A member of an indigenous organisation monitoring the situation was hit and then rescued. Organisations are calling for an end to forest concessions in the region
The granting of logging concessions in forests where isolated Mashco-Piro indigenous groups live, on the border between Peru and Brazil, has led to conflicts that prompted an arrow attack against members of non-governmental organisations and Peruvian government officials on October 26. A group of at least 100 isolated indigenous people shot arrows and the agent of the Madre de Dios and Affluents Native Federation (Fenamad), Jorge Hernani Alvarado, was hit in the shoulder.
The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep) issued a statement the same day requesting help for Alvarado and denouncing the gravity of the situation. A helicopter was sent the following day to remove the injured man from the scene. He was rescued and is recovering well. The document points out that sightings of, and confrontations with, the Mashco-Piro have become increasingly frequent and serious “due to the massive invasion of legal and illegal loggers in the territory in which they live”.
For Aidesep, which represents 64 Amazonian indigenous groups in Peru, the only way to stop the conflict, which could jeopardise the Mashco's chances of survival and lead to genocide, is to cancel all forest concessions granted by the Peruvian government within the indigenous territory. “As long as there are forest concessions and logging activities, they will continue to defend themselves and unfortunately there will be more confrontations and deaths,” says the document.
In September, two loggers in the area were killed in a confrontation with the isolated indigenous people. The indigenous organisations of the Peruvian Amazon blame the government for the “serious situation of genocide” because they authorised logging in an area that is known to be the Mashco-Piro's home territory. Aidesep and the organisations it represents are calling for an immediate halt to logging activities.
The portion of the Amazon rainforest where the Mashco live is partially protected since the creation of the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve in 2002, but a large area still has no legal protection and has been opened up for logging through forest concessions, which attract invaders and cause the conflicts that have been worsening throughout 2024.
The situation could also have consequences on the Brazilian side of the border as this group, considered to be the largest isolated people in the world, traditionally moves between the territories of Acre and the department of Madre de Dios. In Brazil, there are records of their presence in several areas: Mamoadate Indigenous Land, Kampa Indigenous Land and Isolados do Rio Envira Indigenous Land, Chandless State Park, Acre River Ecological Station, Cabeceiras do Rio Acre Indigenous Land and Alto Purus Indigenous Land.
