PERU:
Mining Companies Venture
into the Amazon
By Milagros Salazar*
LIMA (Tierramérica) -
The conflicts
surrounding extractive
industries in Peru could
shift from the mountains
to the jungles due to
the rising number of
concessions granted for
the Amazonian regions of
San Martín, Madre de
Dios and Amazonas, and
which are being strongly
opposed by the local
indigenous communities.
"We will not allow any
more oil or mining
concessions in the
indigenous territories,"
Shawi leader Alberto
Pisango, president of
AIDESEP, a coalition of
native groups in the
Peruvian jungle, told
Tierramérica.
From 2002 to June 2008,
the portion of territory
in Amazonas (north), San
Martín (central) and
Madre de Dios (east)
granted to mining
companies quadrupled,
from 4.65 percent to
17.35 percent, according
to the government's
Mining and Metals
Geological Institute.
The region of Amazonas
is in the lead, with
concessions expanding
from 1.17 percent of its
territory six years ago
to 7.6 percent today.
In Madre de Dios, the
increase was from 2.44
to 6.56 percent, while
in San Martín it went
from one percent to more
than three percent in
that period.
The main operations are
small Canadian companies
that are conducting
exploration to later
negotiate their
discoveries of precious
metals with larger
transnational
corporations that focus
on extraction, according
to the non-governmental
organisation
CooperAcción.
"Without a doubt there
will be conflicts
arising from these
concessions, because
from the environmental
perspective it is a more
sensitive zone than the
mountains," José de
Echave, head of
CooperAcción's
extractive industries
campaign, told
Tierramérica.
Mining in Peru has long
been centred in the
Andes. Only in the 1990s
did it expand to the
Pacific coast, and in
the last few years to
the Amazon jungles.
"The mining industry is
in a race for new ore
deposits because from
now on there are going
to be more restrictions
worldwide on this
activity as a result of
the effects of climate
change, which is already
on the global agenda,"
said De Echave.
Environmental protection
is playing an increasing
role in government
policy decisions about
mining, although it
competes with the
interest of guaranteeing
private investment.
The mining companies
want to make the most of
the global hike in
mineral prices.
According to the
economic news agency
Bloomberg, between 2005
and 2006, the price of
copper increased 111
percent, gold 42.5
percent, silver 65.5
percent, zinc 150
percent, lead 36.5
percent, and tin 15
percent.
Mining represents 60
percent of Peru's
exports. This country is
the world's second
leading producer of
silver, fifth in gold,
and third in copper and
zinc.
Keeping pace with this
price boom is the growth
of conflicts.
According to the Office
of the People's Defender
(Ombudsman), in 2007
there were environmental
conflicts in 40 percent
of the mining zones. In
May of this year it had
reached 48 percent.
"It is likely that in
the next 10 years the
scenario of the conflict
will be the Amazon,
because the government
does not provide
guarantees that mining
activity will respect
the rights of the
peasant and indigenous
communities," said De
Echave.
Pisango, of AIDESEP,
believes that one of the
main reasons behind the
tensions is that the
companies explore the
areas without first
consulting the
communities. "If (the
government) continues
launching aggressions,
we are going to respond
in an organised way," he
warned.
Since 2004, the number
of complaints from
indigenous peoples
against the extractive
industries has
multiplied in Amazonas
and Madre de Dios, he
said.
In July AIDESEP will
file a lawsuit against
the government in the
Constitutional Tribunal
for violating indigenous
rights in promoting
extractive industries,
and is considering
taking the case to the
Inter-American
Commission on Human
Rights.
Indigenous organisations
have already turned to
the Commission. In July
2007 they requested
protective measures for
the Kugapakori, Nahua
and Nanti peoples, who
live in isolation, with
little outside contact,
and were affected by the
Camisea natural gas
project in the Cuzco and
Ucayali regions, in the
south and east of the
country.
Another petition was
filed in defence of the
indigenous groups who
live in voluntary
isolation -- the Waorani,
Pananunjuri and Aushiri
or Aijira, in the
northeastern region of
Loreto -- allegedly
threatened by activities
of the Barrett Oil and
Repsol YPF petroleum
corporations.
In both cases they are
seeking the protection
of the community, its
territory and culture,
and the Indians' right
to live in a healthy
environment.
The harshest conflicts
in the Amazon have
emerged as a result of
natural gas and oil
drilling.
The government gives
incentives for private
investment in the
mountains and in the
jungles "because it has
to start with something"
to promote development
in those areas, the
president of the Council
of Ministers, Jorge del
Castillo, told La
República newspaper.
The indigenous groups
invoke Convention 169,
adopted by the
International Labour
Organisation, which
establishes a system of
special protection for
native peoples and
consultation mechanisms
about laws, projects and
policies that affect
their development and
habitat. Peru ratified
the convention in 1993.
What is needed is a land
registry in order to
prevent oil or mineral
exploitation in forest
or agricultural areas:
"The law is very
ambiguous, or
prioritises mining over
other productive
activities. That is why
a registry of what is
really on that land is
important before taking
decisions that are only
going to generate
conflicts," said Santos
Kawai Komori, regional
president of Madre de
Dios.
(*Milagros Salazar is an
IPS contributor.
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,
United Nations
Environment Programme
and the World Bank.)
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