The ancient Nazca people, who once flourished in the valleys of south coastal Peru, literally fell with the trees they chopped down, new research has concluded. The Nazca caused their own collapse when they cleared their forests in order to make way for agriculture, thus exposing the landscape to wind and flood erosion.The ancient Nazca people, who once flourished in the valleys of south coastal Peru,... more
Leaders of different Peruvian Indian tribes have joined together to protest against the government as it plans to sell 75% of the rain forest to oil, gas, and mining companies.
"Some groups have already begun the battle. Protests have turned deadly, with scores of clashes and rallies erupting across the country this year. Oil operations and airports were besieged and shut down, culminating in a mass demonstration of more than 3,000 Indians, mainly from the Awajun tribe, blockading a road in the sweltering jungle town of Bagua in June. More than 30 people were killed, including 20 policemen, after special forces, airlifted to the scene, opened fire on the protesters.'Leaders of different Peruvian Indian tribes have joined together to protest against... more
So-called "development" threatens to wipe out the remaining tribes of people who have had no contact with the outside world. We protect endangered animals and plants; why do we not protect entire cultures? Soon, we will all be as unique as hatchery fish.So-called "development" threatens to wipe out the remaining tribes of people who have... more
Pessima iniziativa del governo peruviano, che prevede il 70 per cento della foresta amazzonica peruviana consegnato alle trivelle della società anglo-francese Perenco. Migliaia di indios condannati alla fuga e alla morte hanno protestato a Bagua, la Tienanmen peruviana. E che ora sono pure soggetti all'influenza A.Pessima iniziativa del governo peruviano, che prevede il 70 per cento della foresta... more
Two turkeys in Peru are recovering after they were 'surgically implanted' with cocaine by drug smugglers then opened up again by vets working for the police.
Everyone's hoping the birds will make a full recovery and not suffer cold turkey (I know, I know!)Two turkeys in Peru are recovering after they were 'surgically implanted' with cocaine... more
At least 22 people died and another 31 were injured in eastern Peru when a bus plunged off a mountain road, news reports said Monday.
The state-run Andina news agency had reported 19 dead Sunday, just hours after the early morning accident in the Andes Mountains.
The bus, which carried foreign tourists, was only eight minutes away from arriving at the town of Quichuas on Sunday morning, Andina news said. It was traveling from the town of Ayacucho to Peru's capital, Lima, news reports said.
Most of the passengers were students and staff from the University of Huamanga, said Radio Programas del Peru, known as RPP. Three students and a professor were among those killed, RPP said.
Two of the dead were Colombians, RPP said.
The vehicle came to rest more than 100 meters (328 feet) below the road, in the rocky Mantaro River, Andina said.
Officials were still investigating the cause of the accident Monday. The bus was operated by the Molina Union transportation company, Andina said.
When people from rural Peru move to Lima, the capital, they're looking for a better life. But things can be tough.
It's hard to find a job in the city. The jobs they can get—bus driver, street vendor, construction worker—don't pay well.
And the cheapest area to live is high on steep hills on the edge of the city, where landslides are common and water is scarce.
German conservationists and biologists Kai Tiedemann and Anne Lummerich, who run Alimón, a small nonprofit that supports Latin American development, are trying to help with the last of those problems. Since 2006 they've been working with new settlements on the outskirts of Lima to set up special nets that scoop water directly from the air.
(See pictures of the fog-catching nets in Peru.)
Rain rarely falls on these dry hills. The annual precipitation in Lima is about half an inch (1.5 centimeters), and the city gets its water from far-off Andean lakes.
But every winter, from June to November, dense fog sweeps in from the Pacific Ocean.
With a few thousand dollars and some volunteer labor, a village can set up fog-collecting nets that gather hundreds of gallons of water a day—without a single drop of rain falling.
Ancient Technique, Modern Salvation?
