Bay Area next week for the 13th annual Anti-Chevron Day, May 13-17, 2026, culminating in a major public festival and march in Richmond.
Amazon Indigenous Delegation Arrives to Historic Conference on Transition Away From Fossil Fuels
The First Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels marks a turning point in climate diplomacy. It is the first time countries will explicitly address the root cause of the climate crisis: the unmitigated proliferation of fossil fuels.
This Month Governments Meet to Plan a Fossil Fuel Phaseout. The Amazon Must Be Heard.
Indigenous peoples have demanded for decades that governments come together and commit to getting off fossil fuels. The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, taking place later this month in Santa Marta, Colombia, is a manifestation of that demand.
Pushing Back Against the “Donroe Doctrine”
When Petro met Trump on February 3rd, the stakes were high. The Trump Administration had decertified Colombia from receiving security assistance on grounds that it was not adequately addressing drug trafficking.
2026: A Year of Decision for the Amazon
The Amazon has reached an ecological tipping point. What happens in 2026 will help determine whether climate justice remains possible or becomes an empty slogan.
Hope Is a Practice: 30 Years Walking With the U’wa People
In a time of repression and daily outrage, where do we find hope? For nearly 30 years, the U’wa people of Colombia have shown the world what spiritual, cultural, and political resistance looks like. Their struggle continues, and so does our commitment.
Indigenous Leadership and Collective Power in 2025
As climate denial gained renewed political traction and governments moved to restrict civic space, Indigenous peoples and grassroots movements across the Amazon advanced bold, collective visions for the future.
Small Steps Made, Big Leaps Needed: JPMorgan Chase Reveals Policy Shifts
World’s largest fossil financier responds following Indigenous-led bank advocacy against fossil fuel expansion in the Peruvian Amazon
The changes fall far short of what is needed to prevent violations of Indigenous peoples' rights and to halt large scale destruction of critical ecosystems like the Amazon biome.
