Read about the latest developments with indigenous peoples' struggles in the Amazon to protect their cultures and environments. This Blog is to be educational, to keep Village Earth's supporters informed of developments in the Peruvian Amazon, and to serve as a vehicle for the promotion of the Shipibo peoples' projects.
Join us for a "Journey to the Amazon: Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice in Peru"!
A fundraiser to support Village Earth's projects with indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon.
Latin Dance Party - Learn to dance salsa and other traditional Peruvian dances! There will also be speakers, an art show, craft sale, and silent auction with arts and crafts by Shipibo artisans of the Peruvian Amazon. There will be lots of cool art and crafts for sale including hand-made jewelry!
Food and drinks will be provided by the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant! Their famous margaritas will be available!
Location: Agave Room (Above the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Old Town) 149 W. Mountain Ave. Fort Collins, CO
Ticket Prices: $15 students; $25 non-students (All proceeds go to support indigenous community initiatives in the Peruvian Amazon!) (TICKETS IN ADVANCE ONLY) Available at www.villageearth.org or 970-491-5754
LOCAL NON-PROFIT ALLIES IN THE STRUGGLE TO SAVE THE AMAZON
April 15, 2008. Fort Collins, CO: The Amazon basin in Peru is quickly being sold off to oil companies, industrial-scale agricultural production, and loggers. “We indigenous peoples only want tranquility and happiness this is our development as said by our elders,” said Shipibo leader Limber Gomez who visited Fort Collins last August 2007. One Fort Collins non-profit has allied with indigenous communities in Peru to stop the sale of the Amazon and offer alternatives to the unsustainable path of development pursued by the corporations and the government. Village Earth, founded by long-time CSU professor and Peace Corps developer Dr. Maury Albertson, is making a difference.
Village Earth has been working internationally with indigenous communities to help them determine their own sustainable development initiatives. In Peru, Village Earth is working with native communities on many projects from clean water to opening an indigenous bank where entrepreneurs can take small loans to start businesses. With current concerns about global warming, awareness is increasing that sustainable development initiatives are extremely important in the Amazon since it is an area of global environmental importance for its roles in mitigating climate change.
Village Earth is offering the Northern Colorado community an opportunity to be a part of these important efforts. Wednesday, April 23 7:00-8:30pm Village Earth will have a Latin Dance and art show event “Journey to the Amazon: Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice in Peru” to raise funds for their various projects in the Peruvian Amazon. The event will be held in the Agave Room above the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant (149 W. Mountain Ave.). Tickets are $15 students; $25 non-students (Tickets are available in advance only.) For more information, contact Village Earth (491-5754) or www.villageearth.org.
As a supporter of Village Earth YOU have the opportunity to make a difference.Join us for a fun evening of dancing and art in solidarity with Shipibo communities of the Peruvian Amazon.The Peruvian government is increasingly privatizing the land and resources of the Amazon rainforest.Traditionally held communal lands, non-titled indigenous lands, and forest areas of immense biodiversity will be sold to private landowners and foreign corporations under the new Ley de la Selva (Law of the Jungle).Many indigenous peoples and environmentalists are claiming that this law is just a facade to open up the Amazon to logging companies.
Help us stop the sale of the Amazon!
A note from Shipibo leader and Village Earth friend, Limber Gomez (pictured above, a member of the Organization for the Defense and Development of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, ODDPIAP):
“Facing the threatening law Nº 840, called the “Law of the Jungle”, the indigenous peoples of the Ucayali region of Peru are in the process of uniting to discuss this turn of events, as well as the new alliance between the regional government and Peru Petro (the state-run oil licensing agency), so that we, the indigenous peoples, can form a regional front in the Ucayali.
Today more than ever before, we the indigenous peoples of the Ucayali are defending our lands and territories.We are not going to permit the contamination of our ecosystem and the environment by transnational corporations.The transnational corporations come with the story that they will give work to indigenous peoples when they enter our territories.Already we have been through this experience of lies and genocide many times before.