As far back as 2,000 years ago, desert villages and other rain-starved communities around the world may have started harvesting fog that collected as water and dripped from trees, said Robert Schemenauer, executive director of FogQuest, a Canadian nonprofit organization that helps communities set up simple collection devices.
Serious work on collecting fog started about a hundred years ago. Since then, fog catchers have been used successfully—though on a small scale—all over the world.
end of excerptWhen people from rural Peru move to Lima, the capital, they're looking for a better... more
At least two stolen dogs were found in an operating room used for dissections at the medical school of South America's oldest university, but its dean denied relying on dognappers to collect specimens for classes.
The University of San Marcos does not have access to enough human cadavers for its students, so they sometimes cut open dogs instead.
Carmen Valverde's dog Tomas was stolen by two men while she was walking in the working-class Brena district of Lima, and a friend who works at the school's teaching hospital spotted him by chance in a surgery room where dogs are dissected.
Valverde donned a lab coat and snuck into the hospital to rescue Tomas. Video her friend shot a week ago, aired on local television, shows him sedated, splayed, and strapped to a stainless steel table -— just moments away from the knife.
After local newspapers published the story, other people missing dogs rushed to the hospital's door and one owner found her dog Chico.
"The University of San Marcos still hasn't apologized for what it has done," Valverde told Reuters Thursday.
Ricardo Rubios, dean of the medical school, acknowledged that stolen dogs had wound up in the surgery room, but said the school only uses strays for classes.
"I assure you we would have returned the dog. All our experimental surgeries are done to dogs that don't have owners," Rubios told Reuters.
Romila Briones, a member of ASPPA, a Peruvian animal rights group, said the law does not protect strays.
"In Europe, they don't kill animals for education, they use dummies. Unfortunately, animals are just property in the eyes of the law here, like furniture," Briones said.At least two stolen dogs were found in an operating room used for dissections at the... more
Across the globe, as mining and oil firms race for dwindling resources, indigenous peoples are battling to defend their lands – often paying the ultimate price.
It has been called the world's second "oil war", but the only similarity between Iraq and events in the jungles of northern Peru over the last few weeks has been the mismatch of force. On one side have been the police armed with automatic weapons, teargas, helicopter gunships and armoured cars. On the other are several thousand Awajun and Wambis Indians, many of them in war paint and armed with bows and arrows and spears.
In some of the worst violence seen in Peru in 20 years, the Indians this week warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6bn barrels of oil and take as much timber they like. After months of peaceful protests, the police were ordered to use force to remove a road bock near Bagua Grande.
In the fights that followed, at least 50 Indians and nine police officers were killed, with hundreds more wounded or arrested. The indigenous rights group Survival International described it as "Peru's Tiananmen Square".
"For thousands of years, we've run the Amazon forests," said Servando Puerta, one of the protest leaders. "This is genocide. They're killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity."
Yesterday, as riot police broke up more demonstrations in Lima and a curfew was imposed on many Peruvian Amazonian towns, President Garcia backed down in the face of condemnation of the massacre. He suspended – but only for three months – the laws that would allow the forest to be exploited. No one doubts the clashes will continue.
Peru is just one of many countries now in open conflict with its indigenous people over natural resources. Barely reported in the international press, there have been major protests around mines, oil, logging and mineral exploitation in Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America. Hydro electric dams, biofuel plantations as well as coal, copper, gold and bauxite mines are all at the centre of major land rights disputes.
A massive military force continued this week to raid communities opposed to oil companies' presence on the Niger delta. The delta, which provides 90% of Nigeria's foreign earnings, has always been volatile, but guns have flooded in and security has deteriorated. In the last month a military taskforce has been sent in and helicopter gunships have shelled villages suspected of harbouring militia. Thousands of people have fled. Activists from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta have responded by killing 12 soldiers and this week set fire to a Chevron oil facility. Yesterday seven more civilians were shot by the military.
