Consolidation of indigenous territories and rights in Madre de Dios Peruvian Amazon

Project Overview

Indigenous territories in Peru’s Madre de Dios region are threatened by unsustainable resource extraction and forest conversion. Such processes undermine indigenous rights and livelihoods among the 38 settled communities in the region, while posing an existential threat to the estimated 1,000 Indigenous Peoples living in isolation and initial contact in Madre de Dios. Although most communities now have recognised legal title as “native communities,” in reality titled areas only cover a small fraction of ancestral lands; the vast majority of ancestral territories are classified as state-administered protected areas. In most of these protected areas, indigenous rights are heavily proscribed. 

In response to these threats, as well as the varied demands of its constituents, the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) has developed several strategies aiming to defend recognised territory, extend rights over ancestral lands, and protect the lives of Indigenous Peoples living in isolation and initial contact. These strategies lie at the heart of the current project, whose main objective is to consolidate communal and indigenous territories guaranteeing the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Madre de Dios River Basin by reducing key threats, extending rights over traditional territories, strengthening indigenous identity and governance, and protecting Indigenous Peoples in isolation and initial contact, following an intercultural, intergenerational and gender-justice approach. 

To achieve this objective the project works on multiple fronts including: formalisation and extension of existing titles; recognition of pending titles; conflict resolution; forest monitoring; mapping of ancestral territories; documentation of indigenous knowledge and practices; protection of indigenous environmental defenders; strengthening of territorial governance; strategic advocacy and communications; technical capacity building; and the promotion of gender and intergenerational approaches. The project also has a strong focus on organisational strengthening within FENAMAD. 

By the end of the project, 38 communities in the Madre de Dios region of Peru will have stronger tenure security.