Brazil’s big beautiful – and still illegal – balloon-making culture
From centuries old traditions Balloon-making developed into a competition between dedicated groups to create the biggest and most beautiful balloons which were released into the sky carrying lights and often fireworks, and then…
Listening to Nature
“Our father, listen attentively to the voice of our rivers, listen to the fearsome trees of the great forest.” So wrote José María Arguedas in 1966. The poet, writer and anthropologist (1911-1969) is one of the most celebrated…
Latin America Criminalises Mining Protest
All over Latin America mining protest is being criminalised by government legislation. Protestors in Andalgalá, Argentina are arrested and beaten, while in Brazil the Munduruku are fighting Anglo American, financed by US…
The Amazon: Biden and Bolsonaro's no- deal
The United States and Brazil have been conducting closed door negotiations to broker an Amazon rainforest protection agreement — with the U.S. and other nations tentatively to provide significant funding, and Brazil possibly…
Brazil: Facebook Enables Landgrabbing
In a new TV documentary, BBC Brasil penetrated deep within criminal networks illegally selling and deforesting conserved lands — even within an Indigenous reserve - to find some land grabbers are posting the plots they’re selling…
The Most Dangerous Man on Earth
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a double danger to the world, says Jan Rocha. The president's policies on Coronavirus and the Amazon endanger the whole world
Transforming Urban Spaces: Guatemala City’s barrancos
“We dream of a green city, an inclusive city, full of squares, full of children. We dream of a fair, walkable, accessible, liveable city. We believe in a greener, happier, more human city.” Urban planners and community gardeners…
Human Rights Defenders in Honduras
Each day, human rights defenders speak out for the rights of others. And each day they risk their livelihoods, their liberty and in many cases their lives. As attacks, abductions, and assassinations increase in Latin America, we…
Covid-19 in Latin America – Update
Latin America passed the dire milestone of a million cases of coronavirus at the beginning of June. Since then, Peru has surpassed Italy in its number of confirmed cases and infection and death rates continue to rise. Nonetheless…
Indigenous Peoples: Why it Matters if they Catch Coronavirus
500 years after Europeans decimated the American indigenous populations with the common flu, indigenous communities again face imminent catastrophe. As the defenders of nature, land and biodiversity, it is essential we don't…
Brumadinho – One Year On
With the company stalling and no lessons learned, the risk of another tailings dam collapse are high. Tom Gatehouse talks to those affected by recent tailings dams disasters in Brazil
The Condor and The Eagle
The Condor and the Eagle (2019) is a prize-winning documentary film directed by Sophie and Clément Guerra, about the collective struggle of the Indigenous peoples of North and South America to defend their land and water against…
Bolsonaro’s Brazil 2020: the march of the miners
Mining companies await new laws to unlock protected lands and indigenous reserves
Colombia’s struggle for sustainable development
The relationship between the natural environment and the armed conflict in Colombia is deeply interwoven and complex. Even following the Peace Accords, the issue of governance is at the root of the environmental challenges…
Mexico’s ‘Tren Maya’ railway: fat jaguars vs starving babies?
The AMLO government falls for the mega-development temptation
Argentina: Toxic Waste from Fracking in Patagonia
A BP subsidiary is being sued by indigenous groups for criminal dumping of toxic waste
Brazil: indigenous reserves to be opened up to mining
Armed with government permits, mining companies stand poised for the rush to exploit land in previously protected reserves
The Two Faces of Norway’s Rainforest Policies
Norway's government gives millions to Brazil for rainforest conservation, while Norsk Hydro's mines and smelters clear, pillage and pollute.
Chevron, Ecuador and the extractor’s curse – part 3: When in doubt, sue the lawyer
“We’re going to fight this until hell freezes over … And then we’ll fight it out on the ice”, said a Chevron spokesman in 2009. The company has done just that. Meanwhile, the Lago Agrio region of Ecuador remains severely polluted…
Chevron, Ecuador and the extractor’s curse – part 2
In Part 2 in her story of how the oil company targets the victims' lawyers to avoid paying compensation, Linda Etchart looks at the actions and omissions of successive Ecuadorian governments
Chevron, Ecuador and the extractor’s curse – part 1
To avoid paying compensation, the oil company targets the victims' lawyers
Belo Horizonte gets a Land Reform Farmers Market
Brazil's Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) opens a rural market in Belo Horizonte city
Oriximiná: Quilombolas vs The Mines
In Oriximiná, a municipality in the northern state of Pará, traditional people see their lands being invaded by mining, under the conniving gaze of the authorities
Haiti: Hope as it Braces itself for another Hurricane
As Hurricane Irma head for the Island, Prospéry Raymond, Christian Aid’s country manager for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, reflects on how Haiti has been moving on from one disaster and preparing for another
The New Voice of Reason
Women are increasingly at the forefront of South America’s fight to defend its indigenous lands and the environment and Patricia Gualinga, an indigenous Kichwa of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon region, is one of them. As…
Brazil: Munduruku People Fear Annihilation
The Tapajós River Basin lies at the heart of the Amazon, and at the heart of an exploding controversy: whether to build 40+ large dams, a railway, and highways, turning the Basin into a vast industrialized commodities export…
Belize: Punta Gorda, a forgotten district
Maya and Garifuna communities are resisting over-zealous national park regulation and encroaching oil exploration. Rachel Simon explores indigenous land rights and social issues in southern Belize over three blog posts. Rachel…
How Green Has Brazil's Olympics Been?
Brazil proclaimed that it would be hosting a Green Olympics. Despite some bright spots, the result was disappointing, our Brazil correspondent says.
BRAZIL: Tapajós industrial waterway -- a potential environmental disaster
In early August, the Brazilian government unexpectedly cancelled the São Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric power station, the largest of a series of major dams planned along the Tapajós River and its tributaries. Indigenous groups…