First comes our health and second our development. An old Shipibo elder has predicted that if we allow the exploitation of our resources, in time, Peru will convert to a desert as told by our concerned elders.
We indigenous peoples only want tranquility and happiness, this, this is our development as said by our elders.”
How does this concern you?
The destruction of the Amazon and the indigenous communities who call it home affects us all.With current concerns about global warming, awareness is increasing that the Amazon is an area of global environmental importance for its roles in cleaning the air and mitigating climate change.As well, the preservation of the wealth of species and cultures is invaluable to humanity.
“Thank you, Village Earth.You are helping us to make history”
-Cecilio Soria, (pictured above with his grandmothers) Shipibo leader and host of the renowned radio program Indigenous Voice
Therefore, we invite you to be a part of helping the indigenous peoples of the Amazon determine their own futures and “make history” by attending this fundraising event:
Journey to the Amazon:Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice
This event will take place Wednesday, April 23 7-8:30 PM (drinks and dancing ‘til 10:30).The funds we raise at this event will be to support the many projects we are working on with indigenous communities in Peru.
For just $10,000, we can accomplish the following project activities this year:
For $1000 - We can facilitate the second annual indigenous tribunal bringing community chiefs and indigenous leaders together to discuss their integrated development plan for the region and the defense of their forests in partnership with the new Shipibo organization ODDPIAP;
For $4000 – We will set up and maintain an indigenous-run service center in Pucallpa, Peru where indigenous community members can get access to resources for their various projects.This service center will also be home to an indigenous bank from which ODDPIAP will begin a micro-loan program to promote small enterprise development;
For $1000 - We can implement a clean water project using a new ceramic sand filter prototype that will be produced locally and will provide clean drinking water to remote indigenous communities in our continued partnership with the Engineers Without Borders Professional Chapter (Fort Collins);
For $2000 – We can set-up and train local leaders in the operation of a community-based radio station in one remote indigenous community in collaboration with local community-based radio station KRFC.They can then broadcast throughout the region news and information in their own language and under their control;
And finally for $2000 - We will bring two Shipibo leaders to attend the PPSD training here in Fort Collins this May 2008.
So please call (491-5754) or go online today (www.villageearth.org) to get your tickets (TICKETS AVAILABLE IN ADVANCE ONLY – Please RSVP by Friday, April 18)!Please invite your friends!
Tickets for students are $15
Tickets for non-students are $25
We hope to see you there!It’s going to be a fun event where you can learn different Latin and traditional Peruvian dances and enjoy food from the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant.If you have any questions, send me an e-mail at kristina@villageearth.org, or call us here at the office 491-5754.Thanks for your continued support of Village Earth!
Washington D.C -- Already under fire for its record profits, Chevron is coming under increased scrutiny in the nation‚s capital over its attempts to use U.S. trade negotiations with Ecuador to undermine a historic environmental lawsuit brought against the oil giant by residents of Ecuador‚s rainforest.
Chevron faces a potential liability in the multi-billion dollar case for clean-up in Ecuador of what experts believe is the worst oil-related contamination in the world, affecting an estimated 30,000 people, including the members of five indigenous groups. The tab for personal damages and health costs could double its liability, according to the plaintiff‚s legal team, which has been litigating against the company since 2003.
Now, Senators Barack Obama (D-Ill) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) have stepped up the pressure on Chevron, sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman urging him to ignore company‚s campaign to improperly exclude Ecuador from trade negotiations until the Ecuadorian government shuts down the lawsuit.
The senators write: „We are writing to seek your assurances that the U.S. Trade Representative will not allow negotiations over the Andean Free Trade Agreement to interfere with a case involving Chevron that is under consideration by the Ecuadorian judiciary, particularly one involving environmental, health and human rights issues that have regional importance. While we are not prejudging the outcome of the case, we do believe the 30,000 indigenous residents of Ecuador deserve their day in court.‰
Since the trial began in 2003, the forensic evidence of widespread toxic contamination has steadily mounted; all 22 sites inspected by the court so far have been found to be contaminated, and one site had levels of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons at 900,000 parts per million, or 9,000 times higher than allowed in most U.S. states.
