Who benefits from Peru's wealth? Oil exploitation in the Peruvian Amazon

In Peru, the exploitation of raw materials represents a fundamental issue for the national economy. But very often, these activities do not benefit the development of local populations. Inequalities are not decreasing and poverty is significant in regions where resources are massively exploited. In addition, this exploitation generates considerable socio-environmental conflicts, some of which take place in the Peruvian Amazon, in the department of Loreto, where the survival of indigenous communities is jeopardized by oil exploitation.

The department of Loreto is the largest department in Peru. It is formed by seven provinces, including that of Maynas, which in turn includes 13 districts, notably that of Napo in reference to the river which crosses it. More than half of the population of this district is indigenous ^[1]Article 1 of ILO Convention 169 defines the term indigenous by referring to “populations who lived in the country or in a geographical region belonging to the country to… Continue reading, mainly “Kichwa”, and is called “Naporuna” for the close relationship that connects it to the river. The Napo River is the central element of community life. It allows them to feed, wash and move around. The history of the Amazonian population is fraught with suffering. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the natives were enslaved to exploit rubber for the benefit of Europeans. Today, oil confronts the population with new social and economic processes influenced by new actors: extractive companies. Several resources arouse the desire of businesses in the province of Maynas: wood, minerals, oil. Hydrocarbon extraction is predominant there. It is granted by the government, but very often without prior consultation ^[2]Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) recognizes the right to prior consultation. This right implies that indigenous populations must be consulted… Continue reading Population. The operating conditions defined by the government do not guarantee the protection of local populations. The “Perenco” case in the province of Maynas is an eloquent example. The “Perenco” case in the province of Maynas In 1995, despite Peru’s ratification of the ILO Convention 169, the Peruvian State grants the hydrocarbon exploitation permit for lot 67 ^[3]An oil lot is an oil concession over a given territory. The State can sell the right to an oil company to extract and/or exploit oil on a … Continue reading has the Franco-British company “Perenco” ^[4]The company is also a shareholder at 55%, of lot 39, also present in the Napo district. This lot is a compromise between the Perenco companies and the Spanish company Repsol: … Continue reading without any popular consultation. No environmental impact study (EIA) was carried out at that time but exploitation began nonetheless. It was only in 2012 that the State carried out and approved the EIA for the exploitation of lot 67, again without consulting the communities. It thus officially grants the right to the company to extract oil there until 2031. However, this does not prevent “Perenco” in 2009 from submitting a request for the construction of 14 other oil wells that the government approved the same year. At that time, the communities protested against this decision by blocking the river passage to the oil company. In response, the President of the Republic at the time, Alan García, called in the Peruvian navy to allow “Perenco” to continue the exploitation of hydrocarbons. This event takes place one month before Baguazo conflict in the Amazon region Amazonas, which led to the death of 34 people ^[5]More than 200 people were injured, 83 were arrested, including 18 people put in prison.. Since 1995, the Perenco company has produced and exploited oil from batch 67. This batch represents more than 41% of the area of the Napo district. It is located on territory belonging to the “Arabela Buena Vista” indigenous community. Since the arrival of the company, many indigenous people have left their communities considered to be areas of direct impact. Even more, lots 67 and 39 overlap with the “Pucacuro” nature reserve and several territories of indigenous populations in voluntary isolation ^[6]The notion of voluntary isolation refers to the fact that the population has freely sought isolation in a specific region for its own reasons.. Oil extraction and transportation activities take place in the reserve. The absence of a land management policy facilitates the presence of oil companies. Geo-referential information on the exact location and boundaries of communities is lacking. Many people do not have a property title, a document proving that a community lives on a given territory. In order to receive such a title, each community must first be recognized by the State as an “indigenous community”, a recognition without which it is not possible to submit the application for property title. In the Napo district, there are approximately 133 indigenous communities, of which 74 communities are recognized as indigenous communities by the national government and 59 are not. This implies that the territory can be grabbed at any time by extractive companies to exploit the resources there. Today, exploitation continues in lot 67 but communities continue to resist its undeniable impacts. Consequences of oil exploitation Naporunas protest against consequences extractive activities: contamination of the river, soil and destruction of the ecosystem due to frequent leaks from outdated oil pipelines. The destruction of fauna and flora involves the death of domestic animals (chickens, pigs, etc.) which drink contaminated river water. Wild animals are fleeing ever deeper into the forest and communities are having to walk further to be able to hunt. The contamination of the river not only affects the people of the Napo, but also all other forms of life, such as fish and animals living off the river water. It is therefore the food security of communities that is put at risk. Furthermore, for these populations, the territory is