# Amazon rainforest environmental and indigenous rights crisis > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/amazon-rainforest-environmental-and-indigenous-rights-crisis > Updated: 2026-09-15T14:51:39.000Z. Sources: 32. Developments: 5. Indigenous groups and environmentalists are intensifying efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest from oil exploitation and ecological decline. During the XII Pan-Amazonian Social Forum in Ecuador, legal and social strategies were coordinated to address extractive threats across several nations, including Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Legal proceedings have been brought before the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature to examine six cases of oil exploitation. A primary focus is the Yasuní Block in Ecuador, where activists argue that continued oil extraction violates a 2023 public referendum mandate. Following these legal efforts, indigenous communities have declared a state of emergency to combat a systemic crisis involving hydrocarbon concessions, unregulated extractivism, and organized crime. In Brazil, the crisis has expanded to include significant threats from illegal gold mining. A report by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) indicates that the area occupied by gold miners in the Amazon reached 20 times the size recorded in 1985 by 2024. In indigenous territories, this expansion has increased 24-fold, with mining on these lands specifically expanding nearly sevenfold between 2016 and 2024. Driven by record-high gold prices, this activity introduces mercury into water systems, contaminating plants, animals, and humans. This pollution travels through watersheds, affecting communities even outside direct mining zones. Nearly 90% of the affected mining area is concentrated in just three territories, including the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in Para. The expansion of mining activities now overlaps with increasing climate extremes, such as droughts and heatwaves, which threaten access to water, food, and healthcare. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is currently monitoring Brazil’s compliance with measures to protect these communities from illegal incursions. ## Claims - Gold mining area in the Amazon was 20 times larger in 2024 than in 1985. (disputed by 8 sources) - Gold mining area within Indigenous lands has increased 24-fold since 1985. (disputed by 8 sources) - Indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazon are disproportionately affected by illegal gold mining and extreme weather. (corroborated by 18 sources) - Gold mining and climate extremes reinforce each other's impacts in the same areas. (corroborated by 18 sources) - Mercury used to separate gold from ore pollutes water and harms human, animal, and plant health. (corroborated by 18 sources) - Pollution from gold mining spreads through watersheds and intensifies the effects of droughts, fires, and floods. (corroborated by 18 sources) - Mining area on Indigenous lands expanded nearly sevenfold between 2016 and 2024. (corroborated by 5 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-09-15: Amazon Indigenous lands face rapid gold mining expansion An IPAM study shows gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon has grown 24-fold in Indigenous lands since 1985, compounding risks from climate change and mercury pollution for local communities. 22 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/amazon-indigenous-communities-threatened-by-gold-mining-and-extreme-weather ### 2026-09-12: Indigenous territories in Ecuador's Amazon outperform state-protected forests A study in the Ecuadorian Amazon shows that Indigenous-managed territories maintain forest health and drought resilience comparable to or better than state-protected areas. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/indigenous-territories-in-ecuadors-amazon-outperform-state-protected-forests ### 2026-09-06: Amazon indigenous lands face 952,000 hectares of degradation Indigenous lands in the Amazon hold nearly 952,000 hectares of degraded land, prompting calls for restoration efforts that prioritize traditional knowledge and community participation. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/amazon-indigenous-lands-face-952000-hectares-of-degradation ### 2026-08-25: Amazon indigenous communities declare emergency over ecological threats Amazonian indigenous communities have declared an emergency, citing threats from oil extraction, drug trafficking, and ecological collapse, while using ancestral knowledge and science to defend their lands. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/amazon-indigenous-communities-declare-emergency-over-ecological-threats ### 2026-08-20: Amazon oil exploitation cases brought before international tribunal The International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature is reviewing six Amazonian oil exploitation cases, including disputes over the continued extraction in Ecuador's Yasuní Block despite a public referendum. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/amazon-oil-exploitation-cases-brought-before-international-tribunal --- Cite as: Amazon rainforest environmental and indigenous rights crisis. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/amazon-rainforest-environmental-and-indigenous-rights-crisis