This staggering potential liability is real. In recent weeks, Chevron has been pulling out all the stops in an attempt to derail the lawsuit, lobbying the U.S. Congress in a shadowy but intense campaign, distributing misleading and inaccurate press releases about the Ecuador trial, and refusing to disclose details of its potential multi-billion loss to shareholders. But Chevron has run into major roadblocks in the beltway.
Texaco, which was bought by Chevron in 2001, operated a concession in Ecuador‚s rainforest from 1964 to 1992. During that time, it dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste water into the pristine Amazon rainforest and reaped profits of close to $30 billion. Local residents call the contamination the „Rainforest Chernobyl‰ and two of the indigenous tribes say they are nearing extinction.
Chevron‚s lobbying of Congress to undermine the legal case has sparked outrage in Ecuador because Chevron argued for years before a U.S. federal court that the case should be tried in Ecuador, and stipulated it would recognize the jurisdiction of the Ecuador court and abide by any judgment.
„This campaign is morally reprehensible and violates a promise Chevron made to the U.S. court,‰ said Luis Yanza, a representative of the affected communities. „Our people are dying, and they are spending millions to deny us the chance to be heard in court.‰
Steven Donziger, an American attorney on the plaintiffs‚ legal team, added: „Chevron‚s lobbying is a blatant attempt to hijack U.S. foreign policy to serve its petty interests. This trade agreement should be about national interests, not Chevron‚s interests.‰
Other recent roadblocks hit by Chevron in the U.S. include:
A formal complaint filed by Amazon Watch to the Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing Chevron of committing fraud by hiding its multi-billion dollar liability from shareholders. The company has never mentioned the potential liability in its public filings, even though the judgment could be the largest in history against an oil company. (The SEC complaint is available at http://www.chevrontoxico.com/article.php?id=287.)
A letter to members of the House Ways and Means Committee by the plaintiff‚s group, the Amazon Defense Coalition, accusing Chevron of „inappropriate‰ lobbying to undermine the rule of law in Ecuador. (This letter can be found at http://www.chevrontoxico.com/article.php?id=259.)
The filing of three separate resolutions by Chevron‚s shareholders addressing the company‚s environmental and human rights policies, one specifically asking Chevron to report liabilities related to its Ecuador problem so the potential liability does not increase further. In the past, several large institutional shareholders, including public pension funds in New York and California, have supported similar resolutions. The resolutions will be voted on at the annual shareholders meeting, to be held in April.
Studies have found markedly higher rates of cancer in the region in Ecuador where the contamination exists, including rates of leukemia in young children three times higher than in the rest of the country. In addition, rates of birth defects and miscarriages are significantly higher than in other parts of Ecuador.
The pressure against Chevron comes as the company enjoys record profits, raking in $27.5 billion in 2005. This was the highest profit in Chevron's 126-year history, and it comes at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the gas pump.
Former Vice President Al Gore, in his writings on global warming, notes that the Chinese character used to write “Crisis” is comprised of components meaning both “Challenge” and “Opportunity.” There is general consensus in the scientific community that reduction of acreage in the South American rainforest represents a major loss to the planet’s ability to process carbon, a leading greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity.
The Challenge
Although many organizations are committed to preserving remaining tracts of virgin rainforest, little is being done to address the financial incentive for the “slash-and-burn” agriculture that ranks alongside the lumber, agribusiness and petrochemical industries as a main culprit of deforestation.
