Representatives of Native groups in the Amazon basin insisted on having a bigger role in policy making in their area. They forged an alliance with the United States and set a new agenda for a permanent dialogue without intermediaries.
Over three million people signed a petition calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations to debate ways to halt the destruction of the rainforests. Ailton Krenak of the UNI accepted the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights award.
The Ecuadorian government granted new oil concessions to companies operating in the Ecuadorian rainforest. A new round of concessions was expected to start before 1990.