Loggers removed from uncontacted Indians’ land in Peru

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An illegal logging camp has been dismantled and fifteen loggers removed from an uncontacted Indian reserve in Peru.

The Isconahua Territorial Reserve was established in 1998 to protect the Isconahua Indians living in its forests. Outsiders are forbidden from entering the reserve.

Illegal loggers, however, have overrun the territory for years. Their presence threatens the very survival of the uncontacted people living inside.

Peru’s fifteen uncontacted groups face a number of threats to their land, including illegal logging, gold mining, narco-trafficking and gas and oil projects. Survival has campaigned against these threats for a number of years, calling for greater protection measures to be put in place.

Whilst the Peruvian government has taken the first step towards dealing with the illegal logging, a large-scale effort across the country will be required if uncontacted tribes are to be safe.

Several of Peru’s uncontacted Indian tribes have been forcibly contacted in recent decades, and many people have died as a result.

All uncontacted tribal peoples face catastrophe unless their land is protected.