Reports on the health and vitality of the Amazon — often dubbed as Earth’s lungs — have been grim for years. Record drought has stressed large swaths of the world’s…
The idea of a railway line stretching across the width of South America — from Peru on the Pacific coast to Brazil on the Atlantic — has gained steam since…
Locals warned Belo Monte would kill the river, and now the plant faces a turning point as prophecies become real.
BRASÍLIA — Indigenous leaders and researchers in Brazil say an end to a key zero-deforestation agreement, the Amazon Soy Moratorium, will increase deforestation around Indigenous lands and encourage the invasion…
Tucked into Brazil’s Amazon forest, along the Maici River where recently contacted Pirahã people live, journalists observed a dramatic uptick in forest loss. According to data from Global Forest Watch,…
As global soy giants walk away from a landmark pact, land grabbers move in to clear the forest for new crops.
In Eunápolis, in the south of the Brazilian state of Bahia, the clearing of Atlantic Forest for agriculture started centuries ago, leaving a patchwork of cattle pastures, monocultures and degraded…
The wildcat gold mining boom that swept across the Amazon beginning in the 1970s left behind an environmental catastrophe of staggering proportions. At least 350,000 hectares (almost 865,000 acres) of…
MITÚ, Colombia — Beneath the rising sun, people from nearby Indigenous communities navigate across the Vaupés River in traditional wooden canoes toward Mitú, a rapidly expanding town in the Colombian…
On a small airplane, José Manuyama, a professor, frowns and shakes his head with anguish while thousands of feet below, five dredges operated by illegal miners excavate the Nanay River…
As Belém's COP30 ended in compromise, political forces moved swiftly to accelerate destruction far from the global spotlight.
Known for their peaceful appearance and the impression that they're always smiling, sloths now have extra protection to prevent their exploitation by a cruel and illegal pet trade. CITES, the…
Phaseout plan gained unexpected momentum at the summit, only to vanish from the final deal and unlock a new stage.
Operational rifts and budget constraints choked ambitious funding from rich nations for TFFF at Belém’s summit.
The Tapajós supported Indigenous people for millennia, but now vessels, pollution and waves may disrupt their lives.
We all know that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” but in daily life, ignorance of the consequences of one’s actions is, indeed, an excuse that shields us from…
Realizing the goals of sustainable development and environmental conservation in the Pan Amazon will require profound changes in the region’s legal and economic framework. This type of change can only…
Lula wants to push actions forward in Belém, but his words clash with the latest environmental gestures in Brazil.
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a sprawling industrial facility has been carved out of the rainforest. This is the Camisea Gas Complex, a natural gas mega-field operated by a consortium…
Lawmakers in Brazil can scrap a 30-year-old protection to meet global demand for gold and other minerals.
SÃO PAULO AND RIO DE JANEIRO — Despite government efforts to halt violence in the Amazon region where British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were killed three…
Intact forests struggle to escape climate degradation, exposing new impacts coming from increasingly warming temperatures.
All the Pan Amazon nations have legal systems based on Civil (Napoleonic) Law, where courts follow rules established by ‘codes’, which are statutory rulebooks that describe specific infractions and their…
Shawi Nation leaders ask if the road is a mere gateway for mining companies set to enter their territory.
According to a new report, most of Venezuela’s gold is smuggled and laundered internationally through shell companies and opaque supply chains, including to the U.S. The operations are often controlled…
Brazil’s environment minister bets on safeguards for the highway, but history shows similar plans have failed.
After 11 years, the Alto Tamaya Saweto community has finally received confirmation of convictions in the 2014 murders of Indigenous Ashéninka leaders Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintanísima and Francisco…
Experts often warn about the “tipping point” for the Amazon, a scenario in which the rainforest collapses into a drier, less biodiverse savanna ecosystem. But the term “tipping point” is…
A road that once opened the Amazon to destruction is being expanded, and critics fear history will repeat itself.
The continued failure to halt the BR-319 highway cutting through the Brazilian Amazon is an example of the systemic problem identified by Hannah Arendt in her study of the minister…
Santarém’s ceramics grace museums around the globe, yet the city’s heritage remains largely unknown in Brazil.
A hidden incentive structure may be driving the approval of questionable carbon credits.
