Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell nearly 46% to the lowest annual loss on record in 2009, the government reported Nov. 12. The government's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) found that 7,008 square kilometers (2,705 square miles) of forest were cleared during the 12-month period ending July 2009, the lowest extent since annual record-keeping began in 1988. "The new deforestation data represents an extraordinary and significant reduction for Brazil," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a statement.

The Native Federation of the Rio Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) reports that at least 200 indigenous people have gathered at the settlement of Salvación, the local base for Texas-based Hunt Oil in the rainforest region of southeast Peru, in an ongoing occupation to halt the company's operations. After a meeting at Salvación between company representatives, local indigenous leaders and high-ranking government ministers Oct. 28, FENAMAD announced it was breaking off dialogue and announced an open-ended plantón (protest vigil). Fifty National Police officers have been mobilized to Salvación, where the stand-off continues.

Seven Yanomami Indians in Venezuela have died from an outbreak of suspected "swine flu" in the last two weeks. Another 1,000 Yanomami are reported to have caught the virulent strain of flu. The Venezuelan government has sealed off the area, and sent in medical teams to treat the Yanomami. The regional office of the World Health Organization has confirmed the presence of swine flu. There are fears that the epidemic could sweep through the Yanomami territory and kill many more Indians.

After a week of marches and roadblocks, Ecuador's indigenous movement and President Rafael Correa have opened talks. On Oct. 5, a delegation of some 150 representatives from the three regional organizations of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) attended a meeting with the president and his cabinet in Quito.

Peru's Indigenous Affairs Department, INDEPA, has discovered evidence of an uncontacted tribe in a remote region of the Amazon. The evidence, including 38 abandoned fishing huts, fires, and food remains, was collected during a visit to the Las Piedras River in Madre de Dios region by an INDEPA team in mid-August. Peru's President Alan García has denied the existence of such tribes, saying they have been "invented" by environmentalists opposed to oil exploration.

On Sept. 23 Chevron Corp., the second-largest US oil company, announced that it had asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to shift responsibility to Ecuador for paying any money that Amazon Basin residents might win in a lawsuit over environmental damage from oil operations. The suit, brought by indigenous Ecuadorians 16 years ago, could result in an award of $27 billion. If Chevron wins in the arbitration court, Ecuador will have to pay the damages, according to Barry Appleton, an attorney who has represented companies in similar cases. "Judgments from this panel are enforceable around the world," he said.

Indigenous leaders in Peru's Amazon region of Madre de Dios Sept. 13 issued a joint statement rejecting a Hunt Oil contract on their traditional territories. Antonio Iviche, president of the Native Federation of the Río Madre de Dios (FENAMAD), warned that if Hunt Oil doesn't quit the territory within a week, indigenous communities will physically expel them. The statement was released following a meeting with Hunt representatives at FENAMAD's offices in the regional capital, Puerto Maldonado. Hunt is currently opening trails in preparation seismic exploration within the local indigenous reserve, while FENAMAD has gone to court seeking an injunction to halt the work. The controversy comes as dialogue between Peru's national government and Amazon indigenous leaders continues in Lima in the wake of a rainforest uprising that left several dead in June.

On Sept. 4 Ecuadorian judge Juan Evangelista Núñez recused himself from presiding over a $27 billion lawsuit brought by indigenous Ecuadorians against the US-based Chevron Corporation for environmental damage by the Texaco oil company, which Chevron acquired in 2001. Núñez's decision came as several branches of the Ecuadorian government announced investigations stemming from videos Chevron released on Aug. 31. The company claims the videos show the judge meeting with parties to the suit and saying that he had already made up his mind to rule against Chevron. The company also claims the videos contained evidence that bribes were discussed.