Mashco Piro Indigenous Community in Peru at Risk Due to Logging Operations: Images and Updates

2024-07-17 04:00:01

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The non-profit organization published new images of the Mashco Piro, one of the largest indigenous communities in voluntary isolation in the world, this Tuesday. International Survival. The photos show dozens of members of this town on the banks of the Las Piedras River, in the Madre de Dios region, southeastern Peru, near the concessions of various logging companies, including Canales Tahuamanu.

More than 50 Mashco Piro were seen near the village of Yine de Monte Salvado, and another group of 17 was seen near Puerto Nuevo. In his statements to the agency Reutersthe Indigenous Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries noted that the tribe, estimated at 750 people, has been seen more frequently in recent weeks, apparently in search of food and moving away from the increased presence of loggers.

These nomadic people move between the Amazonian departments of Ucayali and Madre de Dios, following changes in the water level. During the rubber boom at the beginning of the 19th century, the Mashco Piro took refuge in the most inaccessible areas of the jungle to escape slavery and exploitation. In the following years, the community continued to mobilize in response to the presence of drug traffickers and illegal loggers in their territory.

As a result of this situation, the Government of Peru created a series of natural reserves, including the Mashco Piro Indigenous Reserve in 1997 and the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve in 2002. That same year, the Government granted a 50,000 hectare concession for logging. company.

The photos are from a dangerous location close to logging concessions.International Survival

However, as reported The Washington Post, In the last 20 years it was clear that the Mashco Piro was present outside the boundaries of the reserve. A panel from the Ministry of Culture, in 2016, recommended the recategorization and expansion of the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve and the exclusion and compensation of concessions. As indicated in the same report, these measures have not been implemented to date.

The presence of the workers of Canales Tahuamanu is a constant threat to the survival of the people of Mashco Piro, since the interference of the loggers not only endangers their territory, but can also introduce diseases and generate violent conflicts. However, the Peruvian government has not acted directly against the exhortations of the activist groups.

Tensions rose in 2022, when this community attacked two Canales Tahuamanu workers with arrows, causing death of one of them. The same year, UN special rapporteur he asked the company to stop its operations and respond to allegations of possible “forced contact” with the Mashco Piro.

In this context, the new images show that a large number of uncontacted Mashco Piro live a few kilometers from the logging operations, as said Alfredo Vargas Pio, president of the Indigenous Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries, Survival International. “Not only is the Government failing to protect its territory, but it has given it to logging companies,” said Vargas Pio.

Despite being certified until 2025 by the Forest Stewardship Council for its sustainable operations, Canales Tahuamanu has been repeatedly criticized for violating national and international laws that protect indigenous people. In light of the new discoveries, various activist groups are seeking to decertify the company.

As Survival International president Caroline Pearce said, the company’s actions are an “ongoing humanitarian disaster”. The President believes that not only do loggers need to be expelled from the territory of Mashco Piro, but that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – a German non-governmental organization that promotes the accreditation of sustainable forest management – would also cancel the certification of Canals. Tahuamanu. “Otherwise, they will show that their certification system is a sham.”