By Morgan Erickson-Davis22 April 2016 (mongabay.com) – The quest for gold has been stripping rainforest from around rivers in the Amazon Basin, with not even protected areas immune from mining. The situation has gotten so out of hand that the Peruvian government launched an intervention in January, destroying a slew of mining equipment and more […]
[cf. Video: Flyover of illegal gold mining operations destroying Amazon rainforest in Peru – ‘These are giant operations. Arsenic has been found in the Titicaca Lake.’] 10 March 2016 (Survival International) – Up to 80% of a recently-contacted tribe in Peru have been poisoned with mercury, raising serious concerns for the future of the tribe. […]
By Melissa Cronin4 March 2016 (Grist) – The death of Honduran environmental and human rights activist Berta Cáceres this week is an unspeakable tragedy — but it’s not unique. In fact, environmentalists have historically been targeted for their actions, and for speaking out about environmental injustice. Last April, a report found that in 2014, at […]
26 February 2016 (Sea Shepherd Global) – The hunt for the last of six known toothfish poaching vessels has ended with the arrest of the Nigerian-flagged Viking in Indonesia. The announcement of the vessel’s arrest was made at a press conference in Jakarta today, held by Indonesian Fisheries Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, the Commander of the […]
23 February 2016 (BBC News) – At least 3,000 barrels of crude oil have been spilled in an Amazonian region after leaks from Peru’s main oil pipeline, the state oil company said. The oil has polluted two rivers that at least eight indigenous communities rely on for water, the government and indigenous leaders said. Petroperu […]
By Angus Macqueen20 February 2016 (Guardian) – Footage of a man handing bananas to two naked men in the middle of an Amazonian river went viral in late June 2014. At the time, the Brazilians claimed it was a once in a generation event – that the moment of “first contact” was caught on camera. […]
By Ian James 18 February 2016 (The Desert Sun) – Violent conflicts over water have been flaring in places from Yemen to Peru, and an updated global list shows a sharp rise in the number of water-related clashes reported over the past three decades. The Pacific Institute, a think tank that focuses on water issues, […]
(RAISG) – The Amazonian Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG) reveals in a recent publication that the loss of original forest cover of the Amazon rainforest decelerated between 2000 and 2013 relative to the 1970-2000 period. Despite this deceleration, figures remain high within the entire region for the three periods analyzed (2000-2005, 2005-2010, 2010-2013). The […]
By Mike Gaworecki30 December 2015 (mongabay.com) – As 2015 comes to a close, Mongabay is looking back at the year that was. This year saw President Obama reject the Keystone pipeline as historic droughts and a vicious wildfire season wracked the western US and Canada. The world committed to climate action in Paris as Southeast […]
By Ruxandra Guidi30th December 2015 (mongabay.com) – The year is ending on a grim note in Peru: yet another environmental leader that vocally opposed a dam project has been murdered in his home in the town of Yagen, in the country’s Cajamarca region. Hitler Ananías Rojas Gonzales, 34, was shot five times the morning of […]
