Lima.- Peruvian indigenous organizations warned about the critical situation faced by native peoples in isolation who live on the border of the Andean country with Brazil, if their territory is not declared as the Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve, due to the numerous threats that put their survival at risk.
The Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the East (ORPIO) and the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep) reported this Saturday, through a statement, that said territory, located in the department of Loreto, has already completed all the processes and requirements for it to be recognized as an indigenous reserve, but the State has not yet made the official announcement.
“Pese a que el proceso de categorización cuenta con todos los estudios técnicos concluidos desde el año pasado, su aprobación ha sido postergada reiteradamente, dejando expuesta esta zona de altísima biodiversidad y fragilidad cultural a amenazas en constante crecimiento”,
precisaron las organizaciones.
ORPIO warned that the delay in categorization “opens the door to the granting of forest concessions, oil explorations and illegal occupations” and added that more than 95,000 deforestation alerts have been recorded in the last two years in the area requested for this reserve.
The indigenous peoples in isolation who live in this territory are Matsés, Matis, Korubo, Kulina Pano and Flecheiro/Tavakinaque.
You can also read: Indigenous
The indigenous reserve request was submitted by ORPIO in 2003, it received a favorable rating in 2013 and obtained legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in 2018.
Furthermore, the request includes hundreds of documented pieces of evidence confirming the presence of these peoples, gathered in the Preliminary Recognition Study and the Additional Categorization Study, which include direct testimonies, satellite images, and complementary studies prepared by specialized organizations and institutions.
“However, sectors against its creation have been exerting pressure to halt the process, which puts at risk the survival of these peoples, officially recognized by the Peruvian State in 2018,” the complainants indicated.
The organizations added that the threat intensifies with the accelerated loss of forest cover, as only between 2001 and 2024 at least 436 hectares of forest have been lost in this area, damage that in this context of isolated peoples represents an extreme risk to their health, safety and subsistence.
Decisive Meeting
The next September 4th, the meeting of the Multisectoral Commission convened by the Ministry of Culture will take place, a decisive instance to approve the official categorization of the reserve.
ORPIO pointed out that the technical-administrative process is already concluded and only the political decision is missing to materialize the categorization and guarantee the effective protection of this territory for the physical and cultural survival of these peoples, as well as for the preservation of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.
“There are no more excuses. The State has the obligation to keep its word and guarantee the survival of the PIACI of Yavarí Mirim,” stated the leader of ORPIO, Pablo Chota Ruiz, recalling that the commitment to convene the Multisectoral Commission within a maximum period of thirty days was made at an official meeting at the Government Palace on June 5th.
