Steven Grattan
@sjgrattan.bsky.social
Associated Press' Amazon rainforest/ deforestation reporter | Previously Reuters in Brazil | N. Ireland is home | Bogota-based | 📧: [email protected] 🏳️🌈
At a UN mercury summit in Geneva, countries agreed to end mercury use in dental fillings by 2034 — but took no major steps to curb its use in small-scale gold mining, now the leading source of mercury pollution worldwide.
apnews.com/article/merc...
apnews.com/article/merc...
Mercury treaty summit criticized for inaction on gold mining crisis
A global mercury summit in Geneva has faced criticism from environmental and Indigenous groups for failing to act on mercury use in small-scale gold mining, the world’s top source of mercury pollution...
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
At a UN mercury summit in Geneva, countries agreed to end mercury use in dental fillings by 2034 — but took no major steps to curb its use in small-scale gold mining, now the leading source of mercury pollution worldwide.
apnews.com/article/merc...
apnews.com/article/merc...
Interpol, the U.N. & Norway are stepping up the global fight against forest crime.
A new phase of their joint program targets illegal logging, gold mining & timber trafficking across the Amazon, SE Asia & Pacific — just ahead of COP30 in Belém. 🌿🌎
apnews.com/article/inte...
A new phase of their joint program targets illegal logging, gold mining & timber trafficking across the Amazon, SE Asia & Pacific — just ahead of COP30 in Belém. 🌿🌎
apnews.com/article/inte...
Interpol announces a new global fight against illegal deforestation
Interpol and partners have launched a global law enforcement effort to fight illegal deforestation in tropical areas.
apnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Interpol, the U.N. & Norway are stepping up the global fight against forest crime.
A new phase of their joint program targets illegal logging, gold mining & timber trafficking across the Amazon, SE Asia & Pacific — just ahead of COP30 in Belém. 🌿🌎
apnews.com/article/inte...
A new phase of their joint program targets illegal logging, gold mining & timber trafficking across the Amazon, SE Asia & Pacific — just ahead of COP30 in Belém. 🌿🌎
apnews.com/article/inte...
Ten years on, the scars of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster remain.
The Krenak people are still fighting for justice — and for their river.
My latest looks at how the Mariana dam collapse continues to haunt Minas Gerais, as Brazil prepares to host #COP30.
🔗 apnews.com/article/braz...
The Krenak people are still fighting for justice — and for their river.
My latest looks at how the Mariana dam collapse continues to haunt Minas Gerais, as Brazil prepares to host #COP30.
🔗 apnews.com/article/braz...
A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30
Ten years after Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, the Indigenous Krenak people are still mourning what they call “the death of the river.”
apnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Ten years on, the scars of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster remain.
The Krenak people are still fighting for justice — and for their river.
My latest looks at how the Mariana dam collapse continues to haunt Minas Gerais, as Brazil prepares to host #COP30.
🔗 apnews.com/article/braz...
The Krenak people are still fighting for justice — and for their river.
My latest looks at how the Mariana dam collapse continues to haunt Minas Gerais, as Brazil prepares to host #COP30.
🔗 apnews.com/article/braz...
Reposted by Steven Grattan
🇧🇷5,796 square kilometers of forest were cleared between Aug. 24 - Jul 25 — an area nearly four times the size of New York City, but still a significant drop from the previous year and the lowest level in nearly a decade #COP30
🗒️ @sjgrattan.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/defo...
🗒️ @sjgrattan.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/defo...
Brazil’s Amazon deforestation falls 11% even as fires surge to record levels
Brazil’s government says deforestation in the Amazon fell 11% in the year through July 2025 to its lowest level in nearly a decade, helped by stronger enforcement and monitoring.
apnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:12 AM
🇧🇷5,796 square kilometers of forest were cleared between Aug. 24 - Jul 25 — an area nearly four times the size of New York City, but still a significant drop from the previous year and the lowest level in nearly a decade #COP30
🗒️ @sjgrattan.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/defo...
🗒️ @sjgrattan.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/defo...