Ever since the first humans struck into the rainforest thousands of years ago, the indigenous communities throughout the Amazon basin have mastered the skills of hunting, gathering, gardening and horticulture, as well as aquaculture in this richly biodiverse region. However, as the industrialized world has encroached upon the rainforest, spoiling it by both habitat loss/damage and pollution, the indigenous peoples have had their lifestyle permanently disrupted. Deforestation has drastically reduced the amount of game available for hunting, and over-fishing has severely depleted the more densely populated stretches of rivers such as the Amazon and the Ucayali. Industrial centers such as Iquitos and Pucallpa (Peru) and Menaus (Brazil) now teem with industry: mining, petrochemical exploration, logging, construction, manufacturing, retail and wholesale distribution, entertainment, hospitality, etc. Populations of mostly “Mestizo” but also indigenous people inhabit these noisy, polluted cities, and most regional economic life is based upon what goes on in these urban centers.
The Opportunity
Fish-farming (aquaculture) has been shown to be an ideal way for indigenous rainforest communities to determine their own futures. Native species, such as Gamitana and Boquichico, are fast-growing, commonly eaten fish that are largely vegetarian in diet and command good prices in local and, in some cases, international markets.
Fish-farming is an ideal economic activity for the following reasons:
· No deforestation (rainforest land has many ponds and lagoons ideal for fish-farming; therefore eliminating the need to cut down large amounts of trees)
· No environmental threat (any fish that escape due to flooding or pond breaches are native to the area and “belong there” anyway)
· Familiarity with fish species (Indigenous people have fished these species for years)
· Minimal materials needed for daily operation (traditional dugout canoes and nets)
· Low-cost fish food (much of the fish food used can be grown or gathered locally)
The Proposition
Create a successful fish-farm operation in an influential Peruvian indigenous community - San Francisco de Yarinacocha. Allow the technology and economic model to spread throughout the region, thus empowering these communities to participate in the economy without the need to disrupt the forest in which they live just to “make a buck.”
The Fish Farm: Progress to Date
In early 2007, Al Polito (Activist/Musician/Writer of Portland, OR), Paola Pomposini (a translation specialist based in Lima, Peru) and Maria Esther Palacios Burbano (Aquaculture Specialist with University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru) met in Lima and San Francisco Yarinacocha with renowned community leader Mateo Arevalo to begin the groundwork for the project.
More than 40 villagers expressed interest in participating in the project.
For two days following the town meeting, Burbano and Polito accompanied a group of Shipibo men in exploring the forests surrounding the village to find a suitable site to begin the first phase of the project. On the second day, the group settled on a small spring-fed lake within a mile of the village (pictured below).
Soon thereafter, Polito accompanied Mateo Arevalo, former village chief, shaman and university-trained botanist to tour the Aquaculture Research Center of University of San Marcos’ IVITA (Instituto Veterinario de Investigaciones Tropicales y de Altura), located one hour outside of Pucallpa. IVITA’s Dr. Guadalupe Contreras explained to Arevalo the steps necessary to complete an effective fish farm.
Burbano has succeeded in assembling a coalition involving IVITA (providing support and facilities), San Marcos University (providing leadership and guidance), with researchers from other organizations who have also expressed interest: including Amazonia Aquaculture Service and Piscicultura Panama of Brazil (two private enterprises) UNAM: Mexico, and National Cheju University of Korea. The additional researchers will help ensure the quality of the research.
What they need:
Currently, this group needs around $10,000 in order to undertake this collaborative fish farm venture.
If you would like to support this effort toward sustainable livelihoods in the Amazon, you can donate through Village Earth by
1- Through Pay Pal to the right side of this blog. Please indicate you would like your contribution to go towards the San Francisco Fish Farm Project
2- By calling 970-491-5754 and donate with your credit card
3- Our by sending a check or money order to: Village Earth P.O. Box 797 Fort Collins, CO 80522
All donations for this project are 100% tax-deductible as Village Earth is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization.
Oil exploration in the Amazon jungle. Photo: Andina/Internet.
