Indigenous group in Peru vows to block oil drilling on Amazon ancestral land
Source: Reuters
The chiefs of 45 Achuar communities opposed government plan, spokesman said, and would physically prevent GeoPark and Petroperu from encroaching
Reuters in Lima
Friday 9 December 2016 11.36 EST
An indigenous federation opposed to a recently approved plan for oil drilling in the Peruvian Amazon has said that native communities will physically block any attempt by oil companies to operate on their lands.
Last week the Peruvian government gave the green light for Santiago-based GeoPark Ltd to produce oil in Block 64 with state-owned energy company Petroperu as its junior partner. The move is part of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s bid to “untangle” stalled investments from red tape.
But Jeremias Petsein, president of the indigenous federation FENAP, said the chiefs of 45 Achuar communities that live in Block 64 are all opposed to oil drilling and plan to block the companies from setting foot on their lands.
Block 64 has about 40m barrels of oil in proven and probable reserves. GeoPark and Petroperu struck a partnership to develop it two years ago, but the previous government did not issue approval amid concerns about Petroperu returning to oil production after more than two decades.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/peru-amazon-oil-indigenous-achuar-geopark-petroperu
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Looks like Native peoples will lead the fight for our planet.
BTW, Judi Lynn, you are one of the reasons I came back to DU. Your postings are nearly always about topics near and dear to my heart. 