Brazilian police, backed by Interpol, dismantled hundreds of dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River — one of the largest crackdowns to date on environmental crime in the Amazon. The raids targeted criminal networks behind deforestation and river pollution.
Brazil dismantles hundreds of illegal dredges in major Amazon mining crackdown
Brazilian police with support from Interpol have destroyed 277 dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River in one of the largest coordinated crackdowns in the Amazon.
apnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Brazilian police, backed by Interpol, dismantled hundreds of dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River — one of the largest crackdowns to date on environmental crime in the Amazon. The raids targeted criminal networks behind deforestation and river pollution.
🌳 Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell 11% over the past year, new government data shows — a rare bit of good news ahead of COP30. But fires hit record highs, underscoring how fragile the gains remain.
apnews.com/article/defo...
apnews.com/article/defo...
Brazil’s Amazon deforestation falls 11% even as fires surge to record levels
Brazil’s government says deforestation in the Amazon fell 11% in the year through July 2025 to its lowest level in nearly a decade, helped by stronger enforcement and monitoring.
apnews.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:49 PM
🌳 Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell 11% over the past year, new government data shows — a rare bit of good news ahead of COP30. But fires hit record highs, underscoring how fragile the gains remain.
apnews.com/article/defo...
apnews.com/article/defo...
A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime. (AP video produced by Rosa Ramirez and Steven Grattan) apnews.com/video/what-t...
What to know about uncontacted Indigenous peoples and efforts to protect them
A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime.
apnews.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:28 PM
A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime. (AP video produced by Rosa Ramirez and Steven Grattan) apnews.com/video/what-t...
Entire cultures in the Amazon could disappear without most of the world ever knowing they existed.
@AP: apnews.com/article/unco...
@AP: apnews.com/article/unco...
What to know about uncontacted Indigenous peoples and efforts to protect them
A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime.
apnews.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Entire cultures in the Amazon could disappear without most of the world ever knowing they existed.
@AP: apnews.com/article/unco...
@AP: apnews.com/article/unco...
Interpol has coordinated a major operation across Latin America targeting environmental crimes — from illegal gold mining to wildlife trafficking and deforestation.
The crackdown led to 225 arrests in 21 countries and the seizure of millions in assets.
apnews.com/article/lati...
The crackdown led to 225 arrests in 21 countries and the seizure of millions in assets.
apnews.com/article/lati...
Interpol-led crackdown on environmental crime leads to 225 arrests in Latin America
An Interpol-led operation spanning nine Latin American countries has led to 225 arrests and hundreds of new investigations into illegal logging, wildlife trafficking and gold mining.
apnews.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Interpol has coordinated a major operation across Latin America targeting environmental crimes — from illegal gold mining to wildlife trafficking and deforestation.
The crackdown led to 225 arrests in 21 countries and the seizure of millions in assets.
apnews.com/article/lati...
The crackdown led to 225 arrests in 21 countries and the seizure of millions in assets.
apnews.com/article/lati...
The Andean Community has ordered Peru to curb mercury use tied to illegal gold mining in the Amazon. 🌎⚖️
It’s the first time the regional trade bloc has intervened in a case like this, after a complaint from Indigenous communities.
apnews.com/article/peru...
It’s the first time the regional trade bloc has intervened in a case like this, after a complaint from Indigenous communities.
apnews.com/article/peru...
South American trade bloc orders Peru to crack down on mercury trafficking and illegal gold mining
A South American trade bloc has ruled that Peru is failing to curb illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking.
apnews.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The Andean Community has ordered Peru to curb mercury use tied to illegal gold mining in the Amazon. 🌎⚖️
It’s the first time the regional trade bloc has intervened in a case like this, after a complaint from Indigenous communities.
apnews.com/article/peru...
It’s the first time the regional trade bloc has intervened in a case like this, after a complaint from Indigenous communities.
apnews.com/article/peru...
As gold prices hit record highs, Peru’s Amazon faces a surge in illegal mining. Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas warns of mercury contamination, food insecurity & human rights risks. apnews.com/article/peru...
