WE DEMAND to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation to invalidate the updating of the. National Palm Oil Plan becaus
PUBLIC DECLARATION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PERÚ, OLLANTA HUMALA TASSO PRESIDENT OF THE JUDICIARY, VÍCTOR TICONA POSTIGO GENERAL ATTORNEY, PABLO SÁNCHEZ VELARDE NATIONAL COMPTROLLER OF THE REPUBLIC, FUAD KHOURY ZARZAR OMBUDSMAN, EDUARDO VEGA LUNA MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION, LUIS BENITES MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, MANUEL PULGAR VIDAL TO PUBLIC OPINION AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY We, the undersigned, representatives of the Organizations of Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, representatives of agrarian organizations, affected local people and civil society organizations, hereby state as follows: •
In recent decades, the Peruvian State, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has been promoting the expansion of agro-industrial monoculture of oil palm and cocoa, papayas, and others, that generate the deforestation of thousands of hectares of primary forests in the Peruvian Amazon, which up to 2016, have caused the loss of 91,413 hectares of forest in the regions of Loreto, San Martin and Ucayali.
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The MINAGRI, SERFOR 1 and certain Regional Governments have not been performing their monitoring and control duties, allowing business groups to illegally access areas of primary forests, forest land and protected areas, and perpetrate alleged environmental crimes such as illegal logging in large tracts of forest, traffic of land and forest, the dispossession of lands from indigenous peoples and local communities in poverty, soil erosion, pollution and destruction of streams and waterways, loss of biodiversity, and a reduction of the productive capacity of the forests, all of which undermine the living conditions and food security of the affected populations.
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Between 2013 and 2015, 22,076 hectares of primary forest were deforested: 2,126 ha in Tamshiyacu (Loreto), 8,200 ha in San Martin and 11,750 ha in Nueva Requena (Ucayali). It is estimated that losses from the destruction of forest in Tamshiyacu amount to more than 170 million Soles. An estimate of over 803 million Soles in economic losses has been made from deforestation in Nueva Requena 2, an amount which multiplies itself if we take into account the loss of access and benefit from the many social functions and ecosystem of
National Forest and Wildlife Service SPDE. 2014. Valuation of Environmental Goods and Services lost by the Deforestation in Tamshiyacu (Loreto) and Nueva Requena (Ucayali). In: http://www.biofuelobservatory.org/Documentos/Submission-to-the-USTR/6ta-Comunicacion/Valorizacion-de-danos-pordeforestacion-Loreto-y-Ucayali-2014.pdf 1 2
tropical forests. Added to this, is the fact that there are 106,212.6 hectares of forest at risk of being adjudicated for expansion of cocoa and oil palm cultivation. •
The detriment to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is increasing and they are systematically being neglected by the regional authorities and the Central Government, such as: - The native community of Santa Clara of Uchunya (Ucayali), which is home to more than 760 citizens of the Shipibo-Conibo people, claims to have been affected as a result of the Regional Government of Ucayali selling the company Plantaciones de Ucayali S.A.C., the ownership of 4,759 hectares of forests in an area which was seeking to be recognized as part of the ancestral territory of the community. - In the village of Bajo Rayal, District of Nueva Requena (Ucayali), villagers claim that in 2013, employees of the company Plantaciones Ucayali S.A., felled and burned approximately 1,000 hectares of primary forest, pastures and crops from farmers in the area. Additionally, there has been a diversion of the course of the Boayo gorge, and an artificial canal has been built, bringing about pollution of the creek and the water used by local people for daily consumption. - In the District of Tamshiyacu (Loreto), in 2013, some families of small farmers claim that they were tricked and blackmailed by people linked to the company Cacao del Peru Norte S.A.C., into selling their land at a price far below its real value. - In the District of Barranquita (San Martín), there are approximately near 5,199 people who have been suffering damages in their quality of life as a consequence of deforestation of 2,000 hectares of primary forest by the company Palmas del Oriente S.A., as well as by the altering of their water sources. Residents who inhabited the areas surrounding the growing area of the company claim that they were violently evicted from their land and that different new settlers are attracted to invade the forest with the promise that the company will later buy the plots.
