Exceptional coalition

All Eyes on the Amazon will be run and implemented by a coalition of eleven environmental and human rights groups and local community groups. In addition to WITNESS, this includes the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations in the Amazon Basin (COICA), Hivos, Greenpeace Netherlands, the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Digital Democracy, the World Resources Institute, the University of Maryland, INTERPOL LEAF, Both ENDS, and ARTICLE 19. The Dutch National Postcode Lottery funds the program.

WITNESS brings 25 years of experience supporting activists and marginalized communities to use the power of visual media and technology to amplify important stories and catalyze campaigns for change.

WITNESS will train local Amazonian communities to safely use video documentation to report on any illegal deforestation activities and, in turn, protect traditional lands and indigenous rights. This support will enable communities to provide valuable evidence to forest rangers, investigators, and courts in an effort to hold the parties responsible for deforestation accountable. WITNESS will also support the creation of a database whereby communities can share videos with one another and via social media to inform activists, advocates, and concerned citizens worldwide of destructive activities in the Amazon rainforest.

“With communications technologies in the hands of people in even the remotest corners of the world, more people have the power to expose the truth. This coalition will support traditional communities in the Amazon to harness those tools to collect evidence that can secure justice and save their lands – and in turn, protect us all,” said Kelly Matheson, Senior Attorney & Program Manager at WITNESS.

Exposure and accountability

At the same time, the international supply chains running from the Amazon all the way to retail outlets will be exposed. “To companies, investors, and governments that destroy the forest we say: ‘We see you, we will follow you, and we will bring you publicly to account,’” said Joris Thijssen, Director of Greenpeace Netherlands. “The more indifferent the new Brazilian government becomes toward the environment and the rights of those who live in the Amazon, the more determined we will be to protect them.”

Hope for the Amazon

Quick action is needed because in the Amazon, both people and the environment are under more pressure than ever before. The hunt for the last natural resources, such as wood, oil, minerals and precious metals, is an enormous threat to our planet. More and more scientific studies show that indigenous communities living in rainforests are crucial to the sustainable protection of these areas. However, they often lack the tools, knowledge, and contacts to defend their rights and the environment effectively. The All Eyes on the Amazon program is going to change that, thanks to the support of the Dutch National Postcode Lottery.

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Contact: For more information and interview requests, please contact: Matisse Bustos-Hawkes at matisse@witness.org

Kelly Matheson, Senior Attorney & Program Manager at WITNESS, is available for interviews throughout the week of February 6. Additional partner organization representatives are also available for interview.

Photo credit: Augusto Escribens. Other high-resolution images are also available for publicity purposes.

WITNESS (witness.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making it possible for anyone, anywhere to use video and technology to protect and defend human rights.

Kelly also spoke about the work Our Children’s Trust is doing to help 21 youths hold the U.S. government accountable by filing a federal lawsuit against President Obama and eight federal agencies in all 50 states. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government has failed to protect the basic human rights to life, liberty, and property for our youngest generation by allowing the use of fossil fuels despite its dangerous impact on the climate system. The fossil fuel industry has been fighting the lawsuit aggressively in order to protect their interests.

In partnership with Our Children’s Trust, WITNESS co-produced the TRUST campaign series videos which showcased nine youth discussing the ways in which the ongoing climate change crisis and the lack of action by the U.S. government is negatively impacting their lives and their futures.

Watch the full playlist of videos here.

Our Children’s Trust’s most recent success was in New Mexico where last month the State’s Court of Appeals issued a ruling recognizing the climate as a resource protected by a constitutional public trust doctrine. New Mexico will now join the growing list of states that are recognizing the government has a legal obligation to preserve the climate for future generations. This is a massive victory and we are thrilled that the success of the Our Children’s Trust campaign continues today.

A similar victory comes out of The Netherlands where an unprecedented decision was issued requiring the Dutch government to take more effective action to combat climate change. The civil case, brought to court by the organization Urgenda which represented over 900 co-plaintiffs from around the country, has resulted in a ruling that will force the Dutch government to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by at least 25% before the year 2020. Because the Dutch government had already agreed to a 17% reduction policy, this decision will be the first time that a national government has been ordered to amend current climate conservation efforts by its judiciary branch.

Similar to the strategy used by Our Children’s Trust in the US, Urgenda developed their case around the concept of a public trust doctrine. An entity protected under public trust is considered to be belonging to the public and therefore, must be protected by the government. According to the court ruling, a clean climate is guaranteed to the Dutch people by the public trust doctrine of The Netherlands and therefore, the government must take serious action to preserve it.

Finally, in preparation for the upcoming United Nation Climate Conference in France, Sam Kutesa, president of the U.N. General assembly, hosted a high-profile meeting on climate change last month.

This event offered an opportunity for two well-recognized and accomplished climate activists to speak in front of delegates from all 193 countries of the general assembly. The first was acclaimed actor and conservationist Robert Redford.

The second was a close friend of WITNESS’, 15-year-old Xiuhtezcatl Roske Martinez, a youth activist from Boulder Colorado who was featured in a campaign video we co-produced with of Our Children’s Trust. During his speech, Xiuhtezcatl made a note of addressing the extreme dangers we face as a species if the international community continues to avoid adopting aggressive policy combating climate change : “What’s at stake right now is the existence of my generation.” You can see Xiuhtezcatl’s story, and the stories of other youth taking legal action against the governmental for a cleaner climate, by visiting Our Children’s Trust here.

This has clearly been a thrilling few weeks for climate change activists across the globe and WITNESS is proud to be a member of the fight for a cleaner atmosphere. These successes have already drawn the attention of the New York Times and other popular news outlets, and will hopefully build momentum for the cause as we quickly approach the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference in December.