Amazon Watch

Amazon Watch is a United States-based nonprofit organization founded in 1996 and headquartered in Oakland, California. Its work focuses on protecting the Amazon rainforest and advancing the collective rights of Indigenous peoples whose territories and livelihoods are affected by oil and gas extraction, mining, hydroelectric infrastructure, roads, agribusiness, and other industrial projects. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand, Amazon Watch functions as an advocacy and campaign organization. It combines public education, research, communications, legal support, fundraising, and international campaigning with partnerships involving Indigenous organizations and environmental groups in Amazon Basin countries. The organization has worked most prominently in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. Its campaigns have addressed corporate accountability, territorial rights, climate change, deforestation, and the protection of Indigenous governance. Amazon Watch has supported communities seeking to resist extractive projects, obtain recognition of their rights, and publicize alleged environmental and social harms. It has also helped connect local campaigns with allies in North America and Europe, where public pressure, litigation, investor scrutiny, and consumer awareness can affect companies and governments operating in the Amazon. A significant part of Amazon Watch’s public profile has come from its support for Ecuadorian plaintiffs in litigation concerning pollution in the Lago Agrio region. The dispute originated in oil exploration and production activities associated with Texaco Petroleum, later acquired by Chevron. Amazon Watch has promoted the plaintiffs’ claims and published materials arguing that Chevron should be held responsible for extensive contamination and harm to communities in Ecuador. Ecuadorian courts issued a multibillion-dollar judgment against Chevron, while United States litigation later produced findings adverse to the conduct of the plaintiffs’ legal team. The dispute remains one of the most internationally prominent examples of the legal and political conflicts surrounding Amazon resource extraction. Amazon Watch has also supported the Yasuní-ITT proposal in Ecuador, which sought to leave substantial oil reserves beneath Yasuní National Park untouched in exchange for international compensation. The initiative was presented as an alternative to conventional extraction and as a potential model for protecting ecologically and culturally sensitive areas. In Peru, the organization supported Achuar communities opposing oil exploration on their territories and participated in legal efforts concerning alleged damage linked to Occidental Petroleum. In Brazil, it worked with Indigenous and civil-society networks opposing the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on the Xingu River, highlighting expected effects on river systems, forests, and displaced communities. The organization’s environmental agenda extends beyond individual projects. Amazon Watch has warned that cumulative deforestation and degradation could push the rainforest toward ecological tipping points and has examined the relationship between commodity supply chains, fossil-fuel consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, and forest loss. In 2014 it established Amazon Watch Sweden as an independent nonprofit intended to expand European fundraising and advocacy. In 2016 it published research on the environmental and climate costs associated with crude oil from the Amazon and its importation into the United States. The organization has also participated in public-facing media initiatives, including the 2020 Guardians of Life short-film project, which directed funds toward Amazon Watch and environmental activism.

Amazon Watch was founded in 1996 in the United States to support protection of the Amazon rainforest and the rights of Indigenous peoples living in the region. From its early work, the organization developed a partnership-based model rather than presenting itself as an external conservation operator. It has worked with Indigenous federations, community organizations, environmental groups, lawyers, researchers, and international campaigners in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. Its agenda has combined human-rights advocacy with environmental protection. Amazon Watch has argued that rainforest conservation cannot be separated from Indigenous territorial rights, because Indigenous peoples often provide essential governance and stewardship in areas threatened by industrial development. Its campaigns have therefore addressed oil and gas exploration, mining, dams, roads, agribusiness, deforestation, and climate change. The organization has used research publications, press work, public education, fundraising, international lobbying, and legal advocacy to amplify local concerns and hold companies and governments accountable. The Ecuadorian Lago Agrio dispute became a central episode in Amazon Watch’s public work. The dispute concerned pollution allegations arising from oil operations in northeastern Ecuador that began under Texaco Petroleum and later became associated with Chevron as Texaco’s corporate successor. Amazon Watch supported the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, whose case eventually produced a large judgment in Ecuador. Chevron rejected liability and pursued litigation in the United States alleging fraud and racketeering connected with the Ecuadorian proceedings. A United States district judge later found that the course of justice had been improperly affected and restricted enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment in the United States. The conflicting judgments and continuing international litigation made the case a defining example of the disputes surrounding environmental liability, transnational corporate litigation, and Indigenous and community claims. Amazon Watch also promoted the Yasuní-ITT initiative, which proposed leaving oil beneath Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park in the ground in return for international financial contributions. The proposal represented a move away from extractive development and toward an international climate-finance model. In Peru, Amazon Watch supported Achuar communities challenging oil exploration by companies including Talisman and Pluspetrol, and it supported training intended to prepare Indigenous leaders to defend their rights against oil and mining interests. The organization was also involved in opposition to the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on Brazil’s Xingu River, working with local communities and allied organizations to document projected flooding, altered river flows, forest loss, and displacement. During the 2010s, Amazon Watch broadened its international infrastructure. In 2014 it established Amazon Watch Sweden as an independent nonprofit to strengthen European fundraising and advocacy. In 2016 it issued research linking United States crude imports to rainforest destruction and greenhouse-gas emissions. Its work increasingly connected Amazon protection with global climate policy, fossil-fuel supply chains, corporate finance, and Indigenous-led alternatives. In 2020 the organization benefited from the Guardians of Life film initiative, which used short-form cinema and celebrity participation to draw attention to environmental threats and raise funds. Amazon Watch remains an active nonprofit advocacy organization whose principal role is to support Indigenous movements and environmental campaigns across the Amazon Basin.