not only a physical space, but also a space on which their history and culture are anchored. The latter being affected, the culture of these populations is also affected. These consequences violate the rights of communities, enshrined in ILO Convention 169 and in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in particular the rights to health, a healthy environment, food, prior consultation, territory and cultural identity. Due to poor maintenance of oil pipelines, oil spills from the company “Petroperú” took place on January 25 and February 3 in the Peruvian regions Amazonas y Loreto. More than 3,000 barrels of oil directly affected the ecosystem and the population in northern Peru and 12 people died in February. Following the February 3 spill, the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency (OEFA) issued a regulation ordering the company to implement a maintenance program to repair pipelines in a time interval of one week. “Petroperú” failed to meet the requirements of the OEFA and was fined $17 million. However, due to a lack of transparency, extractive companies that have been sanctioned in recent years have often found compromises in order to avoid any constraints. The river transport of oil in the Napo is also not carried out without danger. The boats are large and their daily passages ^[7]Since 2013, night transport has been prohibited. in the river create waves which overturn the people's canoes. In 2013, a canoe carrying a family of three overturned and one person died. Oil exploitation often creates a vicious circle from which communities cannot escape. Environmental contamination affects the health, family economy and educational development of children. People generally cannot find a solution to lift their families out of the misery caused by oil exploitation which harms their productive activities. They sometimes drift towards alcohol which also leads to family violence. The arrival of a market economy causes the abandonment of traditional and ethnic elements specific to the community, as well as the loss of cultural identity. In order to earn money for their families, some women and girls engage in prostitution, often alongside those who work for companies. The presence of these companies in the territory causes conflicts within a community. Some people accept job offers from extractive companies. However, by doing so, they appropriate the local collective resource. This creates conflicts between communities or between members of the same community. The “Naporunas” are affected every year by the oil spill in the river that arrives from Ecuador and which is caused, among others, by the American oil company “Chevron”, a company that has been active in the country for more than 20 years. However, on September 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the multinational must pay $9.5 billion to Ecuadorian communities in order to finance the cleaning and restoration of the natural environment. The Peruvian communities, for their part, do not know if they will also be able to receive part of the sum and thus assert their rights. The indigenous federations FECONAMNCUA and ORKIWAN Faced with this problem of indigenous organizations were created to denounce the injustices that communities experience on a daily basis. The FECONAMNCUA (Federation of Native Communities of Medio Napo, Curaray and Arabela) and ORKIWAN (Kichwaruna Wangurina Organization of Alto Napo) federations aim to find strategies to preserve their culture, protect and conserve their territory. They thus wish to contribute to the preservation and development of the Amazon. The development of the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (ACR-MK) is an example of the strategies implemented. Environmental protection is essential for communities. In 2008, as part of the program for conservation, management and sustainable use of biological diversity of the regional government of Loreto (PROCREL), the idea of creating a protected natural area was proposed by the Maijuna ethnic group. The existence of a protected natural area means that the territory included in the area cannot be put under concession by the national government and that the exploitation of natural resources is therefore prohibited. The development of a protected natural area involves prior consultation of the populations located in the territory concerned by the government. This consultation took place on June 23, 2013 with the Maijuna population. The process of developing and establishing a protected natural area can extend over a period ranging from 6 months to 5 years depending on the evolution of the different stages necessary for its creation. ^[8]IRENA, Box of herramientas for the management of conservation areas, Lima, Peru, 2008, p.14. . However, seven years after the request was made, the procedure was still blocked. However, the indigenous federations FECONAMAI (Federation of Native Maijuna Communities), FECONAMNCUA and the Support Committee for the management of the ACR-MK proposal had respected all the criteria. Finally, in June 2015, the State approved the creation of the “Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (ACR-MK)” encompassing the territory ^[9]The future Maijuna-Kichwa protected natural area has an area of 399,280 hectares. of the Kichwa and Maijuna ethnic groups. It remains to be seen whether the content of the decree will be concretely applied on the ground. For more support from political power Despite the recognition of the ACR-MK by the State, inequalities in the region are far from being overcome. The department of Loreto includes the percentage of the population lacking basic needs ^[10]Primary needs are those linked to the survival of a human being: food (growth), respiration (oxygen), hydration (water), etc. is the highest in the country. In 2014, this rate ^[11]NACIONAL INSTITUTE OF ESTADISTICA AND INFORMATICA (INEI), amounted to 58.3%. Although the extraction of raw materials is a priority for the economic balance of the Peruvian State, it is essential that the latter develop policies of prevention, transparency, access to