Tensions rise in Peru as indigenous groups protest new land concessions

Friction is on the rise in Peru as indigenous groups are increasingly voicing their concern over the massive land concessions, which the Peruvian government has granted to mining, logging, and oil interests in the country. Over the past several years, the Humala-led government in Lima has permitted a growing number of foreign firms to extract natural resources from the Peruvian interior. The controversy, however, stems from the fact that an overwhelming majority of the newly conceded territories are home to Peru’s many indigenous people.

The crisis has been accentuated by the fact that many instances of land concession have been carried out without the consideration or approval of the inhabitants of the conceded territory. As such, there have been multiple instances of land concessions that have been carried out with zero consideration of the local residents’ interests or knowledge of the situation.

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Hence, the government’s actions have garnered the attention of the international community as they pose potentially serious human rights violations to indigenous people in the South American nation.

As Jacqueline Fowks of El Pais reports, “More than 40 percent of the surface of Peru has been earmarked for mining, logging, and oil and gas drilling, a new report shows. Yet 96 percent of this land is occupied by indigenous peoples and local communities.

A consultancy called The Munden Project analyzed 73,000 concessions in eight countries with tropical forests — Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, Liberia, Mozambique and Peru — and found that over 93 percent of the total land handed over to private companies for exploitation is inhabited.”

Over the past several months, the exponential rise in land concessions without even consulting local indigenous organizations has resulted in a spike in terms of conflicts between local groups and government forces. Consequently, the government’s mishandling of the situation— by failing to consult indigenous organizations—has actually backfired as several foreign extraction firms have backed out from their original investments because of the rising tensions.

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Fowks goes on to report that, “Alberto Pizango, leader of Aidesep, the largest indigenous organization in the Peruvian section of the Amazon rain forest, says that more than 1,000 native communities are waiting for the state to certify their ownership of 20 million hectares of land. Their lack of title deeds has made them vulnerable before illegal loggers and informal mining, and it puts them in a weaker position in negotiations with mining and oil companies.”

As for now, the predicament remains unresolved as the Peruvian government continues to fail resolving the land ownership dispute and concessions continue to be granted.