A federal appeals court (TRF-1) in Brazil has ordered the suspension of “Operation Tapajós,” a military and police intervention organized to control indigenous protests over technical studies on their lands in preparation for the controversial São Luíz do Tapajós Dam in the Amazonian state of Pará. Judge João Batista Moreira ruled that federal law and ILO Convention 169, to which Brazil is a part, require that indigenous Munduruku communities and other traditional populations threatened by the proposed dam be guaranteed a process of free, prior, and informed consultation and consent prior to further technical studies for dam construction. Although the dams are still officially in a phase of environmental assessment, the Brazilian government has made a political decision to build up to seven large dams on the Tapajós River and one of its major tributaries, the Jamanxim River.
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Exxon's oil spill cover-up deepens
Thu Apr 18 , 2013
As spill estimates are being revised to near 300,000 gallons, we have been hearing very disturbing reports about Exxon’s continued focus on PR damage control rather than actual damage control. At every turn they are attempting to obfuscate the truth even if it means endangering the health of workers, residents […]
