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    3 Massacres in 12 Days Suspected in Brazilian Amazon

    3 Massacres in 12 Days Suspected in Brazilian Amazon

    By Sue Branford and Thais Borges Violence in the Brazilian countryside is on the rise. In the last two weeks, Amazonia has seen an alarming increase in targeted killings, with three massacres and at least nine deaths. The Catholic Church’s Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) defines a massacre as a killing involving three or more people. […]

    Brazil Moves to Open Indigenous Lands to Mining

    Brazil Moves to Open Indigenous Lands to Mining

    By Sue Branford and Maurício Torres For many years, international and Brazilian mining companies have dreamed of getting access to the mineral wealth lying beneath indigenous lands. And finally, the government of Jair Bolsonaro seems determined to give them that opportunity. On March 4, while Brazilians were distracted by Carnival celebrations, the new Minister of […]

    Amazon Deforestation, Already Rising, May Spike Under Bolsonaro

    Amazon Deforestation, Already Rising, May Spike Under Bolsonaro

    By Robert T. Walker Over the past 25 years that I have been conducting environmental research in the Amazon, I have witnessed the the ongoing destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest. Twenty percent of it has been deforested by now—an area larger than Texas. I therefore grew hopeful when environmental policies began to take effect […]

    58 Dead, 305 Missing in Brazilian Dam Collapse

    58 Dead, 305 Missing in Brazilian Dam Collapse

    Brazil endured one of the deadliest mining disasters in its history when a mining dam collapsed Friday in the southeastern city of Brumadinho, The New York Times reported. The death toll rose to 58 by Sunday, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense said, and 305 people are missing. Rescue operations had to pause Sunday when […]

    Bolsonaro Welcomes Big Business to Brazil, Alarming Environmentalists and Indigenous Groups

    Bolsonaro Welcomes Big Business to Brazil, Alarming Environmentalists and Indigenous Groups

    In his first major international speech, Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro told the politicians and business leaders gathered in Davos this week that he’s opening up his country and its natural resources to foreign investment, all while—somehow—preserving the nation’s environment and biodiversity. “It is now our mission to make progress in harmonizing environmental preservation and […]

    Saving the World’s Largest Tropical Wetland

    Saving the World’s Largest Tropical Wetland

    Most people have heard of the Amazon, South America’s famed rainforest and hub of biological diversity. Less well known, though no less critical, is the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland. Like the Amazon, the Pantanal is ecologically important and imperiled. Located primarily in Brazil, it also stretches into neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay. Covering an […]

    Journalists Reporting on the Environment Faced Increased Dangers in 2018

    Journalists Reporting on the Environment Faced Increased Dangers in 2018

    By Kaamil Ahmed A pair of “French spies” had infiltrated India by sea to commit a “treasonous conspiracy,” an Indian minister claimed in late November. In reality, they were two visiting journalists, and their mission was an investigation into allegations of illegal sand mining in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. They had merely tried […]

    ‘There Will Be an Increase in Deforestation’: Brazil’s New President Signs Order Endangering Amazon and Indigenous Rights

    ‘There Will Be an Increase in Deforestation’: Brazil’s New President Signs Order Endangering Amazon and Indigenous Rights

    In his first day in office, right wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro realized the fears of environmentalists and Indigenous communities. They knew he would use his time in office to increase the access of extractive industries in the Amazon Rainforest. Within hours of taking power Tuesday, Bolsonaro transferred responsibility for recognizing Indigenous lands to the […]