On September 1st, 2015, the government of Peru announced that the process of prior consultation over oil concessions in the Peruvian Amazon had ended, despite agreements failing to be reached. A series of formal dialogues regarding Lot 192 between the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Indigenous Peoples organizations ended unsuccessfully at the end of August, 2015.
By Emily Sanders
Four days of violent conflict within a natural gas concession known as Block 108 in the Junin province of Peru led to the death of 25-year-old protestor Ever Perez Huaman. Huaman was allegedly killed by a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and many other protestors were injured and subject to tear gas fired at them by police. The area in conflict, whose ecosystems are threatened by Peru’s largest oil and gas producer Pluspetrol, is home to Indigenous Chanchamayo communities.
The state of Peru is in the process of launching the bidding process for the largest oil concession in the country, Lot 192, which expires this year, while affected Indigenous communities are still waiting for their demands to clean up contaminated areas from the previous 44 years of exploitation.
Photo: Alfonso Lopez Tejada and Jose Fachin at the COP 20 in Lima. Photo by ACODECOSPAT Kukumas
In Lima, Peru, the United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP 20 is currently taking place, and finally, Indigenous leaders have been given a seat at the table.
Next month, governments from 195 countries will be meeting in Lima, Peru for the “COP 20” United Nations Climate Change Conference. In preparation for the conference, the government of Peru unveiled a plan in July to reduce carbon emissions per capita to 75 percent of current levels by the year 2050.
On October 23, 2014, the Shipibo indigenous community of Korin Bari filed a law suit against the Peruvian government for its failure to title its traditional territory resulting in the repeated invasion of community lands by illegal loggers and coca growers threatening the lives of community members who protest.
Indigenous protesters are under threat by the Peruvian government after a law was passed that effectively gives the police the “license to kill” according to the Lima-based Instituto Libertad y Democracia. The law grants: “members of the armed forces and the national police exemption from criminal responsibility if they cause injury or death, including through the use of guns or other weapons, while on duty.
Our friends at the Peruvian organization Alianza Arkana have published a report outlining the deception of Argentinian company Pluspetrol as they manage their reputation as a socially responsible company, despite the years of contamination of Indigenous territories in the Amazon.
On March 26, 2014, the Quechua Federation of the Upper Pastaza River Basin (FEDIQUEP) declared a permanent strike until the Peruvian government shows signs of progress toward meeting the Federation’s conditions regarding compensation for oil contamination in its territory. Meetings among the communities, the oil company, Pluspetrol, and the government are slated for the end of April.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