1. 2020Guardians of Life project

   A Mobilize Earth short-film project raised funds for Amazon Watch and promoted awareness of environmental crises.

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2. 2016Research on the costs of Amazon crude

   Amazon Watch published research on the social, environmental, and climate costs associated with Amazon crude oil.

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3. 2014Amazon Watch Sweden established

   An independent Swedish nonprofit was created to expand European fundraising and advocacy.

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4. 2013Ecuadorian Supreme Court affirms judgment

   Ecuador’s Supreme Court affirmed the trial-court decision after reviewing evidence concerning pollution in the Lago Agrio region.

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5. 2011Ecuadorian Lago Agrio judgment

   An Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay approximately US$9.5 billion in the environmental case supported by Amazon Watch.

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6. 1996Amazon Watch founded

   Amazon Watch was established as a nonprofit organization focused on Amazon rainforest protection and Indigenous rights.

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An Indigenous-rights and rainforest-protection advocacy organization that connects local Amazonian struggles with international environmental, legal, and corporate-accountability campaigns.

Product categories. Research reports · Campaign materials · Public education resources · Advocacy and legal-support programs · Fundraising and donor campaigns

• Lago Agrio environmental accountability campaign

  Ecuador · United States · Canada · Brazil · Argentina

  Amazon Watch supported Ecuadorian plaintiffs pursuing accountability for alleged oil contamination in the Lago Agrio region and helped communicate the case internationally.

  Outcome. Ecuadorian courts issued and affirmed a substantial judgment against Chevron, while United States litigation later restricted enforcement and produced findings concerning alleged misconduct in the Ecuadorian proceedings.

  Source
• Yasuní-ITT initiative

  Ecuador · International

  Amazon Watch advocated leaving oil reserves beneath Yasuní National Park untouched in exchange for international contributions, presenting the proposal as an alternative to extraction in a sensitive ecological and cultural area.

  Outcome. The initiative did not secure the full international financing required to permanently avoid extraction.

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• Achuar territorial defense

  Peru

  Amazon Watch supported Achuar Indigenous communities opposing oil exploration on their territories by Talisman and Pluspetrol and supported training for Indigenous leaders defending territorial rights.

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• Belo Monte campaign

  Brazil · International

  Working with communities along the Xingu River and allied organizations, Amazon Watch documented and publicized the anticipated effects of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex on forests, river flows, and Indigenous and local communities.

  Outcome. The dam complex proceeded despite sustained opposition and international criticism.

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• 2016Link Amazon oil imports with climate and deforestation impactsStrategy

  Amazon Watch argued that fossil-fuel demand and international crude trade contribute to rainforest destruction and greenhouse-gas emissions.

  What changed. It published research examining the social, environmental, and climate costs of Amazon crude imported into the United States.

  Aftermath. The report strengthened the organization’s supply-chain and climate-accountability advocacy.

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• 2014Expand European advocacy through Amazon Watch SwedenStrategy

  The organization sought to increase fundraising and political advocacy outside North America.

  What changed. Amazon Watch established an independent nonprofit organization in Sweden.

  Aftermath. The move broadened the organization’s European presence and support network.

  Source

• 2014Chevron litigation and allegations concerning the Ecuadorian judgmentControversy

  Chevron’s United States litigation alleged that lawyers and representatives connected with the Lago Agrio plaintiffs used fraud and improper payments to obtain the Ecuadorian judgment. A U.S. district judge found that the course of justice had been perverted and enjoined enforcement of the judgment in the United States. Amazon Watch was an advocacy supporter of the plaintiffs, not the party found liable in that ruling.

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• 2020Guardians of Life short-film project supports Amazon Watch

  Mobilize Earth launched Guardians of Life, a short film intended to raise awareness of environmental crises. Funds from the project were directed in part to Amazon Watch and Extinction Rebellion.

  Campaign
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• 2016Amazon Watch publishes report on Amazon crude

  Amazon Watch released research examining the social, environmental, and climate costs associated with crude oil produced in the Amazon and imported into the United States.

  Other
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• 2014Amazon Watch Sweden established

  Amazon Watch established an independent nonprofit organization in Sweden to expand fundraising and advocacy activity in Europe.

  Other
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• Amazon Watch challenges Occidental over alleged Peruvian rainforest damage

  Amazon Watch participated as a plaintiff in litigation against Occidental concerning alleged damage to the Peruvian rainforest. A district-court dismissal was overturned by the Ninth Circuit, while the Supreme Court declined review.

  Lawsuit
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1. Amazon Watch
2. Amazon Watch official website
3. Research on the costs of Amazon crude