Friday, November 14, 6.00 AM BRT

“Don’t Kill the Amazon River.” Indigenous-Led Sunrise Action on the Amazon Demands Protection from Mining and Climate Destruction

Contact: Alix Vanwaetermeulen, +4369010214921; Denise Robbins, denise@glasgowactions.com, +1 608-320-6582 (WhatsApp, Signal)

Belém, Brazil — Before dawn on Friday, November 14, Indigenous leaders and activists from the Aliança pela Volta Grande do Xingu, joined by Ekō and the Glasgow Actions Team will gather near the Guajará Bay, at the mouth of the Amazon,  for a powerful visual action calling on Lula and COP30 delegates to protect the Amazon from mining and heed Indigenous knowledge.

Timed for 6:00 AM, as negotiators arrive for the final day of the first week of COP30, the action will send an unmistakable message: “Don’t kill the Amazon River. No gold is worth our lives.”

Participants will hold banners and canoes along the river, with messages denouncing destructive gold mining projects like Belo Sun’s Volta Grande mega-mine, which threatens to poison communities and devastate the Xingu River basin, as negotiators discuss provisions to protect the Amazon rainforest as part of the climate negotiations. 

What: Sunrise Indigenous-led action on the Amazon River calling for an end to mining and for world leaders to protect the Amazon and listen to Indigenous peoples. They will deliver a petition with 89,891 names calling on President Lula to protect nature and the climate by respecting Indigenous rights over corporate profit and halting industrial exploitation, including mining, in sensitive biomes like the Amazon.  

When: Friday, November 14, 6:00 AM BRT (Final day of COP30’s first week)

Where: Amazon Memorial to the Indigenous Peoples, Ver-o Rio complex in Belém,  Brazil, overlooking the Guajará Bay — near the COP30 site.  Av. Mal. Hermes, 1374 - Umarizal, Belém - PA, 66010-070
- Google maps📍: https://maps.app.goo.gl/duBJY1PVKuPBji6u5

Visuals:

• Sunrise banners and Indigenous leaders with signs

• Large-scale visuals reading “Don’t Kill the Amazon River” and “No Gold Is Worth Our Lives”

• Traditional songs and speeches from Xingu leaders

• Strong press and social video opportunities

"Fifteen years ago, I saw the Xingu agonize when its waters were taken over by Belo Monte. Since then, what followed was the exile of families, the silence of fish, and fear in the villages. But a network of resistance was also born, of those who do not accept that life can be negotiated. Defending the Xingu is defending the Amazon. Our unity is the only guarantee that life and the river will prevail over profit", said Ana Laíde Soares Barbosa, member of the Xingu Vivo para Sempre Movement in Altamira (PA), part of the Aliança pela Volta Grande do Xingu. 

“This COP can’t claim to protect the planet while ignoring the destruction of the Amazon,” said Vicky Wyatt, Campaign Director at Ekō “Delegates will see this action as they arrive on the final day of the first week — a reminder that protecting the Amazon means ending extraction, dropping the debt, and financing a just transition.”

The Amazon River is facing multiple existential threats. It is a vast network of interconnected rivers that sustain countless Indigenous communities, all confronting shared challenges from mining, deforestation, oil drilling, and political backsliding that threaten their lands and livelihoods.

The 6:00 AM river action will serve as a moral wake-up call to negotiators entering COP30 talks — a reminder that the Amazon is not a resource to exploit, but a living system that sustains the planet.

Spokespeople from the Aliança pela Volta Grande do Xingu and more will be available for interviews. 

Spokespeople from the Aliança pela Volta Grande do Xingu and more will be available for interviews. 

About the Glasgow Actions Team:

Formed ahead of COP26, GAT pushes the world’s climate champions to go farther, calling out the blockers and exposing the deniers. Learn more at www.glasgowactions.com

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