Peru – Stop Oil Extraction on Indigenous Lands
- par: Judith B.
- destinataire: Ministry of Energy and Mines, Peru
In a move that threaten not only the rainforest but also the lives of indigenous peoples, the Peruvian government is allowing the Anglo-French company Perenco to extract large quantities of oil from an almost untouched region on the Ecuadorian border.
Within four years, production in the Napo-Tigre area is expected to reach tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day, which will continue until there is no oil left. In the meantime, the site, which was proposed as a tribal reserve years ago, will have been devastated.
There is no long-term future in fossil fuels – by their very nature, they run out. Fast. People’s cultures and lives, not to mention the amazing diversity of wildlife here, are not a price worth paying for dirty energy.
Ask the Peruvian government to call off the oil operations.
We the undersigned are dismayed that oil extraction is going ahead within the Napo-Tigre region, in the area euphemistically known as Lot 67, despite the threat such activities pose to both the environment and to the lives of isolated indigenous peoples.
We understand the economic concerns and that extracting oil is a fast, if unsustainable, way to raise money. However, there is no long-term or even medium-term future in fossil fuels – they will always run out, and fast. In this case, we do not believe that the cultural and environmental price is one worth paying.
We ask that you suspend oil extraction operations in “Lot 67”. We also request that you seriously consider making the area a tribal reserve to prevent future governments exploiting it.
Please address this issue as a matter of urgency.
Thank you for your attention.
