🌳 Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell 11% over the past year, new government data shows — a rare bit of good news ahead of COP30. But fires hit record highs, underscoring how fragile the gains remain.
apnews.com/article/defo...

A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime. (AP video produced by Rosa Ramirez and Steven Grattan) apnews.com/video/what-t...

Entire cultures in the Amazon could disappear without most of the world ever knowing they existed.
@AP: apnews.com/article/unco...

Interpol has coordinated a major operation across Latin America targeting environmental crimes — from illegal gold mining to wildlife trafficking and deforestation.

The crackdown led to 225 arrests in 21 countries and the seizure of millions in assets.

apnews.com/article/lati...

The Andean Community has ordered Peru to curb mercury use tied to illegal gold mining in the Amazon. 🌎⚖️

It’s the first time the regional trade bloc has intervened in a case like this, after a complaint from Indigenous communities.
apnews.com/article/peru...

As gold prices hit record highs, Peru’s Amazon faces a surge in illegal mining. Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas warns of mercury contamination, food insecurity & human rights risks. apnews.com/article/peru...

Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are calling on South American presidents to turn promises into action — highlighting that this may be the first time they meet directly with heads of state to demand a say in shaping the rainforest’s future. apnews.com/article/colo...

Excellent article by @sjgrattan.bsky.social @apnews.com: “We're seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, & threatening basic civil liberties...” - Kevin Koenig of @amazonwatch.org apnews.com/article/ecua...

In Colombia’s southwest, unarmed Indigenous Guards confront guerrillas recruiting children into war.

I followed their fight—and a mother’s daring mission to rescue her 13-year-old son.

Read here 👉
apnews.com/article/colo...

In Cauca, Colombia, Indigenous youth are resisting armed groups — not with guns, but with ancestral knowledge and community defense.

My latest for @AP:
apnews.com/article/colo...

Peru’s Congress has approved a controversial reform to the country’s international cooperation law which imposes sweeping restrictions on NGOs in a move human rights groups warn could cripple efforts to defend vulnerable communities and fight corruption.

Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon who are calling for the government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to an international human rights body on Tuesday.

apnews.com/article/peru...

The Wayuu are facing the dual threats of climate change-driven droughts and floods. Scientists warn that more severe, prolonged drought periods punctuated by flashes of torrential rain are only getting more common as the world warms.

Multilateralism strikes back! You'd be forgiven in this crazy news environment for having missed last night's great result from Rome... (c/o @sjgrattan.bsky.social) apnews.com/article/clim...

COP16's biodiversity talks resume in Rome.... what's it all about? Read below.

Droughts, floods and economic uncertainty: Portraits of the Wayuu people in northern Colombia.

My latest for @apnews.com
“We are really worried about the offshore wind farms,” said Wayuu fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. “They’re going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us.”

Hello! First post:

Amazon’s advocates fear Trump’s return means little US help to protect rainforest. With analysis from @amazonmiller.bsky.social & others

“The implications of the Trump administration for the Amazon rainforest range from very concerning to horrifying.”
apnews.com/article/trum...