The Amazon

Peru: losing battle against outlaw gold mining

Peru sent elite troops to raid outlaw gold-mining operations in the Tambopata Nature Reserve—but they are massively outnumbered by perhaps 10,000 illegal miners in the area.

The Amazon

Peru: state of emergency over illegal mining

Peru's President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in the rainforest region of Madre de Dios following reports of mercury poisoning by outlaw gold-mining operations.

The Amazon

Peru to evacuate village in Amazon conflict

Riverboats were sent to evacuate a rainforest village after it was raided by an isolated indigenous band, apparently pushed from its lands by illegal loggers and narco-traffickers.

The Andes

Peru: government ultimatum to illegal miners

Peru's government has issued an "ultimatum" to small-scale miners, threatening to dynamite their equipment if they do not clear out of the remote areas where they operate.

The Amazon

Peru: oil spill threatens rainforest reserve

Indigenous leaders in Peru’s Amazon protested that a leak from Pluspetrol’s oil operations is causing contamination within the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

The Andes

Peru: peasant leader killed in Cajamarca

Carlos Vásquez Becerra, a campesino leader who opposed mining projects in Peru’s conflicted Cajamarca region, was found beaten to death in a canyon.

The Amazon

Peru: suit launched to stop Camisea expansion

Peru's Amazonian organizations are suing the government and oil companies over proposals to expand the Camisea gas project into land inhabited by "uncontacted" or isolated tribes. 

The Amazon

Peru: indigenous development plan for Amazon

The Inter-ethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) issued a “Plan for the Full Life of the Amazon,” calling for indigenous-directed development projects.