Amazon Watch, whose headquarters are in Oakland, works in five countries across two continents with indigenous federations, nations and partners to protect the Amazon Basin from deforestation and defend indigenous rights. Founded in 1996, the organization’s goals are to decrease the flow of capital from financial institutions to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest; equip Indigenous-led organizations with capital to advance their voices and rights; and raise global awareness about the importance of Amazon rainforest in the health and well-being of the planet by building a robust community of supporters.
In 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon Watch contributed $1.5 million in grants to indigenous communities and organizations in the Amazon Basin through its Amazon Defenders Fund. Also in 2020, the nonprofit successfully launched a global climate finance campaign that resulted in five European banks committing to withdraw $5.5 billion that once funded the extraction of crude oil from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Amazon Watch has an online following of more than 600,000 people throughout the world advocating for the permanent protection of the rainforest and for indigenous voices in climate justice.
Visit amazonwatch.org for more information.
