Tag Archives: amazon

“As long as there is one of us standing, there will be a fight to protect the forests”

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Today, Brazil celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day. However, on a day that is supposed to celebrate their ancestors, culture and stories, many of Indigenous Peoples are instead fighting for their lands and their rights.

According to a survey by CIMI (Indigenous Missionary Council), there are no less than 452 government development projects currently underway in Brazil, 201 of which directly impact Indigenous Lands. Illegal logging and ranching continues to encroach on Indigenous Lands andconflict and violence is prevalent in the Amazon region.

Accorind to CIMI, an average of 50 murders of Indigenous Peoples occur annually in Brazil. Even more shocking, in the state of Mato Grosso, a leading state for deforestation, there is an average of four deaths per month. From 2003 to 2012, 315 Indigenous Leaders were murdered in connection to forest destruction. Continue reading →

Brazilian slaughterhouses sued for Amazon destruction

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Cattle ranch located in Figueirópolis d’Oeste, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

Life is about to get a whole lot harder for the slaughterhouses in Brazil who are still tied to a business model based on forest destruction and violation of indigenous and labor rights.

IBAMA, the Ministry of Labor, the Federal Public Ministry in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rondônia, and the Federal Prosecutor in Amazonas and Rondônia sued 26 slaughterhouses for buying cattle from farms involved in illegalities. The fines for the slaughterhouses total US$ 280 million. Continue reading →

Every day is forest day at Greenpeace

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Today I will celebrate. And my friends and colleagues in the Greenpeace Forest campaign will too. But this is nothing different for us. We do this every day. But maybe, just maybe, the focus that a day like today brings may help our work to protect the world’s remaining forests.

 Today, 21st March, is the International Day of Forests. This date was agreed by the UN General Assembly in November 2012 so that every year there would be one day set aside to “celebrate and raise awareness” of forests. Continue reading →

Gucci “bag” a new kind of eco-luxury

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Every time I meet someone and let them know that I work for Greenpeace they usually picture me with a helmet on my head, hanging from a rope or under the pressure of a water hydrant in the middle of the ocean. And every time I arrange a meeting with a top executive from some company to deliver them our demands there is often a look of surprise on their faces when I show up in a suit, minus the helmet and climbing rope. Continue reading →

Salesforce the latest company to commit to clean energy

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The effort to build a world powered by clean energy needs champions in every arena of our economy: activists on the streets, politicians in government, engineers in labs, and corporate leaders in boardrooms. Continue reading →

NY Fashion Week’s Unexpected Show: Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, Chanel and Hermès get a visit from Greenpeace

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Greenpeace activists post a banner on the window of the Hermes store. Greenpeace is asking supporters and consumers to challenge fashion's deforestation and toxic history.

In the midst of a rainy New York Fashion Week, four exclusive fashion brands were greeted by “clean-up crews” challenging them to adopt forest friendly and toxic free policies. Activists decorated store windows with giant images of forest destruction and toxic pollution, and the invitation to be part of the solution. The brands visited had one thing in common (besides decades of setting trends), they all ranked at the bottom of a recent Greenpeace survey of environmental policies for the world’s leading fashion houses. Continue reading →

Indigenous community clashes with loggers in the Amazon

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Timber on a truck near indigenous lands, Maranhão state. Logging in and around Indigenous Land is common. ©Greenpeace/Ismar Ingber/Tyba

Trucks filled with timber from illegal logging operations in the Amazon have been stopped in their tracks by an indigenous village protesting the continued exploitation of their lands.

With little or no support from the local or federal authorities, the Pukobjê-Gavião people in Maranhão state, Brazil, are refusing to stand aside as their forests are destroyed by illegal loggers.

The Pukobjê-Gavião have blocked four trucks and a tractor filled with fresh timber from leaving their lands.

Frederico Pereira Guajajara, a member of the neighboring Indigenous Land “Arariboia”, says he was assaulted as he began filming the Pukobjê-Gavião protests as the trucks were trying to leave their land.

“Loggers beat me on my head, pushed me, broke my phone and wanted to throw me in the fire, but did not because the other Indians started to leave,” he said. Continue reading →

JBS recommits to Cattle Agreement in the Amazon

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According to the Brazilian government, 62% of deforested areas become grasslands to feed cattle.

This week, Brazilian cattle giant JBS is recommitting to its promises made in the Cattle Agreement of 2009 to help fight Amazon destruction.

JBS has finally published an audit of its supply systems and a work plan to ensure it delivers on the outstanding commitments within the Cattle Agreement.

The work plan reaffirms the objectives of the Cattle Agreement, outlining methodology, dates and the publication of annual audits. JBS has made the workplan available on their site.

Cattle ranching is currently the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon. According to the Brazilian government, 62% of deforested areas become grasslands to feed cattle. Continue reading →

Does Apple’s commitment to a ‘coal free’ iCloud have a passport?

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Apple promised in May – thanks in part to pressure from its customers and Greenpeace supporters – that all of its data centers would become “coal-free” and powered by 100% renewable energy. However, rumors are circulating about a new data center that Apple is said to be building in Hong Kong. Continue reading →