information for local populations and management in the social and environmental fields. This must involve the creation of spaces for dialogue between the government, businesses and federations, which guarantee that populations are taken into account; and this not only in the province of Maynas, but also throughout the national territory. Unfortunately, neither Keiko Fujimori nor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, both candidates in the presidential election of June 5, 2016, do not seem to be concerned about the consequences of activities extractives that take place on the territories of indigenous communities. However, in the South as in the North, we consume oil extracted in the Amazon. The European Union, which imports this oil, should ensure that it is extracted while respecting the rights of the populations. And that European companies active in this region demonstrate due diligence [Due diligence generally refers to the steps that an ordinarily reasonable and prudent person would take to properly detect and manage actual or potential risks in order to mitigate their negative impact and avoid harm, Read the Justice and Peace analysis [ Business “due diligence”]]. The behavior of each citizen is also essential to put pressure on the political world. But also influence economic models through daily consumption gestures to reduce the injustices suffered by the populations of the Amazon. Global change will then perhaps be possible. Bibliographie Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Centro Amazónico de Antropología y Aplicación Práctica (CAAAP), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Conflictos y Amazonía. Diagnóstico. Mitigación de conflictos sociales y desarrollo de la Amazonía”, Proyecto “Mitigación de Conflictos y Desarrollo de la Amazonía”, CRS, Perú, 2012, consulté le 25 avril 2014. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Centro Amazónico de Antropología y Aplicación Práctica (CAAAP), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Informe de Balanca de Conflictos Socioambientales Amazónicos”, CRS, Perú, 2013, consulté le 29 avril 2014. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Centro Amazónico de Antropología y Aplicación Práctica (CAAAP), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Reporte de seguimiento de conflictos socioambientales seleccionados en las zonas de Napo, Lamas, Condorcanqui y Satipo”, CRS, Lima, 2013, consulté le 03 mai 2014. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Derecho a la consulta previa”, CEAS, Lima, 2012, pp.1-8., consulté le 02 mai 2014. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “El derecho al territorio de los pueblos indígenas de la Amazonia”, CEAS, Lima, 2013, pp.1-8., consulté le 02 mai 2014. http://www.ceas.org.pe/publicaciones/0000000_DERECHO%20AL%20TERRITORIO.pdf DEFENSORÍA DEL PUEBLO, “Reporte de conflictos sociales N°139”, Setpiembre 2015, Lima, p.8., consulté le 30 octobre 2015. Disponible en ligne : http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/conflictos-sociales/objetos/paginas/6/48reporte-mensual-de-conflictos-sociales-n-139-septi.pdf DEFENSORÍA DEL PUEBLO, “Reporte de conflictos sociales N°146”, Abril 2016, Lima. Disponible en ligne : http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/conflictos-sociales/home.php http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/modules/Downloads/informes/varios/2009/informe-adjuntia-006-2009-DP-DHPD.pdf Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Cooperación Alemana al Desarrollo Proyecto peruano – alemán Promoviendo la Implementación del Derecho a la Consulta Previa, “Consulta previa a la área de conservación regional Maijuna-Kichwa”, Lima, Pérou, 2014. Disponible en ligne : http://www.consulta-previa.org.pe/publicaciones/Consulta_previa_Maijuna_Kichwa.pdf, consulté le 27 février 2015. IRENA, « Caja de herramientas para la gestión de áreas de conservación”, Lima, Perú, 2008, p.14. Disponible en ligne ; http://www.pdrs.org.pe/img_upload_pdrs/36c22b17acbae902af95f805cbae1ec5/FASCICULO_5.pdf GOBIERNO REGIONAL DE LORETO, “Ordenamiento Territorial en Loreto”, consulté le 29 avril 2014. Disponible en ligne : http://www.regionloreto.gob.pe/OATSIG/ORDENAMIENTO_TERRITORIAL.pdf NATIONS UNIES, « Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones », mars 2008. Disponible en ligne : http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_fr.pdf SAN JOSE DEL AMAZONAS, Boletín informativo, “Nukanchi Llakta N°07”, julio 2012, Napo, Perú. Disponible en ligne : http://www.sanjosedelamazonas.org/uploads/Boletin/Bolet%C3%ADn%20-%2007%C2%AA%20edicion%20-%20%C3%91UKANCHI%20LLAKTA%20-%20Sta%20Clotilde%20-%20Peru.pdf SAN JOSE DEL AMAZONAS, Boletín informativo, “Nukanchi Llakta N°18”, febrero 2013, Napo, Perú. Disponible en ligne : http://www.sanjosedelamazonas.org/uploads/Boletin/Bolet%C3%ADn%20-%2018%C2%B0%20edici%C3%B3n%20-%20%C3%91UKANCHI%20LLAKTA%20-%20Sta%20Clotilde%20-%20Peru.pdf ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DU TRAVAIL, “Comprendre la convention (n° 169) relative aux peuples indigènes et tribaux, 1989. Manuel à l’usage des mandants tripartites de l’OIT”, 2013. Disponible en ligne: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@normes/documents/publication/wcms_211976.pdf VIGILANTE AMAZÓNICO, “Mapas de conflictos – Kichwa Napo Loreto”, agosto 2012, Perú. Disponible en ligne: http://vigilanteamazonico.pe/phocadownload/mapas/mapasconflicto/mapa_kichwa_napo_loreto_ago-2012.pdf VIGILANTE AMAZÓNICO, “ Informe semestral, Informe de conflictos – socioambientales amazónicos”, (2012?), Perú. Disponible en ligne: http://vigilanteamazonico.pe/phocadownload/conflictos%20socioambientales.pdf URTEAGA CROVETTO, P., “Informe socio jurídico sobre decretos legislativos vinculados a derechos de Pueblos Indígenas”, Lima, 2008, p. 5., consulté le 25 avril 2014. Action Solidarité Tiers Monde, « Dossier spécial. Finir avec l‘impunité des sociétés transnationales », Brënnpunkt-Drëtt Welt N°290, octobre 2015, Luxembourg. http://astm.lu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bp290multinationales.pdf Deborah Tousch

