Defending the Cacataibo

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Cacataibo territory, Peru (PHOTO: IBC)

A Canadian company prospecting for oil and gas is laying down lines of explosives for "seismic testing" in a remote area of the central Peruvian Amazon. This area is home to the Cacataibo, an indigenous community that lives in voluntary isolation. ELAW partners at Instituto del Bien Común (IBC) have joined others calling on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to protect the Cacataibo and their traditional lands from oil prospecting.

In August 2007, the government of Peru designated a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon as Block 107 in an oil and gas concession. The territory of the Cacataibo indigenous peoples are part of Block 107. This community lives in voluntary isolation in a remote area of the Cordillera Azul.

ELAW partner Carlos Soria at IBC called on ELAW for help reviewing the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for proposed oil and gas development in Block 107.

Carlos Soria

ELAW found that the proposed oil and gas exploration project would damage an ecosystem that is critical to the welfare of the Cacataibo. The EIA also fails to consider the health risks that the Cacataibo would face from exposure to outside workers entering the area. Past experience has shown that forced contact with indigenous peoples in isolation can result in serious illnesses and death. The proposed project also lacks a waste management plan, posing a health risk to the Cacataibo and threatening contamination of the local environment.

IBC included ELAW`s analysis of the project`s shortcomings in its submission to the IACHR. The decision is now pending.

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