Steven Grattan
Associated Press' Amazon rainforest/ deforestation reporter | Previously Reuters in Brazil | N. Ireland is home | Bogota-based | 📧: sgrattan@ap.org 🏳️🌈
- Chile’s wildfires are burning hotter and spreading faster this summer, with deadly consequences. This piece explains why: prolonged drought, extreme heat, strong winds, and landscapes reshaped by large pine and eucalyptus plantations — alongside human-caused ignitions. 🔗 apnews.com/article/chil...
- Police in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname, backed by Interpol, carried out the first coordinated cross-border crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Amazon region. Nearly 200 arrests. Gold, mercury, cash and weapons seized. My latest for @apnews.com: apnews.com/article/ille...
- A rare criminal trial has begun in Peru over the killing of Indigenous Amazon defender Quinto Inuma Alvarado. Advocates say the case could signal whether long-standing impunity for attacks on environmental defenders is finally being challenged. My story for AP: apnews.com/article/peru...
- New story for @AP on the environmental risks tied to U.S. plans under President Trump to revive Venezuela’s oil industry — from aging infrastructure to some of the world’s heaviest crude. apnews.com/article/vene...
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- From Putumayo, I reported on one of Colombia’s most threatened environmental defenders: Jani Silva. She’s spent years protecting the Amazon despite constant threats, surveillance & security risks. Our new @apnews.com story shows what that reality looks like. apnews.com/article/colo...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
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- 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...
- 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...
- 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 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...
- 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...
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- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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.
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