The escalation of violence came in the week that Shell agreed to pay £9.7m to ethnic Ogoni families – whose homeland is in the delta – who had led a peaceful uprising against it and other oil companies in the 1990s, and who had taken the company to court in New York accusing it of complicity in writer Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution in 1995.
Meanwhile in West Papua, Indonesian forces protecting some of the world's largest mines have been accused of human rights violations. Hundreds of tribesmen have been killed in the last few years in clashes between the army and people with bows and arrows.
"An aggressive drive is taking place to extract the last remaining resources from indigenous territories," says Victoria Tauli-Corpus, an indigenous Filipino and chair of the UN permanent forum on indigenous issues. "There is a crisis of human rights. There are more and more arrests, killings and abuses.
...full article at linkAcross the globe, as mining and oil firms race for dwindling resources, indigenous... more
Illegal logging is a threat to the rainforests of Peru. But the indigenous communities are using both ancient knowledge and modern technology to protect biodiversity and stop further destruction.
The lush green of the rain forest offers rich natural resources which the Ashaninka Indians have lived on for centuries. At the Yoreka Atame school of primeval forestry in Brazil, young indigenous and non-indigenous people have been learning how to make use of them in a sustainable way.
Since 2007, the school has taught more than 2,000 participants skills like the cultivating fruit trees, keeping bees, and erecting dams in creeks and lakes to enhance spawning grounds for fish.
"That's how we Ashaninka Indians here in the border region between Brazil and Peru want to pass on our traditional knowledge," said Moises Piyako. He cofounded the Yoreka Atame school together with his brother Benki in 2007.
Political problems between Brazil and its neighbor Peru make life complicated for the indigenous people in the border region.
"We are suffering from Peruvian logging companies, and now the Peruvian government also wants to dig for oil along the border," said Moises Piyako.
Illegal timber-fellers from Peru are increasingly encroaching on the rainforest on both sides of the border.
The land and its resources belong to the Ashaninka, according to the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169 adopted by the International Labour Organisation, ILO. It recognizes the rights of ownership of the peoples over the lands which they traditionally occupy. But Peru has been trying to circumnavigate international law by granting mining concessions for areas that are owned by indigenous peoples.
"In the process, Peruvian timber companies even illegally enter Brazilian territory," said Ashaninka spokesman Benki Piyako. "Illegal logging is putting our whole region and its biodiversity at risk." (more at link)
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So, to protect their land, they use GPS technology, vlogging, monitoring, satellite photos to show the deforestation, etc. They even sell CO2 certificates.Illegal logging is a threat to the rainforests of Peru. But the indigenous communities... more
Police prepare to arrest indigenous leader who was shot 8 times during protest upon his release from hospital.
UN Special Rapporteur report calls for immediate review of legal charges against indigenous leaders
Lima, Peru - San Francisco-based Amazon Watch is among dozens of human rights organizations calling on the Peruvian government to drop legal charges against Santiago Manuin Valera, the highly revered Awajun indigenous leader currently recovering from injuries suffered during attack on protesters by Peruvian Police on June 5th. Manuin, who was unarmed, was shot eight times as he approached Peruvian special police, attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution to end the police attack on the blockade in Bagua, in the Amazonas Province. Currently, a squadron of police officers is standing by to arrest Manuin upon his discharge from a Chiclayo hospital where he has been undergoing surgery and rehabilitation. The government of Peruvian President Alan García has accused Manuin of being responsible for the two days of violence that ensued the June 5th police attack, resulting in 34 deaths and over 200 injuries.
Francisco Soberón, Executive Director of Peruvian human rights organization APRODEH, called the criminal charges politically motivated. "We have no doubt that behind Santiago Manuin's capture order there are pressures that don't have to do with legal considerations but that follow the political logic of the criminalization of social protest in Peru."
