Amazon Watch

The communities gathered at the festival face real and growing pressure as the new government pushes to open their lands to mining.

Amazon Watch will work with Amazonian partners and allies to ensure that the future of the rainforest and her peoples are squarely on the agenda of the new U.S. Congress.

Thirty years ago, Amazon Watch responded to a call for solidarity with the Amazon and Indigenous Peoples.

“Our guards, our monitoring, and our own governments protect the best-conserved territories on the planet."

For Indigenous communities, this is a victory worth celebrating. But it is also a reminder of why our collective work remains so urgent.

“We have to elect people who won’t destroy our rights, who won’t destroy our forests, and who won’t cause the kind of impact that comes from all the talk by other politicians about, rare earths, illegal mining."

“Lula’s victory prevents a president who promised to halt Indigenous land demarcation from taking office, but our territories are far from safe."

"Given the threats facing Indigenous Peoples and the Amazon, we owe it to them and to future generations to move forward quickly.”

"Now we have gained time to organize, grow stronger, and show the world that what this mining company is saying is a lie: we were not consulted.”

Powerful global markets for gold and cocaine are threatening the heart of the world’s largest tropical forest, and the international community is not doing enough to stop them.

“Our territories, our homes, our waters, the future of our children are at stake.”

"Safeguarding Indigenous defenders is our strongest defense against environmental crime, and they must not be left to fight it alone.”

Investors should not be fooled. The seven Indigenous nations remain united in their opposition, and neither the Amazon nor the global climate can afford more extraction.

More than two years ago, courageous Awajún and Wampis survivors and women defenders broke the silence.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara defended his people’s territory as a member of the Forest Guardians in the Brazilian Amazon. In 2019, illegal loggers murdered him.

“Multiply the risk of a catastrophe by its disastrous consequences, and you will see that inaction is impossible.”

“We are at a decisive moment. The results of the first round showed that the threats to our territories and our rights may increase in the coming years. But the election isn’t over yet."

“This scenario strengthens an anti-Indigenous agenda that is already operating within the National Congress and has our territories in its sights."

"Yesterday's announcement changes nothing on the ground. Indigenous nations have opposed oil extraction in these territories for decades, previous rounds failed to deliver, and the fundamental obstacles remain."

"Regardless of the election outcome, decisions involving mining, oil, and infrastructure must respect Brazil’s sovereignty, environmental laws, and the rights of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.”