AMAZON WATCH 2005 ANNUAL REPORT Cover: Achuar man in Northern Peru (Nathalie Weemaels); Background Cloud forest (Murray Cooper) Inside Cover: Kayana Scymczak Franklin Toala/Community of Sarayaku 2005 marked a demanding, exciting, and rewarding year for MESSAGE FROM Amazon Watch. Across the Amazon Basin, national governments— implementing prescriptions from Washington-based international THE EXECUTIVE financial institutions—handed over millions of acres of ancient rainfor- DIRECTOR est to extractive industries for projects including logging, mining, road building and oil and gas drilling. Putting the short-term profits of extractive industries and external debt payments before human rights and the environment, governments often sold off ancestral ter- ritories of indigenous peoples in violation of international law. Making matters worse, climate change brought a record Yet across the Amazon Basin, native peoples are engaging year of droughts to the Amazon Basin in 2005, whereby in David and Goliath struggles against their governments dozens of tributaries choked up. More than 32,000 fami- and transnational corporations to protect their lands and lies were cut off from waterways, according to the Brazilian cultures. In doing so, these communities are providing a government. The Brazilian government also reported the service for all humanity—defending forests, biodiversity and second highest rate of deforestation in a decade—more traditional indigenous knowledge acquired over millennia. than 10,000 square miles of forest were lost in 2005. Add As our world faces rapid climate chaos, indigenous peo- in the forest areas lost in the rest of the Amazon countries, ples’ vision, values, and struggles to defend the sacred and the actual number of deforested square miles may be “heart of the world” become vital to safeguarding the nearly 50 percent higher. earth’s ecological balance for future generations. This global tragedy is not happening in a vacuum, as any- Empowering these communities, supporting them to make one living in the Southern U.S. when Hurricane Katrina hit their voices heard and fighting for their rights is richly will tell you. In the global North, we are increasingly aware rewarding work. As the dominant forces of globalization of the interconnectedness between environmental destruc- advance a variety of mega “development” projects, Amazon tion anywhere and human suffering everywhere. Watch’s mission has never been more urgent. The critical role of the Amazon in regulating global climate As we look towards our tenth anniversary, we feel a and rainfall is well documented. In fact, global deforesta- renewed commitment to and passion for this work. The tion accounts for some 25 percent of global warming gas past nine years have shown that Amazon Watch serves an emissions while nearly half the rain clouds generated in the essential role in working directly with local forest peoples to Amazon shower farmlands from Iowa to Argentina. protect their rainforest homelands from devastating industri- al mega-projects. We thank our generous sup- Therefore, devastation of the Amazon rainforest and indige- porters—foundations, individual donors, vol- nous cultures by extractive industries is not a faraway prob- Murray Cooper unteers, and our partners on the ground— lem, but one that touches each and every one of our lives for allowing us to carry out our mission. through such effects as climate change and skyrocketing With your help, we look forward to con- gas prices. The quest for oil is pushing the industry deeper tinuing to defend the cultural and bio- into the Amazon’s most fragile and culturally sensitive logical diversity of the Amazon. areas, and discovering more fossil fuel reserves our planet cannot afford to burn. For the Amazon and future generations, Atossa Soltani, Executive Director Franklin Toala/Community of Sarayaku Amazon Watch works with indigenous and environ- mental partner organizations in the Amazon Basin OUR MISSION to defend the environment and advance indigenous peoples’ rights in the face of large-scale industrial development projects such as oil and gas pipelines, power lines, roads, and other mega- projects. We work closely with indigenous Amazonians to protect their territories and amplify their voices in the global North. OUR STRATEGIES Lou Dematteis Lou Lou Dematteis Lou Atossa Soltani/AmazonAtossa Watch Support rainforest peoples Monitor projects Influence policy Above all, we believe that indigenous Amazon Watch closely monitors a Amazon Watch seeks to influence the Amazonians have the right to decide range of mega-industrial projects (so- policies of transnational corporations, whether and how development takes called “development” projects) in the international financial institutions and place on their lands. We train local