Five other indigenous leaders have been forced into exile and hiding after warrants were issued for their arrest on the charge of being "apologists for terrorism" and planning to overthrow the state for their appearance in a press conference in May. The government is pursuing over a dozen legal proceedings against regional and national leaders. Most of these leaders were not in Bagua on July 5th, however the government continues to hold them materially and intellectually responsible for the events that day. Police have raided indigenous organization offices and communities, as many leaders live in fear of imminent arrest. Investigations have focused exclusively on indigenous people and not the police violence that resulted in over 200 people being hospitalized after the government's violent clampdown on the protests.
"There must be an impartial and independent investigation into the June 5th violence in order to create a climate of reconciliation and peace with indigenous people. The intimidation and politically motivated persecution of indigenous leaders must stop," said Atossa Soltani, Executive Director of Amazon Watch. "The government cannot engage in meaningful dialogue with indigenous communities to resolve conflict if their elected leaders are in exile, hiding, or jail."
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, recently made public his final report on the Bagua assault. In his report, Anaya echoes the concerns of indigenous communities and civil society groups. The report highlights the immediate need for an impartial investigation, review of charges against indigenous leaders including Santiago Manuin and AIDESEP President Alberto Pizango, and creation of a framework law on indigenous community consultation.
Peru has prevented several foreign companies from taking out patents on products by demonstrating that they were developed using the traditional knowledge of Peruvians.
Over the past few months, the Peruvian National Commission Against Biopiracy has shown authorities from France, Japan, Korea and the United States that products submitted for patents were developed using the traditional knowledge of Peruvian people.
It showed that the products lacked the innovation and inventiveness required for patents.
"This is a good example of how coordinated action between the state, the business sector and civil society can prevent inappropriately granted patents related to genetic resources and traditional knowledge," Andrés Valladolid, technical coordinator at the commission, told SciDev.Net.
The products are derived from Lepidium meyenii, Plukenetia volubilis Linneo and Myrciaria dubia — three plants well known among indigenous Peruvian populations for their medicinal properties.
"I suspect a lot of developing countries will be quite impressed by what Peru has achieved and may consider doing something similar by establishing a department to investigate biopiracy allegations," says Graham Dutfield, professor of international governance at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
"Some will say that the refusal of the patents shows how well the patent system can operate. Consequently, it is a matter of monitoring the situation and gathering prior evidence to attack questionable patent applications," Dutfield adds.Peru has prevented several foreign companies from taking out patents on products by... more
A $27 billion lawsuit brought by an Ecuadorian attorney against Chevron-Texaco blames the oil company for crude spills that have polluted Ecuador's formerly pristine Amazon jungle. Yet, in what would be the biggest environmental lawsuit in history (costing the equivalent of half Ecuador's gross domestic product), two important parties are missing from the picture: the Ecuadorian government and its state-owned company, Petroecuador.
For years, radical environmentalists have blamed American companies for pollution while blithely ignoring the environmental damage wrought by state-owned companies that is commonplace in the Andes.
Consider the case of the Andean community of La Oroya, Peru, in which an antiquated government-operated smelter turned into what Newsweek once described as "a vision from hell." Fortunately for La Oroya, the American mining company Doe Run bought the facility in 2007, installed modern pollution controls and launched numerous civic projects. Nevertheless, several years later, Oxfam and Christian Aid, two of the world's largest nongovernmental organizations, accused Doe Run Peru of polluting the air and water. Neither group ever complained when the state-run company operated and heavily polluted La Oroya.
This is not the first such suit against Chevron. In 1993, Massachusetts-based lawyer Cristobal Bonifaz and New York-based attorney Steven Donziger--who is advising the plaintiffs in the current suit--sued Chevron-Texaco for $1.5 billion, claiming that its operations had led to increased cancer deaths in Ecuador. A court in California dismissed the suit on the grounds that at least three of the plaintiffs did not have cancer at all, and fined Bonifaz $45,000. Now Donziger is back for another round.A $27 billion lawsuit brought by an Ecuadorian attorney against Chevron-Texaco blames... more
Hey everyone - It's Tuesday. A couple of stories for you today and some links below. I'm definitely interested in hearing your opinions on the war in Afghanistan. Do you think it's going well? Do you think the US should still be there? Do you think American public opinion still supports it?Hey everyone - It's Tuesday. A couple of stories for you today and some links below.... more
7 1/2 years for embezzelment.
