Peru: Invaders claim their first victim at the Macuya Forest Investigation Center

[Judi Lynn]

by Yvette Sierra Praeli on 9 August 2019 | Translated by Claire Storey

On June 13, forest defender Julio Crisanto López was wounded by two gunshots as he was leaving the Macuya Forest, and died several days later.

Since 2017, deforestation in the protected area has destroyed more than 500 hectares of forest according to satellite images.

Though protected and dedicated to biological research, land traffickers have invaded portions of it, cutting trees and preparing the way for farmers to begin raising crops or cattle.

An invasion of the Macuya Forest has claimed its first victim. Julio Crisanto López was the last person keeping watch at the Macuya Forestry Investigation and Training Center (Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Forestal Bosque Macuya – CICFOR-BM), an area of forest managed by the National University of Ucayali (UNU) which has been invaded by land traffickers and agriculturalists repeatedly since 2017.

More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/peru-invaders-claim-their-first-victim-at-the-macuya-forest-investigation-center/