Big oil and gas intrude on Peru's Indigenous people, as the government auctions off plots of Indigenous land reserves, per a report by The Guardian. Researchers are speaking out as companies start expanding into territories of some of the world's last uncontacted people.
What's happening?
The Peruvian Amazon rainforest is one of the world's most biodiverse spots, home to an incredible array of plant and animal species. It's also home to one of the globe's largest populations of "peoples in isolation and initial contact."
However, indigenous territories in the Amazon are currently under threat as the government auctions off land for oil and gas extraction. Peru's existing and proposed oil and gas blocks overlap with 3.95 million acres of indigenous reserves, according to an analysis by Earth Insight.
With oil and gas spills covering the rainforest in a thick, black sludge, researchers warn of the health and environmental consequences. For the Indigenous people living in the rainforest, the onslaught of pollution has already caused health complications. Women have reportedly experienced increased nausea and miscarriages, while men have developed skin rashes and unexplained illnesses.
"Whenever oil companies — or any type of extractivist company — come, they bring diseases. We are condemned with sicknesses, nausea and open sores," Colombian Indigenous leader Fany Kuiru Castro told The Guardian. "They are putting the life and the cultural existence of Indigenous people at risk. It's a silent genocide."
Why is pollution in the Amazon important?
Oil and gas pollution in the Amazon has severe health implications for the Indigenous people living in the rainforest.
In 2016, the Peruvian health ministry sampled 1,168 people living near one of the country's biggest oilfields. The results were startling, with half of the sampled population testing positive for toxic metals — including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury — at rates higher than those deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Exposure to these metals can result in various cancers, kidney problems, neurological damage, and reproductive complications.
On top of the health risks, big oil and gas also pose a serious environmental threat to the rainforest. Oil spills in the Amazon could completely wipe out the fish population, eliminating a key food source for the Indigenous people and contaminating drinking water.
What's being done about big oil and gas in the Amazon rainforest?
Indigenous leaders and activists are speaking out against the land auctions. Researchers are also sounding the alarm, warning policymakers about the catastrophic health impacts from oil and gas pollution.
"The Amazon suffers. Gas flares contaminate the air. Oil spills contaminate the water," Indigenous leader Julio Cusurichi told The Guardian. "But we stand firm. We will continue to defend our people's land and rights at whatever cost, even our lives."
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