Lima, Feb. 27 (ANDINA).- Compania Espanola de Petroleos (Cepsa), Spain's second-largest oil company, bought stakes in two oil and gas exploration blocks from Irish Pan Andean Resources in the Ucayali BAsin south of Pucallpa, in the Peruvian jungle.
Cepsa will eventually assume operatorship of the Blocks and acquire a 60 percent working interest in Block 114 and a 70 percent working interest in Block 131, once it has obtained the required regulatory approvals from Perupetro (the Peruvian government agency responsible for promoting private investment in the hydrocarbons sector).
Activity during the exploration period on Blocks 114 and 131, measuring 7,200 km2 and 10,000 km2, respectively, will include, during the initial phases, the performance of 2D seismic acquisition to identify possible structures existing in the subsoil, and subsequently the drilling of exploration wells.
Cepsa embarked on its exploration activity in Peru last year when it signed an agreement with ConocoPhillips to acquire a 35 percent stake in Block 104 in the Maranon Basin.
Afterwards, the company entered into a farm-in deal with the Canadian firm Loon Energy to acquire a 80 percent working interest in Block 127 in the same basin.
As a result of these last two agreements signed with Pan Andean, Cepsa will expand its upstream portfolio and enhance its presence in Peru.
These new Blocks, which will be operated by Cepsa, are located in Peru's central Amazonian region, an area of considerable ecological value.
The Spanish company holds interests in other acreages with similar features and, in an effort to ensure environmentally-sound and responsible operations, has put into effect in each of them a broad program of measures in conjunction with local authorities and indigenous populations , chiefly targeted at avoiding any adverse impacts on the environment and, consequently, its biodiversity.
As part of its environmental strategy in ecologically-sensitive areas, Cepsa consistently identifies and evaluates the possible effects associated with its activities.
(English Translation by Morgan King; original text by Limber Gomez) The radio program "Intercultural Vision" is an informative program and is a political, social, cultural and economic analysis, that Limber Gomez started in 2006, but because of the lack of economic resources and sponsors it cannot continue. In the seventh month running we began with a new sponsorship from the National Intercultural University of the Amazon (UNIA), but the sponsorship was only for one month and now it is gone. It is sad that we had such a short time, the indigenous population identifies with Intercultural Vision because they say that it is the voice of the indigenous people. Intercultural Vision is concerned with political, social, economic and cultural issues, and they have denounced to the regional authorities that they have listened but that the population asks for a real voice and that Intercultural Vision continue.
If any Village Earth supporters are interested in helping keep this Intercultural Vision program alive and running, please contact kristina@villageearth.org
Por Limber Gomez: EL PROGRMA RADIAL "VISION INTERCULTURAL" ES UN PROGRAMA INFORMATIVO Y DE ANALISIS POLITICO, SOCIAL, CULTURAL Y ECONOMICO, QUE INICIO EN EL AÑO 2006, PERO POR CUESTIONES DE FALTA DE RECURSOS ECONOMICOS Y LA FALTA DE AUSIPICIADORES NO PUEDE TENER CONTINUIDAD. DESDEPUS DE SIETE MESES INICIO NUVAMENTE PERO CON EL AUSPICIO DE LA UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL INTERCULTURAL DE LA AMAZONIA - UNIA, PERO EL AUSPICIO HA SIDO DE TAN SOLO UN MES Y AHORA NO ESTA SALIENDO AL AIRE. PERO APESAR SUS CORTOS TIEMPOS DE SALIDA, OCUPA EN EL PRIMER LUGAR DEL REITIN Y LA POBLACION INDIGENA SE IDENTIFICA CON VISION INTERCULTURAL PORQUE DICEN QUE ES LA VOZ DEL PUEBLO INDIGENA.
VISION INTERCULTURAL VIENE CON TEMAS POLITICOS Y SOCIALES, ASI MISMO ECONOMICOS Y CULTURALES, Y SUS DENUNCIAS A LAS AUTORIDADES REGIONALES HAN SIDO ESCUCHADAS, POR ESO LA POBLACION PIDE A VIVA VOZ QUE VISION INTERCULTURAL CONTINUE.