6 years for stealing evidence
25 years for controlling death squads
He eliminated terrorism in Peru, but did it at the cost of innocent lives.
The guy is 76 years old and facing the prospect of dying in prison. Must've done some harsh stuff right? Yet there are protests in his own country about his sentencing and if his daughter gets into government, shes promised to pardon him.
This story's got plenty more twists in the tale...
Google Shing Path/Peru/Death squads and see for yourself!7 1/2 years for embezzelment.
6 years for stealing evidence
25 years for controlling... more
Amnesty International has released a new report titled, 'Fatal Flaws:Barriers to Maternal Health in Peru. The repot found that poor, rural, and indigenous women are being denied the same healthcare as other women in the country, resulting in 185 women out of 100,000 dying in childbirth. In developed countries this number is around 9 out 100,000. Amnesty's Peru researcher said, "The rates of maternal mortality in Peru are scandalous. The fact that so many women are dying from preventable causes is a human rights violation. The Peruvian state is simply ignoring its obligation to provide adequate maternal healthcare to all women, regardless of who they are and where they live."Amnesty International has released a new report titled, 'Fatal Flaws:Barriers to... more
When dense fog sweeps in from the Pacific Ocean, special nets on a hillside near Lima, Peru, catch the moisture and provide precious water to an area that gets very little rainfall--about half an inch (1.5 centimeters) a year.
The nets stand perpendicular to the prevailing wind, which blows fog into the coarse, woven plastic mesh. From there, drops of fog-water fall into gutters that carry the water to collection tanks.
Since 2006 the nets--designed by German conservationists Kai Tiedemann and Anne Lummerich--have helped provide the village of Bellavista, 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Lima, with hundreds of gallons of water each day during the foggy winter months of June to November.When dense fog sweeps in from the Pacific Ocean, special nets on a hillside near Lima,... more
Almost 250 children under the age of five have died in a wave of intensely cold weather in Peru.
Children die from pneumonia and other respiratory infections every year during the winter months particularly in Peru's southern Andes.
But this year freezing temperatures arrived almost three months earlier than usual.
Experts blame climate change for the early arrival of intense cold which began in March.
Winter in the region does not usually begin until June.
The extreme cold, which has brought snow, hail, freezing temperatures and strong winds, has killed more children than recorded annually for the past four years.
A total of 246 under the age of five have died so far, only half way through the winter months.
One third of the deaths were registered in the southern region of Puno, much of which is covered by a high plateau known as the altiplano which extends into neighbouring Bolivia.
Aid workers say prolonged exposure to the cold is causing hypothermia and deadly respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
Children, who are often malnourished, are more vulnerable to the extreme cold.
Poverty is widespread in Peru's southern highlands and there is a lack of healthcare and basic services.
The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas but critics say the cold snaps are predictable and the annual deaths preventable.
Many have blamed government inefficiency for the deaths.
But Peru's Health Minister, Oscar Ugarte, has said regional officials have not effectively distributed government resources.
Meanwhile in the capital, Lima, it has become an annual ritual for businesses and ordinary citizens to donate blankets, clothes and food for the victims of the cold weather in the south of the country.Almost 250 children under the age of five have died in a wave of intensely cold... more
More than thirty protestors and police died after an indigenous Indian blockade of a highway in northern Peru was violently broken up by the authorities on 5th June 2009. According to reports, around 200 people were wounded.
The protests, in place since 9th April, were in response to government laws and policies that violate indigenous peoples’ rights and make it easier for outsiders to seize control of their territories.
Tribal rights NGO Survival International has published this video in which eyewitnesses to the recent violence in Peru’s Amazon give a dramatic account of what happened.