Amazon Basin, holding corporations national governments. We encourage communities in media outreach, politi- and the international financial institu- them to fully respect human rights, cal and legal strategies, and we pro- tions that fund them accountable for adopt stronger environmental and vide equipment such as digital cam- the environmental and social impacts social safeguards and to enforce exist- eras and laptop computers to empow- of their policies. In remote frontier ing standards. We also publicly advo- er them to defend their collective and regions, where the rule of law is limit- cate for a more democratic and sus- — territorial rights and represent them- ed to non-existent, indigenous peoples tainable developmental model a find themselves engaged in a massive- model which recognizes and respects selves in the crucial battle for public ly unfair battle with the forces of glob- human rights for indigenous and all opinion. We also bring Amazonian alization. All too frequently, the lack of people, and which takes into Soltani/AmazonAtossa Watch community leaders to meet with meaningful safeguards signifies that account the full economic, national and international decision- local communities are devastated by scientific, ecological, makers, thus giving them an all-too- the destruction of the forests and cultural and intrinsic rare opportunity to speak for them- rivers that results from these projects. value of the Amazon selves at transnational corporations’ At Amazon Watch, we investigate and Basin’s forests shareholder meetings, development publicize these transgressions and and biodiversity. bank consultations and directly with propose solutions acceptable to the U.S. media outlets. local communities. Lou Dematteis During 2005, Amazon Watch made major strides towards achieving justice for the thousands of THE CLEAN UP Ecuadorians whose lives and lands have been ruined ECUADOR by Texaco’s (now Chevron’s) dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic waste in the remote Oriente region— CAMPAIGN dumping that has resulted in 30 times more oil spilled than Exxon Valdez. To complement and defend the landmark class-action lawsuit against Chevron, Amazon Watch carried out a broad range of media, political and grassroots cam- paigning in the United States and Ecuador, receiving Lou Dematteis coverage from a wide spectrum in what is arguably the most of media including the New York important environmental trial cur- Times. With childhood leukemia rently taking place anywhere in skyrocketing in this part of the world. Hopefully, the judges Ecuador and 30,000 rainforest will order Chevron to meet the residents drinking contaminated plaintiffs’ demands for a multi- water, Amnesty International billion dollar clean-up, thus joined the campaign to hold establishing a global precedent Chevron accountable. of environmental accountability The Ecuadorian court is expect- for transnational corporations ed to reach a judgment in 2007 operating in developing nations. 2005 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS March to date information about the historic toll of this environmental tragedy— trial in Ecuador and the international debuts in San Ramon, California, Amazon Watch coordinates a share- campaign to hold Chevron account- Chevron’s hometown. The exhibit holder delegation comprised of finan- able for its toxic contamination of the forms a focal point of Amazon cial advisors and shareholders of both Ecuadorian Amazon. Watch’s outreach efforts to the com- Chevron and Burlington Resources munity in which many Chevron (see below) to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Sponsored by Amazon Watch, the employees, including the corpora- Delegates visit the contaminated areas Crude Reflections photo exhibit— tion’s CEO, reside. left by Chevron and meet representa- documenting the distressing human tives from affected communities. The We organize a delegation from the delegation allows key representatives Ecuadorian rainforest to Chevron’s from major institutional investors to Annual General Meeting, accompanied gain a first hand understanding of the by Amazon Watch staff. The delega- contamination’s impacts on local peo- tion spotlights the corporation’s devas- ple and the environment. tation of the region and the liability it now faces. April Meanwhile, galvanized by Amazon Amazon Watch launches the web site Watch, the three largest public pen- www.chevrontoxico.com, featuring up sion funds in the U.S. present a reso- lution publicly calling on Chevron to Commission on Human Rights, of the Cavanagh/Amazon Watch Thomas live up to its touted rhetoric of corpo- Organization of American States, to rate responsibility by addressing the request protection following a pattern social and environmental impact of its of intimidation