Latin Dance Party/ Art Show Fundraiser

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!

Wednesday, April 23
7:00 - 8:30 pm (Dancing & drinks 'til 10:30pm)

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

For more information, please contact Kristina Pearson at kristina@villageearth.org


Visit our sponsor - the Rocky Mountain Chronicle



PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Kristina Pearson
kristina@villageearth.org
491-5754

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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.

_________________________________________________________________________

April 12, 2008

Dear Friend of Village Earth,

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!

Fish Farm Project in San Francisco

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.

Intercultural Vision Radio Program

(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.

Amazon Anti-Oil Campaign

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.

KRFC Radio Program - Shipibo, The River of Life

To listen to the recent radio program on KRFC FM, independent community-based radio in Fort Collins, Colorado, click on the file link below:

Track01.cda

Limber Gomez, a Shipibo leader, was invited to do an interview on KRFC. He speaks about the hopes and challenges facing the Shipibo people, as well as about the community-based indigenous radio project they hope to do. For more information about this radio project, check out the below blog posting titled: Shipibo Radio Project

Below: Limber Gomez on his recent visit to Fort Collins.

New Indigenous Organization - ODDPIAP

Above: Participants in the Premiere Indigenous Tribunal work together to build consensus on the mission, vision, and purpose of ODDPIAP.

During the First Tribunal of Indigenous Jefes (chiefs) in the Ucayali region, the chiefs and other indigenous leaders decided that the most effective means to their self-determination would be to form their own grassroots indigenous organization. Thus, the Organization for the Defense and Development of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, or ODDPIAP (as they refer to it), was formed through the consensus process of participating indigenous leaders.

Through a very interesting election process that lasted on into the night, ODDPIAP's new leadership was chosen to make their vision a reality. One of the biggest obstacles the new leadership is now facing is the process of legalizing ODDPIAP, in order to be recognized as an official organization by the Peruvian government. It will only cost about $500 to undertake the bureaucratic legalization process and they hope to accomplish this before the upcoming Second Tribunal of Indigenous Jefes to take place this January 2008.

Below: Juan was elected President of ODDPIAP.


ODDPIAP's mission is the defend the rights and resources of the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, as well as create a vision for and the implementation of an alternative "development" program for the region based on indigenous wisdom and values. ODDPIAP, it is hoped, will be a seminal force in mobilizing and organizing the indigenous peoples to determine their own futures.

The jefes hope that ODDPIAP can act as a bridge between the marginalized indigenous peoples and the government, ultimately leading to a more equitable future for the underserved and malrepresented indigenous communities.

As allies of the Shipibo people, Village Earth will continue to work with the democratically-elected leadership to build the capacity of and support for ODDPIAP. We are currently working together to raise the funds necessary to legalize ODDPIAP. The leadership of ODDPIAP is busy planning workshops throughout the region to mobilize and organize student groups, community leaders, and strategic allies to work together because unity will strengthen their collective voice.

If you would like to support ODDPIAP, please contact: kristina@villageearth.org

Shipibo Radio Project

As one of the eight parts of the Shipibo peoples' plans for their self-determination and the "development" of their region, radio as a means of communication was of utmost importance. The Village Earth-Shipibo team has been in contact with Project Tupa, based out of Free Radio Berkeley. Project Tupa has a lot of experience in setting up easy to build and maintain low power transmitters for indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. Using locally-available materials, Project Tupa offers a 3-day workshop which teaches the communities how to maintain and repair the equipment themselves.

During Limber Gomez', a Shipibo leader, recent visit to the Fort Collins community, we had the good fortune to meet with the Fort Collins' community's local community-based radio station, KRFC 88.9 FM. The KRFC team is ready and excited to help out with this interesting project in any way they can.

The Shipibo people see that being in control of their own media is an important step in their struggle for self-determination. Right now, corporate media rules in the cities and extort exorbitant prices from indigenous peoples who want to make radio announcements or have their own radio programs, such as the long-running Indigenous Voice program that had to be cancelled due to lack of funding.This 3-day workshop, materials included, will leave the Shipibo people with 4 of their very own hand-built radio transmitters to be placed strategically throughout the region.

