South America

"Thick smoke has enveloped extensive areas of the Brazilian Amazon on Thursday as the region grapples with a surge in wildfires and a historic drought."

"Communities dependent on the Amazon rainforest’s waterways are stranded without supply of fuel, food or filtered water. Dozens of river dolphins perished and washed up on shore. And thousands of lifeless fish float on the water’s surface."

"A few days ago, hundreds of Xokleng Indigenous people gathered around a screen in Ibirama-La Klãnõ territory in southern Brazil to watch the Supreme Court vote on Indigenous land rights."

"Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022, with at least 60 environmental and land rights defenders killed there, British advocacy group Global Witness said in a report on Tuesday."

"Their efforts follow a historic vote to end drilling in parts of Yasuni National Park, but uncontacted families and other Indigenous groups remain at risk from oil exploration."

"After Ecuadorians overwhelmingly voted to ban new oil wells in a prized national park, the government challenged the legitimacy of the referendum and said it would continue drilling."

"Brazilian space research center INPE said on Wednesday that carbon emissions in the Amazon forest soared in 2019 and 2020 compared to the previous decade due to poor enforcement of environmental protection policies."

"Ecuadorean referendums to ban oil drilling in a part of the Amazon and mining in a forest outside Quito easily passed, drawing cheers on Monday from Indigenous leaders and environmentalists despite warnings from oil and mining groups about billions of dollars in lost income."