Chevron Is Refusing to Pay for the "Amazon Chernobyl" At a time when so many black Americans, Indigenous peoples, people of color, and white allies are protesting at systemic racism, we'd like to highlight a different story of marginalized people speaking truth to power on behalf of their most basic human rights. It's the story of how "big oil" is now using Harvey Weinstein-like destroy-the- […]

Oil Companies Seek to End Clean-up of Amazon Oil Spill Despite Ongoing Pollution Quito, Ecuador – Ecuador's two oil pipeline operators prematurely halted clean-up operations last week, declaring the remediation complete despite evidence of ongoing pollution in both the Coca and Napo rivers. The companies are now seeking to close the door on the country's worst spill in the last 15 years by convening public meetings with communi […]

A New Justice Movement Emerges to Defend Steven Donziger In 2013 Donziger helped win a landmark legal case in Ecuador against Chevron for contaminating a vast stretch of rain forest in the Amazon headwaters larger than the state of Rhode Island. The Ecuadorean courts awarded the 30,000 plaintiffs, who are poor rural farmers and indigenous people, $9.5 billion to clean up the damage. Instead of obeying the judgment […]

Delayed Justice, Again "Today's ruling shows that the Ecuadorian justice system has once again put the interests of oil companies above the rights of Indigenous peoples and nature. The evidence of contamination and the impact on the lives of the Kichwa populations of the Coca and Napo rivers was overwhelming during the hearing. However, the judge, without law or logic on […]

Climate Activists Ramp Up Pressure on BlackRock During Fires Week of Action Despite positioning itself earlier this year as a financial firm that leads on climate, BlackRock continues to be a major financial investor in the deforestation commodity companies currently fueling the fires in the Amazon. BlackRock is a top investor in deforestation-risk commodities around the world, and despite vague commitments to prioritize "susta […]

Climate Activists Stage Direct Action Against BlackRock's Continued Financing of Amazon Fires "According to MAAP, as of August 30th of this year, over 1.1 million acres (453,000 hectares) of recently deforested areas have burned in the Brazilian Amazon. Given the urgency of what's happening in the Amazon today, it's encouraging to see that activists are turning out from coast to coast to hold BlackRock accountable for its contributions […]

The Amazon's Burning Season Is a Call to Action In response to this worsening crisis, Amazon Watch is calling for an #AmazonCeasefire by mounting a communications, advocacy, and direct relief campaign alongside a coalition of Brazilian and global allies. We are shining a spotlight on the true drivers of today's crisis – from political delinquency to market complicity – while also targeting those resp […]

Ese Eja: A Young Nation Guided by Ancestral Vision One Amazonian nation that has prioritized addressing collective needs in their community during the pandemic has been the Ese Eja. It is now a young nation with a clear political vision, solid organizing, and communal ties. With a direct grant from the ADF, the Ese Eja have equipped their health posts with oxygen concentrators in each of their communities, d […]

Trading in Pollution: European Banks Bankroll Billions in Amazon Oil "I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of Indigenous peoples and communities without water, without food, and in devastating health conditions due to the pollution of the Coca and Napo rivers? It's time for the banks, companies […]

New Report Reveals European Banks Financing Trade of Controversial Amazon Oil to U.S. "The oil industry has a toxic legacy in the Amazon, further exacerbated by recent spills that have contaminated rivers and disrupted the health and food security of Indigenous communities. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, oil companies continue to pursue expansion, putting Indigenous peoples at even greater risk. These banks cannot claim to uphold the […]

European Banks Financing Trade of Amazon Oil to the U.S. Why in the world would any bank that has policies on advancing human rights, sustainability, and climate change be financing the flow of oil from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region in Ecuador to US refineries? Makes you wonder if there's a little hypocrisy in play. Our report led by Stand.earth Research Group in partnership with Amazon Watch uncovered […]

European Banks Urged to Stop Funding Oil Trade in Amazon Marlon Vargas, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, said: "I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of indigenous peoples and communities without water, without food and in devastatin […]

European Banks Face Indigenous Calls to End Amazon Oil Trade European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade in oil from the Amazon rainforest.

More Than 60 NGOs Demand Moratorium on Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon São Paulo – More than 60 NGOs, including Amazon Watch, in partnership with the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB) delivered a letter today to the Brazilian Congress, foreign investors, and European parliamentarians demanding five emergency measures to contain the deforestation crisis in the Amazon rainforest, including t […]

New Report to Reveal European Banks Financing Trade of Controversial Amazon Oil to U.S. Geneva, Switzerland – North America-based environmental organizations Stand.earth and Amazon Watch will release a report on 12 August 2020 detailing how European banks are financing the trade of controversial oil from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region in Ecuador to international destinations like California.

Bolsonaro's Temporary Fire Ban Fails to Implement Real Policy and Enforcement Measures to Combat Fires "Illegal deforestation is the fundamental precursor to the Amazon fires, and scientists have recorded that June's deforestation levels were 64 percent higher than last year. This spike is a direct consequence of Bolsonaro's dangerous anti-environmental agenda."

#AdiosGeoPark: Peruvian Indigenous Peoples Expel Another Oil Company Today, we celebrate a major victory after years of collaboration and hard work to fend off another multinational oil company that was supported by the world's largest investment firms and powerful governments. This is a significant win not just for the Indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon, but for all communities around the world resisting extracti […]

Amazon in Crisis 2020 The Amazon and our global climate are in crisis. Following rampant deforestation and fires that ravaged the Amazon rainforest last year, the Amazon is now facing a tipping point of ecological collapse. The Amazon is also facing a humanitarian crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading exponentially across the region, with the potential of ethnocide […]

Dramatic Footage Fuels Fears Amazon Fires Could Be Worse Than Last Year Official data shows the Brazilian government's efforts so far this year have failed to bring results. Brazil saw more fires in the Amazon this June than in any year since 2007. Brazil's space research agency INPE spotted 2,248, compared with 1,880 in June last year.