Village Earth, Project Tupa, KRFC, and the Shipibo people can undertake this project with a mere $6000. Unfortunately, radio projects are difficult to fund. However, radio can be an important tool in cultural revival (through the diffusion of indigenous language and music programs), for defense of indigenous and territorial rights (indigenous leaders can communicate issues of concerns with greater ease in this remote region), and for educational programs.

If you are interested in supporting this team and the Shipibo's efforts at determining their own rights and methods of communication, then you can make a 100% tax-deductible contribution through Village Earth. You can donate online using Pay Pal (clearly indicate your support for the Shipibo radio project), by using your credit card over the phone 970-491-5754, or by check sent to:
Village Earth
P.O. Box 797
Fort Collins, CO 80522

For more information, please contact the project coordinator: kristina@villageearth.org

86% of all Deforestation in Shipibo Heartland

Although the below reposted article suggests there is a decline in overall logging in the Peruvian Amazon it highlights a major threat to the Shipibo people - the fact that

"86 percent of all forest damage was concentrated in only two regions: the area around the Ucayali logging centre of Pucallpa, and along the associated road network."

That means that 86% of the 127,700 hectares lost per year of the Peruvian Amazon forest cover is in the Shipibo's and their indigenous neighbors' territories. Although maybe not technically within the legally allotted territories of the indigenous people according to the government - these remote forest lands serve as indigenous hunting grounds or other areas of important resource or spiritual significance. With global warming on much of the world's minds right now, protecting these forests is going to play a more critical role in the future of the planet. Right now these forests act as huge carbon sinks, and when cut down, are one of the number one emitters of greenhouse gases because of all the carbon and such that is released from these old forests as they are destroyed.

Below: This aerial photo from Google Earth shows the immense deforestation surrounding Pucallpa and its road network, some legally-titled Shipibo communities are seen in yellow.

Article Reposted from: InterPress Service News

ENVIRONMENT: Satellites Show Logging Decline in Peru's Amazon Region
By Stephen Leahy

TORONTO, Aug 18 (Tierramérica) - Rainforest conservation policies are reducing the rate of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon, but roads are unquestionably the drivers of change, new satellite data reveal.

Although Brazil's Amazon forests draw the most international attention, Peru's 661,000 square kilometres of rainforests are recognised as a unique and important ecosystem.

However, the impacts of human activities throughout the region were poorly understood, until a study published Aug. 10 in the journal Science.

"Peru's forest reserves and conservation areas appear to be working well," said Greg Asner, director of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, at Stanford University in California.

Deforestation and other disturbances of forested areas -- selective logging, oil exploration and mining -- increased about 127,700 hectares per year on average from 1999 to 2005, with just two percent occurring in protected areas, according to the study by Asner and colleagues.

By contrast, Brazil's four million-square-kilometre Amazon forest region loses 2.0 million to 2.4 million hectares annually, with about 10 percent occurring in protected areas.

Better land use policies and the remoteness of the forest in Peru are likely reasons why there has been much less forest loss there, Asner told Tierramérica. Peru has also long had a national forest policy that granted logging concessions, whereas Brazil has only recently implemented a similar system, he said.

Using a satellite-based forest disturbance detection system originally designed and used to measure forest loss in Brazil, along with on-the-ground fieldwork, the study found that 86 percent of all forest damage was concentrated in only two regions: the area around the Ucayali logging centre of Pucallpa, and along the associated road network.

The satellite data reveals a great deal of logging "leakage" outside the concession areas into nearby forests, he said. Although it is difficult to know precisely what is occurring, Asner suspects that once an area has been opened up to logging, concession-holders or others simply move into nearby areas.

The study clearly shows that deforestation follows the construction of the Inter-Oceanic Highway, which ultimately is directly connected with 23 percent of the total damage. "Roads are absolutely connected to deforestation," Asner said.

