Winning Clean Water for Peru's Achuar

Achuar march for clean water (PHOTO: FECONACO, Racimos de Ungurahui)

For thousands of years, the Achuar indigenous people of the Northern Amazon rainforests in present-day Peru lived relatively undisturbed.

Starting in the early 1970s, multinational oil companies began drilling for oil and dumping contaminated by-products into rivers. These toxins caused the Achuar serious liver, kidney and skin diseases and killed off fish, plants, and animals. Despite overwhelming evidence, Peru’s government was slow to respond.

Basta! (Enough!)
For more than a decade, Peruvian lawyer and ELAW partner Lily La Torre has been helping the Achuar in their fight for environmental justice. "The law favors progress, but not at all costs. If oil is to be legitimate, so too must the process by which it is produced," says La Torre.

In 2002, ELAW scientists helped conduct the first independent water quality analysis of the Corrientes River.The results showed high levels of oil and grease, barium, chlorides, sodium, and other pollutants directly related to oil extraction. A few months ago, La Torre and ELAW scientists shared this information with Peru’s Ministry of Health and oil company representatives.

Victoria! (Victory!)
On October 24, 2006, the largest offending oil company signed an agreement requiring it to:

Stop discharging effluents in the rivers

Invest $20 million in environmental clean-up projects

Build a new hospital

Contribute to a multi-million dollar health fund for the Achuar

Donate 5 percent of all oil royalties for food production and education

Provide a one-year emergency food supply to communities affected by the impact on fish and wildlife.

GRACIAS ELAW!

Lily La Torre and Achuar celebrate win for justice.

"Today we celebrate peace! Together, we celebrate the victory of truth over injustice and death. We have stopped the contamination of our rivers, creeks, lands and lakes. We have secured food and health care for our children. We have taken a huge step towards dignity and the respect for indigenous people!" Lily La Torre, lawyer for the Achuar