Gold demand puts Peru's Amazon at greater risk from mercury poisoning, bishop warns
A Catholic bishop in Peru’s Amazon is warning that mercury from illegal gold mining is contaminating rivers, fish and people across the region.
apnews.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM
As gold prices hit record highs, Peru’s Amazon faces a surge in illegal mining. Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas warns of mercury contamination, food insecurity & human rights risks. apnews.com/article/peru...
Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are calling on South American presidents to turn promises into action — highlighting that this may be the first time they meet directly with heads of state to demand a say in shaping the rainforest’s future. apnews.com/article/colo...
Indigenous leaders demand action from South American leaders at Amazon summit
Indigenous leaders from the Amazon are urging South American presidents to turn promises into action at a summit in Bogota.
apnews.com
August 19, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are calling on South American presidents to turn promises into action — highlighting that this may be the first time they meet directly with heads of state to demand a say in shaping the rainforest’s future. apnews.com/article/colo...
Reposted by Steven Grattan
Excellent article by @sjgrattan.bsky.social @apnews.com: “We're seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, & threatening basic civil liberties...” - Kevin Koenig of @amazonwatch.org apnews.com/article/ecua...
In Ecuador, environmentalists worry Noboa is unwinding nation's green reputation
Recent moves in Ecuador have environmental interests concerned that the South American nation is unwinding some of the basis for its green reputation.
apnews.com
August 4, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Excellent article by @sjgrattan.bsky.social @apnews.com: “We're seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, & threatening basic civil liberties...” - Kevin Koenig of @amazonwatch.org apnews.com/article/ecua...
In Colombia’s southwest, unarmed Indigenous Guards confront guerrillas recruiting children into war.
I followed their fight—and a mother’s daring mission to rescue her 13-year-old son.
Read here 👉
apnews.com/article/colo...
I followed their fight—and a mother’s daring mission to rescue her 13-year-old son.
Read here 👉
apnews.com/article/colo...
Violent guerrillas are taking Colombia's children. Unarmed Indigenous groups are confronting them
The Indigenous Guard of the Nasa people formed in Colombia in 2001 to protect Indigenous territories from armed groups and from environmental destruction such as deforestation and illegal mining.
apnews.com
August 12, 2025 at 7:40 PM
In Colombia’s southwest, unarmed Indigenous Guards confront guerrillas recruiting children into war.
I followed their fight—and a mother’s daring mission to rescue her 13-year-old son.
Read here 👉
apnews.com/article/colo...
I followed their fight—and a mother’s daring mission to rescue her 13-year-old son.
Read here 👉
apnews.com/article/colo...
In Cauca, Colombia, Indigenous youth are resisting armed groups — not with guns, but with ancestral knowledge and community defense.
My latest for @AP:
apnews.com/article/colo...
My latest for @AP:
apnews.com/article/colo...
After taking back land in Colombia, Indigenous prepare their youth to safeguard it
Indigenous Nasa children in Colombia's southwest region are being trained how to protect land their people have reclaimed from vast industrial sugarcane plantations.
apnews.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
In Cauca, Colombia, Indigenous youth are resisting armed groups — not with guns, but with ancestral knowledge and community defense.
My latest for @AP:
apnews.com/article/colo...
My latest for @AP:
apnews.com/article/colo...
Peru’s Congress has approved a controversial reform to the country’s international cooperation law which imposes sweeping restrictions on NGOs in a move human rights groups warn could cripple efforts to defend vulnerable communities and fight corruption.
Peru passes law critics claim will hamper the ability of NGOs to defend human rights
Peru’s Congress has passed a controversial reform expanding the powers of a government agency which oversees international aid.
apnews.com
March 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Peru’s Congress has approved a controversial reform to the country’s international cooperation law which imposes sweeping restrictions on NGOs in a move human rights groups warn could cripple efforts to defend vulnerable communities and fight corruption.
Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon who are calling for the government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to an international human rights body on Tuesday.
apnews.com/article/peru...
apnews.com/article/peru...