Loggers are chasing "red gold", the valuable wood of mahogany trees, which are still found in commercial quantities in the Peruvian Amazon, says David Hill, a campaigner for Survival International, a Britain-based non-governmental organisation supporting tribal peoples worldwide.

"'Tree laundering' is going on, with mahogany supposedly coming from legal concessions being brought in from outside," Hill told Tierramérica. It is very difficult to monitor or trace the origin of logs in such remote regions, he said.

"Legal logging concessions are facilitating illegal extraction," he explained.

The activist is dubious of Asner's findings that indigenous territories contained only 11 percent of the "forest disturbances".

"There is illegal logging in four of the five indigenous reserves set aside for uncontacted peoples" in Peru, he said.

These indigenous tribes by choice have not been in regular contact with the outside world. The common cold or flu is often fatal to them because they have not had previous exposure to the diseases and have not developed the appropriate immune defences.

Illegal loggers brought such diseases to the Nahua tribe in the 1980s and more than half of them died, Hill said.

While logging is the most urgent threat to these isolated indigenous communities, oil and gas exploration has also become a significant problem. Last month the Inter-Ethnic Association for Peruvian Jungle Development, AIDESEP, applied to the courts for a ban on oil exploration and drilling in parts of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by uncontacted tribes.

Enforceable land rights would go a long way to helping indigenous people in Peru, Hill says.

But keeping extractive industries like loggers out is an enormous challenge for any country. Brazil has struggled with this, largely unsuccessfully, for decades.

"Logging is a multi-billion dollar industry in Brazil -- 80 percent of which is illegal, according to the government," says Bill Laurance, a tropical forest ecologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution, in Balboa, Panama.

Deforestation rates have slowed in the past couple of years due to lower prices for soy and beef, and because of a crackdown on illegal logging, Laurance told Tierramérica.

That crackdown came after the 2005 murder of U.S.-born nun Dorothy Stang, who had been helping local people oppose illegal logging in the northern Brazilian state of Pará.

More than 100 people were arrested in a multi-million-dollar illegal logging network, including 40 people working for IBAMA, Brazil's federal environmental law enforcement agency, he said.

"Even Canada and the U.S. have trouble enforcing their logging rules in remote areas," he pointed out.

Slowing deforestation in the Amazon is an enormous challenge. The rise of so-called "carbon markets" offers some real hopes, if a country like Brazil can obtain credits for "avoided deforestation" and the corresponding reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Laurance.

Brazil is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases resulting from deforestation. The World Bank recently announced a 250-million-dollar pilot fund to pay tropical countries like Brazil for preserving their forests.

Avoided deforestation is an inexpensive and simple way to slow climate change and brings additional benefits, including preservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Accurate and ongoing measurements of standing forests and deforestation are absolutely crucial to making such as compensation system work, and Asner's group has the technology, says Laurance.

Previous satellite data and analysis by the group revealed higher rates of deforestation in Brazil than previous estimates. And although Peru's forest regions are frequently obscured by clouds, the new technology involving use of supercomputers can work around that problem.

By this time next year, thanks to a training plan and a compressed version of the study team's program, government officials, academics and non-governmental groups in Peru will able to update the forest change analysis on personal computers, he said.

Asner believes the program can be adapted to any tropical country and he plans to present it at the next stage of the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, to take place in December in Bali, Indonesia.

"What the Peru study shows is that we have a definitive tool for detecting deforestation and change," says Asner.

(*Originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.) (END/2007)

Nuevo Sitio Web de la Nacion Shipiba

La presente pagina es dedicada a los pueblos amozonicos del ucayali, se construyo despues del I Tribunal de Jefes de comunidades indigenas del Ucayali, la cual, fue uno de nuestros acuerdos, con la finalidad de que los pueblos se comunique y den a conocer sus puntos de vistas,problematicas y sus posibles soluciones.

Sitio web de la Nacion Shipiba www.shipibonation.org/index.php

Gracias por entrar a nuestra pagina

ah y disculpenos hay algunos errores de articulacion, dentro de poco mejoraremos.