In view of the serious violation of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples and Amazonian communities, as well as the obvious violation of environmental law and the rule of law, we require the following: WE DEMAND to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation to suspend all land adjudication and approval of projects for agro-industrial and agro-energy monoculture, until the process for the titling and physical and legal reorganization of the land and territories of Indigenous Peoples is completed and as long as there is no approved Land Management Policy, Ecological and Economic Zones approved at the regional level, and detailed studies of soil classification conducted. A suspension, which must be further supported because state authorities such as the MINAM, MINAGRI and the Ombudsman, have recognized the need to address the gaps and contradictions present in the existing legislation and institutions to be able to process requests for plantations, preventing the destruction of the forest and the violation of indigenous and social rights. WE DEMAND to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation to invalidate the updating of the National Palm Oil Plan because the promotion of this crop will exacerbate the situation of the Indigenous Peoples and local communities affected by the expansion of this monoculture and will generate situations of risk for others. Furthermore, the plan will also promote the commission of further crimes associated with trafficking of land, the destruction of the forest and water pollution.
WE URGE the Prosecutor's Office and the Special Prosecutors in Environmental Matters of Loreto, Ucayali and Lima, to quickly and efficiently perform their duty and investigate and bring criminal charges for those responsible for crimes against the forest and forest formations. There are currently complaints against the companies Cacao del Perú Norte S.A.C., Plantaciones Ucayali S.A.C., Sociedad Agrícola Caynarachi S.A., Palmas de Shanusi S.A. and Palmas del Oriente S.A. We also call for an investigation to promptly be conducted, to determine those responsible for the alleged crimes of damages to the forest and illegal logging, as well as irregularities in the procedure for adjudication of land in the Regional Government of Loreto, since there is a latent risk of deforestation involving 106,212.6 hectares of primary forest, in the various applications which are being fast tracked for large plantations. WE EXPECT the Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutors Specialized in Criminal Matters, in Loreto and Ucayali to diligently investigate and process complaints for alleged usurpation of land and damages caused to property, against the companies Plantaciones Ucayali S.A.C., Cacao del Perú Norte S.A.C., Palmas de Shanusi S.A. WE URGE the Public Prosecutor of the Ministry of the Environment to monitor and give impetus to investigations and prosecutions against overt evidence of environmental crimes. We demand for the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and SERFOR to be consistent with the commitment in the context of the Framework Convention of the United Nations on Climate Change, to preserve 54 million hectares of primary tropical forests by 2021 and to reduce greenhouse gases emissions in the country by 2030, as much as 30%. WE DEMAND for all companies of the Business Group of American citizen Dennis Melka to leave the country because of the serious damages being caused to Indigenous Peoples, local communities, farmers, public entities and the environment in Peru. Inter-Ethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Jungle - AIDESEP Ucayali AIDESEP Regional Organization - ORAU Federation of Native Communities of Ucayali – FECONAU Santa Clara de Uchunya Native Community Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the East – Loreto ORPIO Coordinator for the Development and Defense of Indigenous Peoples of San Martín Region CODEPISAM Ethnic Council of the Amazonian Kichwa Peoples – CEPKA Kené – Forest and Environmental Studies Institute OXFAM Perú
Farming Community of San José Obrero – San Martín Region Iquitos Water Defense Committee – Loreto Region Legal Defense Institute – IDL Fernando Lores Livestock Breeders Association Peruvian Natural Resources Institute Fire Fighting Committee of Bajo Rayal in Nueva Requena – Ucayali National Network for the Promotion of Women – Ucayali Affiliate Center of Studies in Solidarity with Latin America Regional Coordinator of AIDESEP Indigenous Peoples – Atalaya Federation of Native Communities of Yine Yane, Urubamba River – FECONAVY Loreto Fernando Lores Agrarian Association Livestock Breeders, Ecological and Fish Farming Producers Association of Padre Abad District – Ucayali - ASHPAZETA Regional Force of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon of Atalaya Province - URPIA Asociación Civil Puente de la Amistad (Bridge of Friendship Civil Association) - ACELPA Environmental Investigation Agency – EIA Lima, March 29, 2016