Peru's Indigenous leaders raise concerns over oil and gas projects at a human rights hearing
Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon have urged the government to halt oil and gas projects that threaten their lands, presenting their case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights...
apnews.com
March 4, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon who are calling for the government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to an international human rights body on Tuesday.
apnews.com/article/peru...
apnews.com/article/peru...
The Wayuu are facing the dual threats of climate change-driven droughts and floods. Scientists warn that more severe, prolonged drought periods punctuated by flashes of torrential rain are only getting more common as the world warms.
Indigenous migrants in northern Colombia battle worsening droughts and floods
In La Guajira, Colombia, the Wayuu people face worsening climate impacts, with droughts and intense rains causing food insecurity, flooding, and displacement.
apnews.com
March 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The Wayuu are facing the dual threats of climate change-driven droughts and floods. Scientists warn that more severe, prolonged drought periods punctuated by flashes of torrential rain are only getting more common as the world warms.
Reposted by Steven Grattan
Multilateralism strikes back! You'd be forgiven in this crazy news environment for having missed last night's great result from Rome... (c/o @sjgrattan.bsky.social) apnews.com/article/clim...
UN talks end in Rome with nations backing $200 billion a year plan to protect nature
Global negotiators concluded an extended session of the United Nations biodiversity conference, COP16, with key commitments on funds needed and the institutions through which the funds will be channel...
apnews.com
February 28, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Multilateralism strikes back! You'd be forgiven in this crazy news environment for having missed last night's great result from Rome... (c/o @sjgrattan.bsky.social) apnews.com/article/clim...
COP16's biodiversity talks resume in Rome.... what's it all about? Read below.
In Rome, talks to protect Earth's biodiversity resume with money topping the agenda
An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda.
apnews.com
February 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
COP16's biodiversity talks resume in Rome.... what's it all about? Read below.
Droughts, floods and economic uncertainty: Portraits of the Wayuu people in northern Colombia.
Droughts, floods and economic uncertainty: Portraits of the Wayuu people in northern Colombia
RIOHACHA, Colombia (AP) — Climate change is rapidly altering the way of life of the Indigenous Wayuu people, a semi-nomadic Indigenous group living in the arid La Guajira region, which spans northern Colombia and Venezuela.
apnews.com
February 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Droughts, floods and economic uncertainty: Portraits of the Wayuu people in northern Colombia.
My latest for @apnews.com
“We are really worried about the offshore wind farms,” said Wayuu fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. “They’re going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us.”
“We are really worried about the offshore wind farms,” said Wayuu fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. “They’re going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us.”
Indigenous resistance stalls Colombia's potential renewable energy boom in La Guajira
The La Guajira region in northern Colombia, home to the Indigenous Wayuu community, holds vast potential for renewable energy, especially wind power, but projects have faced resistance.
apnews.com
February 20, 2025 at 3:46 PM
My latest for @apnews.com
“We are really worried about the offshore wind farms,” said Wayuu fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. “They’re going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us.”
“We are really worried about the offshore wind farms,” said Wayuu fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. “They’re going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us.”
Hello! First post:
Amazon’s advocates fear Trump’s return means little US help to protect rainforest. With analysis from @amazonmiller.bsky.social & others
“The implications of the Trump administration for the Amazon rainforest range from very concerning to horrifying.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
Amazon’s advocates fear Trump’s return means little US help to protect rainforest. With analysis from @amazonmiller.bsky.social & others
“The implications of the Trump administration for the Amazon rainforest range from very concerning to horrifying.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
Amazon's advocates fear Trump's return means little US help to protect rainforest
With Donald Trump settling back into the White House, advocates for the Amazon worry about what his second term will mean for the rainforest.
apnews.com
January 28, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Hello! First post:
Amazon’s advocates fear Trump’s return means little US help to protect rainforest. With analysis from @amazonmiller.bsky.social & others
“The implications of the Trump administration for the Amazon rainforest range from very concerning to horrifying.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
Amazon’s advocates fear Trump’s return means little US help to protect rainforest. With analysis from @amazonmiller.bsky.social & others
“The implications of the Trump administration for the Amazon rainforest range from very concerning to horrifying.”
apnews.com/article/trum...