Oxy, Pluspetrol, and the Achuar Nation of the Northern Peruvian Amazon
A Historic Victory for Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin
Major Victory for the Amazon
On October 23rd, after 14 days of peacefully blockading and halting half of Peru’s oil production, the Achuar people of the remote northern Peruvian Amazon won a landmark agreement which effectively ends 35 years of dumping more than one million barrels per day of toxic formation wastewater into rivers and streams (the first 30 years by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), the last five years by Argentina’s Pluspetrol). The agreement secures much needed health and social services for the communities and also formally acknowledges a unilateral declaration by the Achuar in opposing new oil concessions on their territories. This is a major victory for the Amazon and the result of the courageous and steadfast actions of a strong a united Achuar community.
The Achuar of Peru: One People, Two Histories
The approximately 11,000 Achuar who live in the remote northern Peruvian jungle are some of the most traditional indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin. Their ancestral lands, which they have inhabited since time immemorial, are one of the last refuges for countless flora and fauna found no where else on earth. To reach this region from the capital city of Lima, can take up to a week via canoe and bus. Even travel by foot between villages can take hours or even days.
In the early 1970s, petroleum was discovered in the Rio Corrientes river basin, the traditional territory of the Achuar, Quichua and Urarina indigenous peoples. Occidental Petroleum, the first foreign oil company to operate in Peru, was given the initial drilling concession (known as Block 1AB), which included over one million acres of pristine rainforest. Over 30 years, Occidental Petroleum discharged more than one million barrels of “formation waters,” an untreated toxic by-product of the oil drilling process, directly into the rainforest— one of the most egregious, underreported oil catastrophes in the region.
As a result of three decades of dumping, the Achuar have unsafe and illegal levels of a range of toxins in their bodies, including lead and cadmium. It has also poisoned local waterways to the point where the fish and game populations on which the Achuar depend for survival are no longer fit for human consumption.
Peruvian Government and Pluspetrol Meet Achuar Demands
Initially, the Peruvian government sent in more than 200 members of the national police with orders to disperse the peaceful demonstrators and restore oil production. However, the Achuar convinced the police to refrain from using force and to respect their picket. After a weekend of intense negotiations, both the government and the oil company currently running the concession, Argentina-based Pluspetrol, gave in to nearly all the Achuar demands. The written agreement they signed yesterday includes promises to:
• Re-inject 100 percent of the formation waters back into the ground within 12 months in concession “1AB.” Pluspetrol had originally committed to re-injecting 15 percent by 2010;
• 50 percent re-injection of formation waters in the neighboring block “8” by December 2007 and the rest by July 2008;
• Construction of a new hospital and a multi-million dollar health budget for the Achuar;
• Five percent of all oil royalties to the Peruvian state of Loreto to be dedicated to Achuar community development, including food production, health and education;
• One year of emergency food supply for affected communities given the river fish and game are highly contaminated; and
• The acknowledgement of a unilateral declaration by the Achuar that they oppose new oil concessions in their territories and request cancellation of contracts for blocks 104 and 106.
New Threats in Achuar Territory, Demands Must Be Honored
The Achuar have now called off the blockade, which had closed down the rainforest oil facility and shut down 50 percent of Peru’s oil production. However, Achuar communities continue to be threatened by the oil industry. There are vast areas of the rainforest that require major clean up from 35 years of negligent oil extraction. Additionally, in neighboring areas, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), and Petrolífera of Canada currently own drilling rights to a vast, intact area of tropical rainforest also inhabited by the Achuar, who adamantly oppose any drilling on their territories. Unless both ConocoPhillips and Oxy commit to respect the Achuar’s stated desires, there are likely to be more confrontations.
Achuar Leaders Tour U.S in Fall 2006
Interested in meeting with Achuar leaders while they are in your city?
Contact: Maria, 202.257.8061 or maria@amazonwatch.org, and Zach, 415.487.9600
November 16-19, New York, NY
November 20-25, Washington, DC
November 26-December 3, and December 7-9, San Francisco, CA
December 4-7, Los Angeles, CA
December 10-12, Houston, TX
For background on the Achuar’s struggle to protect their lands and communities, visit www.amazonwatch.org