Attachments

Who benefits from Peru's wealth Oil exploitation in the Peruvian Amazon

Notes[+]

Notes

↑1	Article 1 of ILO Convention 169 defines the term indigenous by referring to “populations who lived in the country or in a geographical region belonging to the country at the time of conquest or colonization or even when the current state borders were established and which, whatever their legal situation, all retain their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.
↑2	Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) recognizes the right to prior consultation. This right implies that indigenous populations must be consulted freely, with anticipation and with the necessary information each time projects, laws or regulations affect them.
↑3	An oil lot is an oil concession over a given territory. The State can sell the right to an oil company to extract and/or exploit oil there over a defined number of years.
↑4	The company is also a shareholder at 55%, of lot 39, also present in the Napo district. This lot is a compromise between the Perenco companies and the Spanish company Repsol: http://www.bastamag.net/Perenco-etend-son-exploitation; http://larepublica.pe/30-03-2014/repsol-vende-acciones-de-proyecto-ubicado-en-zona-de-aislamiento-voluntario; http://multinationales.org/Perenco-etend-son-exploitation The company is also present in other Latin American countries, as well as in Africa: http://www.bastamag.net/Perenco-l-entreprise-petroliere
↑5	More than 200 people were injured, 83 were arrested, including 18 people put in prison.
↑6	The notion of voluntary isolation refers to the fact that the population has freely sought isolation in a specific region for its own reasons.
↑7	Since 2013, night transport has been prohibited.
↑8	IRENA, Box of herramientas for the management of conservation areas, Lima, Peru, 2008, p.14.
↑9	The future Maijuna-Kichwa protected natural area has an area of 399,280 hectares.
↑10	Primary needs are those linked to the survival of a human being: food (growth), respiration (oxygen), hydration (water), etc.
↑11	NACIONAL INSTITUTE OF ESTADISTICA AND INFORMATICA (INEI),