Indigenous leaders of the island of Sakhalin in the far east of Russia have joined forces as a new wave of oil and gas development on the island is encroaching on their traditional lands.

On March 25-26, representatives of the Nivkh, Orok, Evenk, and Nanai peoples of Sakhalin held a congress in the town of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Roughly 3,000 indigenous people make up about 0.5 percent of the island’s total population.

Here's an update from the New York Times on the situation in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where Newmont Mining Company faces charges that its mine caused health problems and environmental contamination. As the Newmont annual shareholders meeting approaches (April 27), we will keep you updated on protests against Newmont from communities around the world. Global Response supports protesters against Newmont mines in Indonesia, Ghana and Peru.

MAR. 17 8:47 A.M. ET Indonesia's Supreme Court has ruled that a police investigation into five executives of U.S. mining giant Newmont Mining Corp. over pollution allegations is legal, clearing the way for the men to face trial.

In December, the South Jakarta District Court ruled that the case against the men -- an American, an Australian and three Indonesians -- was illegal because police had failed to inform the environment ministry of their intention to arrest them.

On January 20, around 250 representatives of the Evenk, Nivkh, Nanai, and Uilta indigenous peoples of Sakhalin Island took to the streets in Venskoye settlement, Nogliksky, to protest the activities of international oil companies in the area. The first in a series of actions, participants declared that construction of oil and gas pipelines, processing facilities, and other large industrial sites are having a direct negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples.

Many thanks and congratulations to everyone who sent messages and letters to the government of Indonesia on behalf of communities affected by Newmont's Minahasa Raya gold mine.

 This week, the Minister of the Environment announced he has asked a court to order Newmont Mining Company to pay for environmental damages and the sufferings of villagers affected by pollution from the mine. two news reports from Indonesia below.  And celebrate this victory for corporate accountability!

Government to seek financial compensation from Newmont

Environmental organizations in South Korea invite us to celebrate a victory in their long struggle to protect the Saemangeum tidal flats, which provide critical feeding habitat for migratory birds. Korea’s government is building a 33-kilometer sea wall that would destroy this biologically rich ecosystem.

This week a court ordered the construction to stop while further environmental studies are conducted.

Two big news items in the campaign to hold Newmont Mining Corporation accountable for environmental and health impacts of its Minahasa Raya mine in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia - An internal company report warned top executives at
the Newmont Mining Corporation, the world's largest gold producer, in 2001
that the company was putting tons of toxic mercury vapors into the air in
Indonesia.

The document, shown to The New York Times by a person close to Newmont,
sheds new light on operations at one of the most troubled mines of a
Fortune 500 company based in Denver that has drawn the rising ire of
environmental groups and local communities over the impact of its operations.

In a major development, leading international conservation, environmental, indigenous and development organizations have united to oppose expansion of industrial logging in the Congo rainforest - the second largest rainforests remaining. This is perhaps the rainforest struggle of the decade.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 9 (IPS) - Buenos Aires has unexpectedly become the new stage for a long-standing battle between an Argentine oil company and an Ecuadorian indigenous community fighting to defend its ancestral land rights in the Amazon rainforest. 

Representatives of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku have come to the Argentine capital to call on President Néstor Kirchner to intervene in the conflict. 

"Our people's future is threatened. We are living in a constant state of fear," Marlon Santi, a community leader from Sarayaku, told IPS. 

The U.S.-Mexico border and the troubles faced by indigenous communities whose lands have been spliced down the middle are nothing new. But with increased fear of terrorism and heightened homeland security measures in the United States, the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, which shares 75 miles of its border with Mexico, is being squeezed into a precarious position.

The full transcript of the video conference between the Rainforest Foundation, Congolese organisations, the World Bank, and others, concerning the Bank's involvement in the forests of the Congo, that took place on July 8th, is now available for download at this website:

 http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/sites/default/files/Transcript.pdf