SINAMETSA-FILOSOFOLIBRE777

Community-based Geographic Tech Workshops

Land rights is a constantly recurring theme in our work with indigenous peoples throughout the world. And the Shipibo people have asked for our assistance in their struggles over territory. In June, the Village Earth Peru Project Coordinator held a community-based geographic technology workshop in the lower Ucayali. Leaders from two communities in the Calleria district joined forces to protect their land. Both communities were given legal titles to their land years ago, however, in the dynamic Amazonian environment their lands have changed dramatically since the initial titling. Half of what was once part of the community is now overtaken by the mighty Ucayali River with more and more of the community being washed away daily into the river as it changes course. Originally, indigenous communities changed location as the river moved, but now communities are forced to remain within government-imposed boundaries.

Forcing indigenous peoples to be subjugated within externally-imposed borders does not work in the dynamic environment of the Amazon. However, protecting indigenous land through titling and demarcation is a necessary evil right now in order to protect communities' rights to land and resources. Much of the strategy of the Peruvian government has been to conquer and divide indigenous territories. However, many indigenous leaders and activists are calling for a new way to think about indigenous territory - and to remind the world they have sustainably managed their forests for thousands of years. "The demand for territorial clarity and non-overlapping negotiations on land issues is predicated on an acceptance of the EuroAmerican way of viewing land, demarking and dividing the land and environment and relationships between people on the basis of European-derived notions of property, ownership, and jurisdiction."*

Therefore, these communities are looking to expand their legally allotted territories, in order to maintain a sufficient land base that can provide for their self-sustainability. Workshop participants learned how to mark and find way points, use the compass, and many other useful features of Geographic Positioning System (GPS) in order to accurately locate boundaries. Each community was given a GPS unit and they are currently marking the points to which they wish to expand their territories and then will send them to Village Earth, where using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, we can help them to create maps that they can use in their negotiations with the government.

Both communities expressed worry about the current land grab in the Amazon by non-indigenous colonists. Roads are slowly creeping into their remote district bringing more and more settlers taking forest resources from the indigenous inhabitants.

These communities still have an expensive and arduous process ahead of them in order to expand their allotted territories. And their are many more communities interested in Village Earth mapping and geographic technology workshops. If you would like to make a contribution to these important efforts, please contact: kristina@villageearth.org

Thank you to the community that provided lunch to the workshop participants!

*Alfred, Taiaiake. 2005. Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom. Broadview Press, Canada.

Shipibo Leaders Unite to Form Organization for the Defense and Development of Indigenous Communities

Above: The Electoral Committee chosen during the Tribunal to oversee the election of officers for their new grassroots indigenous organization.

Over a two day period June 21st and 22nd over 30 Shipibo jefes (democratically elected community leaders) representing their communities along the Ucayali River in Peru's Amazon Basin came together for the first "Tribunal of Shipibo Jefe's" to discuss pressing issues faced by the Shipibo Nation such as the rapid increase in oil exploration and drilling in the region, illegal logging, education, and economic development. In a landmark decision, the Tribunal formed an organization to represent the Shipibo Nation on these issues and that no time should be wasted in its creation and by the end of the second day the Tribunal elected representatives to lead the their newly formed "Organization for the Defense and Development of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon" or ODDPIAP.

In January 2007 Village Earth facilitated a community strategic planning workshop where community leaders from the region came together to create a vision for their communities, identify the obstacles to achieving that vision and then identifying the practical strategies towards eliminating the obstacles that will move them towards their vision. Their vision included:

• Protection and defense of Shipibo territory
  
• Broader regional unity
  
• Cultural revival
  
• University scholarships for their children
  
• Small business development
  
• An Indigenous Bank to facilitate economic development
  
• Promoting indigenous foods for better nutrition
  
• Shipibo-run radio stations broadcasting throughout the region

It was decided by the group that while at the community-level there was a sufficient level organization through their system of community leaders and assemblies, there was no such organization to connect the individual Shipibo communities along the Ucayali River. This creates several problem when dealing with dealing with outside entities such as Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), entities with the Peruvian local, state, and national government, and corporations on shared issues such as illegal logging and oil and gas exploration and extraction as well as community development. Naturally, the absence of a unified voice makes it difficult to challenge threats to their region but also, the group decided that greater accountability is needed to ensure that NGO and Government resources are shared more equitably between the different Shipibo communities throughout the region. Thus, the idea for a Tribunal of Indigenous Leaders was born to rectify the problems of the underserved indigenous communities.

