Legal security of indigenous territories: claiming ancestral rights in Peru

Project Overview

The project is titled “Legal Security of Indigenous Territories: Claiming Ancestral Rights in Peru”. It is presented by the SPDA, and seeks to improve the well-being of Indigenous Peoples in Peru via three approaches. These are in summary:

1 ) Institutionality and secure tenure

2) Protection and management of territory

3) Promotion and strengthening of collective rights

Goal

To improve the tenure and management of indigenous territories in order to contribute to the well-being of the peoples and the maintenance of natural resources.

Objectives

• Improve access of Indigenous Peoples to collective land tenure, through accompaniment at the appropriate national and regional level and through indigenous organs
• Strengthen the protection and management of the territory of Indigenous Peoples by introducing tools for access to justice and the sustainable use of natural resources.
• Promote the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples through support in concrete actions against COVID-19 and in subsequent recovery phase; communication strategies; the strengthening of the gender approach; and participation in key spaces.

Actions

• Provide logistical and technical support to the General Directorate of Sanitation of Agrarian Property and Rural Cadastre (DIGESPACR) for accompaniment and training with regional governments
• Accompany the Regional Government of Loreto in continuing to execute the titling process in the region.
• Provide legal and technical support to the Regional Government of Madre de Dios (GOREMAD) to continue with the titling processes
• Contribute to the role of regional indigenous organisations as monitors and promoters of titling processes.
• Provide technical support to the Ministry of Culture for the development of a National Policy for Indigenous Peoples; design and publicise regulatory and management instruments to the benefit of the Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI).
• Consolidate the role of FENAMAD as a promoter of the protection of the PIACI and its indigenous forest oversight.
• Contribute to reducing the vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples in Madre de Dios and Loreto during the coronavirus pandemic, by providing support to FENAMAD and the Regional Organisation of Indigenous Peoples of the East(ORPIO), as well as regional governments, to address the needs of native communities and report back to national authorities.
• Present an indigenous proposal to incorporate a gender component with an intersectional perspective into the national regulatory framework.
• Design and implement an Indigenous Reporters Programme – a series of training modules to create a network of indigenous reporters in the communities.

Expected results

• The appropriate national and regional governmental authorities and indigenous organisations will provide and promote the institutional conditions for Indigenous Peoples to access and maintain land tenure rights.
• Indigenous Peoples will improve the protection of their territories and management of natural resources.
• The indigenous organisations in the Tenure Facility’s project areas will promote their rights at international, national and local levels.

Expected impact

The improvement of the well-being of Indigenous Peoples in Peru, through the strengthening of their collective rights.This will translate into the improved tenure, protection and management of more than 3,200,000 hectares of indigenous territories.

This is to include: 700,000 hectares of improved tenure in Loreto and Madre de Dios, benefiting at least 30 native communities; 2,400,000 hectares of better protected indigenous reserves; and 100,000.00 hectares of better managed native community territories.

Silvana Baldovino
Program Director, SPDA 
sbaldovino@spda.org.pe 

Julio Cusurichi
President
FENAMAD 
lavozdeamerica1@yahoo.es 

Andrea Tello 
Coodinator SPDA Loreto
SPDA atello@spda.org.pe

Luisa Ríos

Coordinadora SPDA Madre de Dios

lrios@spda.org.pe

Jorge Pérez Rubio

President

ORPIO

juidako@hotmail.com