Derrame de petróleo el 31 de diciembre de 2007 Foto: FECONACO
La Federación de Comunidades Nativas del río Corrientes (FECONACO) denunció un nuevo derrame de petróleo ocurrido el 31 de diciembre de 2007 el cual contaminó seis kilómetros de la quebrada de Timu Entsu, utilizada por los pobladores para labores de pesca y caza.
La denuncia fue presentada ante la Unidad de Exploración y Explotación del Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión Privada en Energía y Minería (OSINERMING).
La responsable de dicha acción delictiva es la empresa argentina Pluspetrol, responsable de explotar los lotes petroleros 1AB y 8, en la cuenca del río Corrientes, región Loreto.
La denuncia ha sido acompañada de fotos y videos tomados por los monitores ambientales de la mencionada organización indígena responsables desde el 2005 de monitorear y vigilar la calidad ambiental de su territorio.
FECONACO solicita investigar este nuevo derrame de petróleo que afecta no sólo el medio ambiente de los achuar, sino pone en riesgo la salud de los pobladores de las comunidades indígenas próximas a la zona del derrame.
Durante el año 2007 FECONACO denunció a Pluspetrol por los derrames de petróleo ocurridos en las siguientes fechas:
4 y 24 de abril : pozos Shiviyacu 12 y Shiviyacu 16 – 17.
17 de octubre: derrame en poza de seguridad Lote 1AB.
23 de octubre: fuga de petróleo de tubería de diesel.
24 de octubre: derrame de petróleo en el Lote 1AB.
29 de octubre: derrame de petróleo contaminó la quebrada Tseku Entsa.
Para mayor información comunicarse con FECONACO: +511 065-600454 ó +511 065-600455 Jorge Jordán : +511 254-2490 ó +511 952-36701
Thank you to all who supported this important campaign!
National and international allies staged an important protest outside the Houston Petroleum Club, while the vice president of AIDESEP (the Inter-ethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Amazon), Robert Guimaraes, took the opportunity to speak to potential investors and let them know the risks of investing in oil development in the Amazon.
Unfortunately, two of the three Shipibo delegates were not able to make the trip because their visas were denied by the US government. In many respects, this symbolizes the obstacles that indigenous people face in participating in global dialogue that are crucial in exercising the right to determine their own "development" path.
The good news is that Robert Guimaraes was able to deliver a powerful message to potential investors and to Perupetro, Peru's hydrocarbon licensing agency. Quoting Robert Guimaraes, "We request that you exclude those blocks that overlap communal indigenous territories. More that 80% of the population in Corrientes river, mostly children, have cadmium and lead in their blood. Just as for you there are things that cannot be negotiated, for us some things, like indigenous land, cannot be negotiated." The cadmium and lead that Robert refers to is the result of over 30 years of Oxy Petroleum operations in Northern Perú, where the Achuar people have been severely affected.
The Peruvian government's latest efforts to place the Amazon region in the hands of oil developers puts the entire Amazon at risk, especially indigenous people in voluntary isolation, and clearly violates international rights benchmarks such as Free, Prior and Informed Consent, contained in the recently approved UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (of which Peru is a signatory). It is precisely the Peruvian government's rather shameful attempt to manipulate, distort, and even suppress indigenous opposition to oil development that makes it so important to support indigenous leaders efforts to make their voices heard at international venues such as Perúpetro's Houston road-show. Otherwise, potential investors not only get a distorted view of indigenous opinion, but local indigenous people are excluded the global decision-making process that directly affect their lives.
Given that two of the delegates weren't able to come to Houston, we would like to continue with our efforts to support these types of crucial interventions. Perupetro is planning another event in August, again designed to divvy up the Amazon for even more oil development. With your continued support, we would like to help these delegates make their presence at this event as well. And hopefully the impact will be even greater.