The Transitory Commission worked hard for 5 months to prepare for the Tribunal. Although funding issues cut it short, the Tribunal was highly successful in bringing indigenous leaders together to discuss shared challenges and hopes. Oil exploitation was a hot topic because many of the oil blocks located in the Ucayali region have recently been sold off to multinational oil companies. As well, indigenous leaders revisited the vision for the region that came out of the Village Earth workshop in January earlier this year. The leaders came to a consensus that in order to move forward on their vision, the creation of a grassroots indigenous organization was necessary.

Geographic Technology as a Tool for Indigenous Empowerment

There is only one month left before the monumental Indigenous Tribunal in the Ucayali region of the Amazon!

As part of the Tribunal, Village Earth was asked to facilitate community mapping workshops for Shipibo Communities but we need your support to get the necessary resources to indigenous leaders.

We've bundled these resources into a low-cost and easy to use "Mapping Kit" that we would like to give to community representatives participating in our free mapping workshop.

You can help by purchasing one of these kits for a Shipibo community today!

Support Village Earth and the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon with your sponsorship of a Mapping Kit!
(Contributions of any amount are welcome, greatly appreciated, and 100% tax-deductible.)

Each Mapping Kit will include a hand-held GPS unit and Map Book of their territory to be given to community leaders. Village Earth will then provide the instruction in how to use this technology to their advantage.

Mapping Kits will enable communities to:

• Identify their boundaries to determine if outside interests are illegally taking their resources or colonizing their lands.

• Identify illegal logging using the satellite imagery available in the map books.

• Map existing resources to establish a baseline for future comparisons of resource depletion/restoration

• Better manage and plan for the use of their limited resources.

Village Earth has been using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to create maps of indigenous territory combined with satellite images of the region. Some Shipibo leaders have already used these maps to dispute government and colonist land claims and build their case in support of indigenous land rights in the region.

Your contribution not only provides the mapping resources, but will help further the greater collective vision for the alternative development of the region based on indigenous knowledge and values. By supporting the Shipibo's efforts at mobilizing the region and these community-based mapping endeavors, together we can:

• Organize indigenous communities in the Ucayali region to increase their economic and political clout to determine their own futures
• Teach GPS technology to indigenous leaders so they no longer have to rely on expensive and biased government GPS technicians
• Support Shipibo efforts to reclaim and restore indigenous land stewardship practices.

Protecting Shipibo Territory

"During the past 40 years, close to 20 percent of the Amazon rain forest has been cut down - more than in all the previous 450 years since European colonization began."*

Yet, the Shipibo have sustainably managed their forests for many generations. However, an aggressive program of Amazonian "development" has been promoted during the past 50 years, which has fragmented Shipibo territory by the incursion of non-indigenous colonists, government "development" projects, and foreign corporations exploiting the land by logging, hydrocarbon extraction, and industrial-scale agriculture. However, protecting indigenous land rights has come to the forefront in their struggles for self-determination as the Peruvian government continues to open up the farthest reaches of the Amazon basin for oil exploration and other extractive enterprises.

Below: This map, originally created by the Instituto del Bien Comun and given to a Village Earth representative by AIDESEP, shows indigenous communities, protected areas, and oil concessions in Peru.

Protection and defense of indigenous territory was decided as the most important focus area out of their plan for self-determination of the region's indigenous inhabitants from the last Village Earth-Shipibo regional workshop.

