Peru

Incas build the largest empire in the Americas, centred in Cuzco and extending over a vast region from Ecuador to Chile, however, their dominance over the Amazon and its peoples is limited

Simón Bolivar decrees that Indigenous Peoples have the right to own their land.

Photo courtesy of T Rowsell

Peru passes a law promoting settlement of the Amazon by foreign colonists.

In response to peasant uprisings, Peru approves the Constitution of 1920, recognising the existence of indigenous communities for the first time and establishing Peru’s first legal provisions to protect indigenous communal lands.

General Juan Velasco Alvarado seizes control of Peru in a military coup, and the following year approves the Law of Agrarian Reform permitting expropriation of large landholdings and conversion into peasant cooperatives.

Velasco’s government passes the Law of Native Communities and Agrarian Promotion in the Lowland Forests and Valleys, granting Indigenous Peoples rights that were guaranteed in the constitutional reform of 1920.

The government recognises the first indigenous communities in Madre de Dios—Royal Palm and Shintuya.

Indigenous Peoples create the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP)

AIDESEP is a Peruvian national federation of 57 indigenous organisations, representing 1,350 communities and 350,000 people. It is dedicated to protecting indigenous rights and improving the health, education, housing, and organisation of Indigenous Peoples.

The Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon found COICA (Coordinator of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon River Basin) to defend their land rights, cultures and the environment.

“Our existence is framed in the defence of life and the Amazon to continue as a seed in the earth and preserve the forests for a living planet that will ensure the continuity of our present and future generations.”

The Government’s proclamation of the Law for the Promotion of Investments in the Agricultural Sector leads to the development of a national cadastre of rural landholdings, but fuels the cutting of forests for agriculture

The law is one in a series of measures aimed at liberalizing the economy, reducing the role of the state and promoting neoliberalism.

Peru dismisses two judges and forces a land-grabbing invader to vacate the lands of the indigenous community of Barranco Chico, after FENAMAD brings case to the Supreme Court

Peru passes the Law of Prior Consultation of Indigenous or Original Peoples, requiring Indigenous Peoples to be consulted before legislation or other actions are taken that could affect their rights

Infierno receives clear title to its communal territory with support from FENAMAD—a first in Madre de Dios.

FENAMAD, SPDA, and GOREMAD pioneer a unique partnership among an indigenous federation, an NGO, and a regional government that can be scaled to resolve longstanding conflicts over land tenure throughout the country

Madre de Dios is a region of the Peruvian Amazon where the situation is emblematic of much of Peru. In Madre de Dios, seven Indigenous Peoples live in 33 communities, with a total population of about 890 people. More than 50 percent of these communities require legal and physical clarification of their territorial claims before they can secure their title in the public record. The lack of clear rights over their territories puts these communities at a disadvantage when defending themselves against gold mining—a major cause of deforestation. Madre de Dios is also home to Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation or Initial Contact (PIACVI), whose lives and lands are threatened by incursions from illegal loggers and miners. They have limited immunity to common diseases and contact with the outside world can be fatal.

Boca Pariamanu resolves conflicts and is ready for official registration of title

Boca Pariamanu is a community of 22 families, with a population of 85. They are members of the Arahuaca ethnic group. With the help of FENAMAD, GOREMAD completes the georeferencing of the community’s territory, thus resolving conflicts that evolved from overlapping forest rights and reducing the threat of illegal logging. Boca Pariamanu is ready to officially register the title of its territory. The community has not yet received official collective title. However, with its territorial boundaries clearly defined, it is able to better resolve land conflicts. Resolution of these conflicts needs to be completed before the community receives its title.

Shintuya completes all field requirements to receive title

Shintuya is a community of 65 families, with a population of 250. They are members of the Harakmbut ethnic group from Madre de Dios. With support from FENAMAD, GOREMAD completes all the field requirements for issuing title.

Tipishca georeferences 40% of its territory

Tipishca is a community of 20 families with a population of 60 people. They belong to the Yine people, also known as Piro. With the support of FENAMAD, the community georeferences 40% of its territorial boundaries. The process is not complete because of an unresolved conflict related to overlapping rights with two proposed forest concessions.

FENAMAD and SPDA expand government awareness of solutions to insecure land tenure in Peru by publishing “A first look: the legal situation of rural land tenure in Peru”

The book by Silvana Baldovino of SPDA, recommends policy and regulatory reforms based on experience titling in Madre de Dios and other regions. SPDA distributes 2000 copies to communities, NGOs and government agencies.

Peru’s judges promise environmental crimes will not go unpunished

SPDA promotes the idea of a judicial pact to help stop the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, home to many Indigenous Peoples in Peru. The idea is adopted by Peru’s judiciary, the Catholic Church, indigenous organisations and the Government of Peru. Peru’s judges sign the Pact of Madre de Dios on 30 November, a commitment to respect the right to a healthy environment and a promise that environmental crimes will not go unpunished. The president of the national judiciary calls on private companies to support this cause.

Pope Francis calls for the defence of the Indigenous Peoples and the environment of the Amazon.

Thousands of Indigenous People from the Peruvian Amazon, Brazil and Bolivia gather in Puerto Maldonado, capital of the region of Madre de Dios, for Pope Francis’ visit on 19 January. FENAMAD President Julio Cusurichi gives Pope Francis a document containing the demands of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples. Pope Francis says native Amazonian peoples have probably never been so threatened on their own lands as they are at present. He highlights the large-scale economic interests that direct their greed towards oil, gas, timber, gold, agro-industrial mono-cultivation. He says indigenous territories are threatened by the perversion of certain policies that promote the preservation of nature without taking into account the Indigenous Peoples who live there. The Pope promises that he and the Catholic Church will offer them “a whole-hearted option for the defence of life, the defence of the earth and the defence of cultures.”

SPDA scales up innovative partnership to build capacity of national and regional governments to title the lands and forests of indigenous communities

Funded by the Tenure Facility, the new project involves three national government ministries, two regional governments, and several federations of indigenous organizations. They include the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), Native Federation of Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) and the federations of indigenous communities in Loreto, the largest region in the Peruvian Amazon. The initiative will contribute to the success of about US$80-million in ongoing donor-funded projects as well as national programs that aim to secure title in the threatened Amazonian regions of Loreto and Madre de Dios, and other regions of Peru.