The Amazon Summit: some progress; contradictions remain
The Amazon Summit in Belém, Brazil, brought together 8 out of the 9 countries of the Amazon Basin. There were agreements, calls for western countries to share the burden of conserving the forest. But no explicit target on halting deforestation and no willingness to halt oil extraction.
Ecuador: community vs the gold miners
Indigenous communities in Azuay, Ecuador, are fighting Canadian gold mining company Dundee Precious Metals, whose Loma Larga mine threatens to pollute the Kimsakocha moorlands and its rivers.
Who will save Yasuní?
Ecuadorians go to the polls on 20 August 2023, to elect both a new president and 137 legislators for the country's National Assembly. They will also be given the choice to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in a referendum, where a ‘Yes’ vote will shut down all oil extraction in Yasuní National Park.
Colombia: corporate claims vs human rights
Glencore, owner of the vast Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, is using the grotesque Investor State Dispute Settlement process to prevent the Colombian government from protecting its own citizens and environment. Jen Moore was part of an international delegation to study this problem.
Ecuador: Napo goldrush begins with big mining
Chinese owned TerraEarth started mining for gold in Ecuador's Napo province. After numerous instances of pollution of water sources, encroachments and other violations, court and regulatory action eventually forced the company to withdraw -- for now.
Fighting illegal mining in Yanomami territory
Agência Pública chronicles the work of Brazil's environmental protection agency, IBAMA, to root illegal miners out of the territory of the Yanomami people -- in an effort to fulfil Lula's pledge of action
Pakucha: Andean cosmovision and Aymara rituals
This new documentary film depicts an Aymara community in Peru’s Puno region as they celebrate a fertility ritual in honour of Pakucha: the spirit of the alpaca that lives in the Andes.
The Assassination of Eduardo Mendua
The killing of Ecuadorean indigenous leader Eduardo Mendua provides a text-book example of how extractive projects such as oil drilling divide communities, with often fatal results. The first of a series of articles in which Linda Etchart will 'follow the money' flowing from big oil and mining.
Indigenous Comcaac serve up an oceanic grain to preserve seagrass meadows
The Indigenous Comcaac community of northwestern Mexico is working to preserve eelgrass and promote the renaissance of the grain they obtain from it.
Yanomami crisis sparks action against illegal gold in the Amazon
In January, a wave of outrage swept Brazil after photos and footage of sick and starving Yanomami were made public. Indigenous federal deputy is trying to speed up the vote of a new bill that establishes new rules for the gold trade in Brazil.