To aid the Shipibo in the protection and defense of their territory, Village Earth created map books of the region using GIS layers of the native titled communities (as provided by the Sistema de Informacion sobre Comunidades Nativas de la Amazonia Peruana [SICNA] of the Instituto del Bien Comun [IBC]) and colonist settlements overlaid onto satellite images. Satellite images are an interesting mapping medium because they show vegetation cover, as well as land degradation based on the light reflected from different vegetation or soil types.

Below: A Village Earth program coordinator conducting a mapping workshop in one Shipibo community in Masisea district.

As well, Village Earth held a Geographic Positioning System (GPS) workshop and gave hand held GPS units to Shipibo leaders so they can continue to use the technology to protect their lands.

After the Village Earth mapping workshops, two Shipibo communities have begun the process of increasing their legally-titled land in order to protect more forest from outside exploitation, as well as remove illegally settled non-indigenous colonists using their new map books and GPS points. Shipibo jefes (chiefs) even asked a Village Earth representative to attend meetings with them at the local AIDESEP and Defensoria del Pueblo offices in Pucallpa - local NGOs that work to protect and defend indigenous rights in Peru. We, accompanied by reps from Defensoria del Pueblo, then attended meetings with the local Ministry of Agriculture in Pucallpa, the branch of government that deals with indigenous land titling.

As well, these Village Earth initiatives have increased intercommunity cooperation and participants in the workshops now have a greater consciousness of their geography.

Empowering indigenous peoples by providing the training and materials to use geographic technology, in turn, allows for self-determination of their way of life - since their land and resources are inextricably linked with their culture, economy, and physical health.

Issues of land and territory will be a hot topic throughout the Indigenous Tribunal being held in June of this year. This will be a seminal event in mobilizing and organizing their communities to better protect their land and resources. The outcome of this Indigenous Tribunal will be to form a grassroots, indigenous organization in the region to direct their own path to self-determination which includes forming an indigenous working group on environmental conservation.

Thousands of hectares of highly biodiverse forest and the accompanying watershed have the potential to be protected the indigenous inhabitants taking a stand against the market forces of globalization.

*Wallace, Scott. "Last of the Amazon" in National Geographic. January 2007.

Oil Companies to Begin Drilling in Masisea

Above: This map shows the different exploration and exploitation blocks leased out by the Peruvian government to the oil companies.

Below: A view of the proposed drilling area as seen from satellite images.

The Shipibo expressed their grave concern about the exploitation of Block 114 which is home to dozens of Shipibo and other indigenous communities. Not only are the communities living within the confines of Block 114 worried, but also those downstream because of the expected water contamination from the oil sites.

PanAndean Resources has purchased the rights to Block 114 and is expected to begin drilling in 2008.

Pan Andean Resources is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Here is an excerpt from their website:

"Block 114 located in Central Peru: 1.85 million acres;
At least 10 anticline structures identified in Block:
Estimated oil resources in block: 400 millions Barrels; API of oil: 30 – 35°;
Easy river access to refineries. Exploration commenced Q3 2006.
First phase involves reprocessing and interpretation of 500 kilometres of seismic followed by 150 kilometres of new seismic and one well.
Technical and environmental work in progress on Rio Caco structure.
Drilling up to 3 wells on Rio Caco to be completed by April 2008.
Block 114, located in the Ucayali Sub Andean Basin, north of the world-class Camisea gas-condensate field, with proven and probable reserves in the range of 15 TCF of natural gas and 600 million barrels of condensate. Block 114 is located to the south of important oil and gas fields such as Maquia, Aguas Calientes and Aguaytia. The immediate focus will be on confirmation and production drilling of the Rio Caco Structure. Potential recoverable reserves are in the range of 90 million barrels. Production would reach 30,000 barrels per day in 2012. The Work Plan will be to carry out the required Environmental Impact and Technical Evaluation work, in order to be drilling the Rio Caco confirmation well beginning in August-September 2007. Should that well be successful, three additional wells would be drilled as soon as practical and production would be flowing beginning in March-April 2008."

There is no mention of the thousands of indigenous people that inhabit the region, nor the possible consequences to the health of the world's largest remaining tropical forest, nor to the world's largest watershed.

