It’s been a huge year here at Amazon Watch – another huge year. And as we look towards 2013 we know that we can only do so thanks to the strong foundation you provide for us. Your activism, your partnership, all those petitions and all your financial support has made this year one to remember and be inspired by in the years to come.
We saw great news in Ecuador with the victory of the Sarayaku community in their fight to protect their lands from oil interests and to secure free prior and informed consent. We saw Talisman Energy and ConocoPhillips announce they were leaving Peru after years of supporting the Achuar, grassroots campaigning and shareholder activism. We saw Chevron lose their appeal in the US Supreme Court in another failed attempt to evade justice and delay paying the $19bn judgment against them in Ecuador…and now they are seeing their assets seized, frozen and under threat in other countries in the campaign to see justice rendered to the people of Ecuador. And we saw your enormous support drive our efforts at the Earth Summit in Rio this year where we drove the conversation and put the spotlight on the Belo Monte Dam and the threat to the Xingu River and the indigenous people who live there.
We couldn’t have won these victories or seen this kind of progress and action without you – THANK YOU.
We know that the coming year will bring new challenges and new opportunities, but some things will remain unchanged. Our program staff will continue to work tirelessly for the Amazon and for our indigenous partners. We will continue to bring leaders from threatened communities to the corporate headquarters of “Big Oil” to confront them in person. We will continue to provide resources to our partners in the Amazon to help them protect their homes and stand up for their rights. We will do this and more!
Your active engagement in our work inspires us to continue working to protect the Amazon and support its indigenous peoples. Thank you for believing in us – we won’t let you down.
From all of us at Amazon Watch – Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
For the Amazon…and our future,
The team at Amazon Watch
