New Setbacks for Peruvian Amazon Reserve Put Uncontacted Tribes at Risk

In 2003, Indigenous organizations petitioned the Peruvian government to create Yavarí Mirim, an Indigenous reserve on the Amazon border with Brazil and Colombia, spanning 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), according to sources interviewed by Mongabay. Their goal was to protect hundreds of Indigenous peoples in the region who had little to no contact with the outside world. Extractive and illegal activities were advancing into their territory, and time was of the essence.

More than 20 years later, the reserve has yet to be created.

In the latest setback, the country’s Multi-Sector Commission postponed indefinitely a Feb. 14 meeting scheduled to determine reserve boundaries. The commission, led by the country’s Ministry of Culture, is responsible for establishing the territories of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact, known by its Spanish acronym PIACI. The commission justified the delay, saying it had realized the requested area overlapped with another Native community.