According to Peruvian Law: "The Organic Law for Hydrocarbons, Law N° 26221, was enacted on August 19, 1993, coming into effect on November 18, 1993. Such norm was modified by Law No. 26734 as of December 30 1996, No. 26817 as of June 23, 1997, and Law No. 27343 as of September 01, 2000, No. 27377 as of December 06, and Law No. 27391 as of December 29, 2000. This norm, which is intended to foster the investments in fuel resource exploration and exploitation activities, created PERUPETRO S.A. as a Private Law State Company of the Energy and Mining Sector.

Considering such law, the Government promotes the development of Fuel Resource activities based on the free competition and access to the economic activity, guaranteeing the juridical stability of the contracts according to provisions set forth in article 62° of the Constitution of Peru.Likewise, it guarantees the Contractors the stability of the taxation and foreign exchange regimes in force to the date of the signing of the contract.

Law No. 26221 sets that Fuel Resources exploration and exploitation activities will be carried out under the form of License Contracts as well as Service Agreements or other contract modalities authorized by the Ministry of Energy and Mining, and governed by the Private Law, and which after being approved and signed, may only be modified according to a written agreement signed by both parties. Likewise, any modification must be approved by Supreme Decree." (Source: PeruPetro.com)

However, also according to Article 89 of the Peruvian Constitution:

"Rural and Native Communities are legally recognized and enjoy legal status. They are autonomous in terms of their organization, communal working, use and free disposal of their land, as well as economically and administratively within the framework established by law. Ownership of their land is imprescriptible except in the case of abandonment described in the preceding article. The government respects the cultural identity of the Rural and Native Communities."

Although indigenous communities are given the legal titles to their land, their is little protection afforded to these communities under Peruvian law against foreign companies contaminating their watersheds and destroying their forests.

According to the International Labour Organization's Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal peoples in Independent Countries:

Article 15

1. The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining to their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These rights include the right of these peoples to participate in the use, management and conservation of these resources.

2. In cases in which the State retains the ownership of mineral or sub-surface resources or rights to other resources pertaining to lands, governments shall establish or maintain procedures through which they shall consult these peoples, with a view to ascertaining whether and to what degree their interests would be prejudiced, before undertaking or permitting any programmes for the exploration or exploitation of such resources pertaining to their lands. The peoples concerned shall wherever possible participate in the benefits of such activities, and shall receive fair compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result of such activities.

For more information about the destruction caused to the environment and indigenous communities by oil companies, check out Amazon Watch and Oilwatch. There are hundreds of resources available on the internet documenting the destruction to the world's indigenous and other marginalized communities and their environments around the world by oil companies.

No matter how environmentally-friendly these oil companies claim to be, it is impossible to extract oil in such a fragile environment without damaging the ecological integrity of the region.

The Shipibo depend upon their rivers and forests for their subsistence and livelihoods. Their economy, culture, and health depend upon their access to healthy ecosystems.

Village Earth is working with communities to help them protect and defend their territories and environments.

What can you do to help?

• You can donate to Village Earth's efforts to help protect indigenous land in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Lessen your dependence on oil and oil-based products. In the global market economy, only when demand for oil drops will drilling cease. Therefore, the future lies in YOUR hands.
• Write to these companies and let them know that you disapprove of drilling for oil on or near indigenous lands in the ecologically-fragile Amazon region:
  
  Dr. John Teeling
  Pan Andean Resources
  162, Clontarf Road
  Dublin 3
  Ireland
  
  
  Below: The indigenous people of Masisea are learning to use GPS through a Village Earth initiative, so that they can monitor their lands and borders.
  

Village Earth/ EWB Partnership

Above: The people of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca and Village Earth representative, Kristina Pearson, dancing in the Umisha Festival. Kristina met with the community in February 2007 to begin project preparations.

The Engineers Without Borders (EWB) University of Colorado chapter made the original visit to the Ucayali Region with Village Earth in 2006. They participated in the January 2006 regional workshop and documentary film production. They also offered their services to the Shipibo.

