Indigenous people in front of the road that leads to the Belo Monte Dam construction site. All photos courtesy of Amazon Watch. Hundreds of people are participating in a protest…
Brazil refused to attend a hearing convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) over the the controversial Belo Monte dam, reports…
Editor's note: the following statement was presented by Almir Surui Narayamoga of the Surui tribe to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 21, 2011. Translation by Rhett…
Researchers at Brazil's National Observatory have discovered evidence of a massive underground river flowing deep beneath the Amazon River, reports the AFP. Presenting this week at the 12th International Congress…
San Francisco protest. ©Caroline Bennett/Amazon Watch Protesters in dozens of cities demanded Brazil abandon a plan to build a dam on one of the Amazon's largest tributaries, reports Amazon Watch,…
Google Street View cameras mounted on a speed boat in Brazil. Google is adding addresses along sections of the Amazon River and Rio Negro in Brazil to its Street View…
"Mongabay.com's new series 'Last Chance to See' will attempt to highlight wild places on the verge of disappearing or being changed irrevocably." Early morning fishing on the Xingu River. Photo…
Kayapo Chief Raoni weeps at a funeral in 2002. Raoni has been a fierce opponent of the Belo Monte dam, which will flood his tribe's lands along the Xingu River.…
Heliotrygon gomesi in dorsal view. Photo taken by Ken Jones, University of Toronto at Scarborough Staff Photographer. Few people probably realize that in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon…
Arguably the most opposed dam project in the world received the go-ahead this week, reports the BBC. Brazil's environmental agency, IBAMA, has approved the first step of the massive hydroelectric…
Amazon River swimmer Martin Strel. Photo courtesy of amazonswim.com. Explorers have been making their way down the world's mightiest river for hundreds of years. Untold numbers of people have not…
The president of Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA has resigned over pressure to grant a license for the Belo Monte dam, a hydroelectric project on the Xingu River that faces strong…
Indigenous peoples and their allies have intensified their fight against two oil companies over contamination in the Peruvian Amazon. Last week, a group of indigenous protesters blockaded portions of the…
Lack of school access and higher costs of trade are driving an exodus from remote areas in the Amazon, a new study published in Population & Environment reveals. The research…
A new image released by NASA reveals the impact of the worst drought on record on the world's largest river. The image, captured December 10, 2010, shows the Rio Negro,…
The struggle against Brazil's Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River continues as today indigenous groups sent a formal petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to suspend…
A new study in Science has found that the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest goes back much further than expected, perhaps upending old ideas about how the Amazon basin…
The worst drought since 1963 has created a regional disaster in the Brazilian Amazon. Severely low water levels have isolated communities dependent on river transport. Given a worsening situation, Brazil…
The decision last week by the Brazilian government to move forward on the $17 billion Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu river will set in motion a plan to build…
Although developers and government often tout dams as environmentally-friendly energy sources, this is not always the case. Dams impact river flows, changing ecosystems indefinitely; they may flood large areas forcing…
Tensions are flaring after Brazil's approval of the Belo Monte dam project last month to divert the flow of the Xingu River. The dam, which will be the world's third…
To the degree that Americans are paying attention to the environmental plight of marine wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico, they may focus most upon dolphins and whales. However, the…
An auction to build the Belo Monte dam, a massive hydroelectric project in Brazil, is going ahead despite two court-ordered suspensions, both of which have been overturned. The dam, which…
A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing "danger of irreparable harm,"…
Paul Rosolie leads volunteer expeditions into the Peruvian rainforest with an aim towards education and grassroots conservation. Mongabay.com's eighth in its series of interviews with 'Young Scientists'. At twenty-two Paul…
Playful giant river otters, massive anacondas, unafraid tapirs, and the world's largest spider recorded in Guyana's lost world. An expedition deep into Guyana's rainforest interior to find the endangered giant…
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation [REDD] programs that include landowners will conserve more habitat and ensure greater ecosystem services function than programs that focus solely on protected areas, report…
As the world's biggest cattle producer, Brazil braces for change While you're browsing the mall for running shoes, the Amazon rainforest is probably the farthest thing from your mind. Perhaps…
Photos released by NASA highlight last month's severe flooding of the Amazon River near the Brazilian city of Manaus. Flooding is a seasonal occurrence in the Amazon, but flooding in…
