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Peru revokes decrees that sparked Amazon Indian uprising



Peru’s Congress revoked two controversial land laws that sparked violent conflicts between indigenous protesters and police in the country’s Amazon region. The move temporarily defuses a two-week crisis, with protesters agreeing to stand down by removing blockades from roads and rivers.



Congress voted 82-14 Thursday to overturn legislative decrees 1090 and 1064, which would have facilitated foreign development of Amazon land. Indigenous groups said the decrees threatened millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest and undermined their traditional land use rights.



Decree 1090, the forest and wildlife law, removed protected status from some 45 million hectares of Peruvian forest. Decree 1064 made it easier for companies with concessions to get changes in zoning permits directly from Peru’s central government, without needing approval of local communities, according to Reuters. Eight other decrees remain in place. The decrees were issued by President Alan Garcia last year in order to implement a free-trade pact with the United States.






Photos © 2009 Marijke Deleu

“Today is a historic day,” said Daysi Zapata, acting president of AIDESEP, Peru’s national Amazonian indigenous organization. “We are grateful that the will of the indigenous peoples has been heard and we only hope that in the future governments listen and attend to indigenous peoples, and not legislate behind their backs.”



While the repeal of the decrees has been hailed as a victory for indigenous groups, some observers question whether the root issues have been addressed.



“Will repealing the laws solve the problem? I doubt it,” said a Peruvian journalist who asked not to be named. “The issues underlying the conflict are a) inclusion of indigenous people, who have been excluded for 500-plus years, in the country’s social, political and economic life, and b) visions of how the Amazon should be developed.”



“García published an essay in Oct 1997 in which he basically slammed indigenous people and environmentalists for promoting the protection of ‘idle’ land in Amazonia when those resources could be developed to alleviate the country’s high levels of poverty. That pretty much defines his view of natural resources. The only hope for a middle ground is a system of payment for environmental services, but I’m not sure that will be enough to stem the tide of fuel crops, timber and oil and gas prospecting.”



Photo © 2009 Marijke Deleu

The Peruvian government has recently signaled interest in the emerging payments for ecosystem services concept embodied in REDD, a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change by reducing emissions from tropical deforestation. Under the measure, industrialized nations would pay developing countries to conserve their forests.



But Peru’s approach on the issue has so far been disjointed and perhaps at odds with indigenous people, who have had little say in the process. Further, in its initial proposal, the government has offered a pittance to indigenous communities for maintaining their forests — 5 soles per hectare ($0.68/acre) on land that stores hundreds of tons of carbon and could be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars in a global carbon market.



“The ministry hasn’t really talked about the proposal with the indigenous communities – a lesson I hope they’ve learned by now,” said the Lima-based journalist.



Photo © 2009 Marijke Deleu

In addition to overturning the two most controversial decrees, the government has agreed to engage in dialog with indigenous citizens, forming a working group. It has also canceled the state of emergency, which implemented martial law and a media blackout in several Amazon provinces.



Analysts expect President Garcia to reshuffle his cabinet next month. Yehude Simon, Garcia’s cabinet chief and a lightning rod for criticism during the crisis, has already said he will step down.



Garcia has also admitted mistakes in the handling of the protests, which violently escalated when he ordered in federal police to remove a road blockade near the town of Bagua. Two dozen police officers and anywhere from 10 to 140 protestors (numbers have yet to be confirmed) where killed during the confrontation.



“There comes a time to recognize that there were a series of errors,” he said in a speech last week.


Additional commentary from a Peruvian biologist





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