One Shipibo community, Santa Rosa de Dinamarca in Masisea District, took the initiative and submitted a project application for a clean water project in their community. The Fort Collins Professional Chapter of EWB agreed to take on this project. We are very excited to work together and it is great that we are both based in Fort Collins allowing us to meet periodically to discuss project planning.

Santa Rosa de Dinamarca like many Shipibo communities is suffering from lack of clean drinking water. Wells have been installed, however, half are not currently functioning. The present situation reflects the past disconnect between non-governmental organizations (NGOs), funding agencies, and Shipibo communities. The Shipibo complained to us that NGOs came and installed wells in their communities using a design from somewhere else. Therefore, the wells do not function properly in their tropical rainforest environment. This shows the importance of building off local, indigenous knowledge and how local environmental conditions are an essential consideration before taking on any project. As well, local people were not trained in how to install or maintain these wells themselves, so when they break down they remain dormant and unrepaired.

Before the wells, Shipibo communities obtained their water from the rivers and lakes surrounding their communities. However with the increase in pollution from upstream, these water sources became highly contaminated. Population centers upstream dump their waste, there is contamination from oil exploitation, and increased sedimentation from logging have all polluted the watershed making the water unsafe for consumption. However, since their wells are not very deep (10 meters at the most) it is most likely that the water in the wells is actually connected to the rest of the contaminated watershed. Therefore, EWB is going to look into the possibility of digging deeper to reach the pure, clean water aquifers.

Below: The community's watershed

Parasites and other gastrointestinal illnesses are a problem especially for children in this community because of the lack of clean water. Clean water is an essential part of creating sustainable, healthy human communities. Only when people have the basic necessities of life covered (clean water, food security, clothing, shelter) can they begin to take their own self-determination seriously and work for a better future.

Below: Young Shipibo girl from Santa Rosa de Dinamarca

Village Earth and Engineers Without Borders are excited about our partnership and will be visiting the region for an assessment trip immediately following the Indigenous Tribunal event in late June. Village Earth will continue to empower communities to direct their own "development" processes. EWB will be assessing the local situation and doing topographic surveys in order to better understand the local environment, as well as assess community wants and needs.

There is a lot of potential for future collaborations between Village Earth, EWB, and the Shipibo people to be working with all communities in need in such projects as sanitation, construction, fishfarming, and survey work to help out with land issues.

If you are interested in supporting this project, contributions can be made through Village Earth or you can attend EWB's first fundraising event on April 27. For more information, check out the EWB Fort Collins Professional Chapter's project website.

Above: The Umisha Festival in Santa Rosa de Dinamarca.

First Indigenous Tribunal of the Ucayali

As a follow-up and outcome to the Village Earth Regional Organizational workshop in January 2007, a group of Shipibo leaders have decided to hold the first ever 'Indigenous Tribunal' as they call it. This Tribunal will be a gathering of leaders from all 120 Shipibo communities throughout the region. They are also inviting local NGOs and leaders from other regional indigenous groups such as the Ashaninka. This is an event of historic importance because the Shipibo have not had a regional meeting of this magnitude for over 30 years, and even then never did it have the possibility for such far-reaching impacts as the Indigenous Tribunal being organized at present.

Below: Participants in the January workshop who were elected to the Transitory Committee responsible for organizing the Indigenous Tribunal.

The organizers of this event have asked Village Earth to be a co-facilitator - to continue with a regional visioning process with the participation of all delegates present at the Tribunal. This will be the largest strategic planning that the Village Earth team has done to-date and could possibly have the most far-reaching impacts as well. 480 leaders are estimated to attend this event representing around 40,000 indigenous peoples throughout the Ucayali region. All parties involved hope that this will be the key event in mobilizing and organizing the region to begin the process of a truly community-based, sustainable form of alternative "development" - to empower the region toward active self-determination.

The Shipibo people realized that only by working together at the regional level will they ever really be able to implement their own vision for the future based on the values and wisdom of the majority indigenous population of the region. Some of the specific objectives as written in their project plan are as