Amazon Alliance's blog
Indigenous Lawyer Tells of Fight for Amazon Land- Al Jazeera English

BOLETIN DE PRENSA

ENCUENTRO AMAZONICO PARA HACER FRENTE A PROBLEMATICA DE LAS ACTIVIDADES EXTRACTIVAS

Francisco de Orellana.- Con el fin de construir, de manera coordinada, una agenda que permita articular acciones frente a la problemática de las actividades extractivas en la Amazonía ecuatoriana, se realizará un Encuentro convocado por la CONAIE, CONFENIAE, Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía y el pueblo Originario Kichwa de Sarayaku.

The United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand deleted a crucial sentence from a draft climate change mitigation proposal that recognizes the legal rights of indigenous peoples, this week at the UNFCCC COP-14 in Poznań, Poland. On December 9, indigenous leaders representing indigenous organizations from around the world, and representatives of environmental organizations, protested the removal of the sentence which stated that indigenous peoples have the right to participate in all decision-making processes that will affect their territories.

Amazon Alliance Executive Co-Director, Juan Carlos Jintiach, delivered a closing statement from the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change at the UNFCCC COP-14, which affirms that indigenous peoples have the legal right to free, prior and informed consent as granted by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This closing speech is available for download below in English.

Indigenous Perspectives are Vital to Resolving Climate Crisis

International negotiations on climate change mitigation continue this month at the UNFCCC COP 14, in Poznan, Poland. Juan Carlos Jintiach, executive co-director of the Amazon Alliance, is participating in representation of the Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and the Amazon Alliance. Official transcripts from two speeches Mr. Jintiach delivered this week are now available below:

Opportunities to Join the Amazon Alliance Team

The Amazon Alliance is pleased to announce that we will be expanding our Coordinating Office staff in order to achieve the objectives set by our Steering Council. We are seeking talented applicants who are willing to work primarily in Washington D.C., and who have a strong commitment to the mission of the Amazon Alliance. Please visit www.amazonalliance.org/node/45 (link directs to the “About Us” section) to download a job description for each position. A summary of the job descriptions is provided below:

Associate Director:

Amazon Forum Manaus Brazil 2009: News and Activities

We the Amazon Alliance Coordinating Office send our greetings and many exciting updates!

Interview with Reserva Natural

Pepe Acacho, president of the Shuar Federation (FICSH) of Ecuador and Juanita Cabrera Lopez, assistant director of the Amazon Alliance, discussed how indigenous peoples must be included in international decision making processes that affect their lands and territories, in the radio program, Reserva Natural at the IUCN WCC. This edition of Reserva Natural, which is a regular program on Radio Nacional de España, featured speakers from women-led initiatives to promote sustainable conservation as well as Maria Purificació Canals Ventín, the vice-president of the IUCN.

Amazonian indigenous delegation in the news

This month, a delegation of Amazonian indigenous leaders joined the international debate on climate change mitigation at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. Please visit the following links for international media coverage featuring the Amazonian delegation:

Rainforest dwellers caught between business, green groups
Agence France Presse—English
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jVROTks9vPhAvH0N1vSdva8iPRXg

Consensus takes form on forests and climate change
Agence France Presse—English
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHbasycCNlDD0Qr86EL09JvAB9zA

Beef demands destroying the Amazon - Al Jazeera English (10/04/08)