Members of the uncontacted Mashco Piro tribe have been sighted close to the Yine village of Nueva Oceania. This shocking finding is deeply concerning for their safety in light of the rampant illegal logging now threatening Peru’s Amazon rainforest. The Mashco Piro have a history of avoiding contact with outsiders. As encroaching development increasingly threatens their territory and way of life, these sacred places are under siege today.
The Mashco Piro indigenous group live in the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, their home is now increasingly home to logging concessions awarded to private companies. The Peruvian government is watching these developments with extreme concern. To date, they’ve already established eight reserves for isolated Indigenous peoples. The sense of urgency around the Mashco Piro’s plight has only increased. Heavy machinery is further cutting roads through the rainforest and across rivers, invading their ancestral tribal lands.
In addition to being the main access point, Nueva Oceania’s territory acts as an invaluable buffer, further spotlighting this place of worry. According to our reports, tribe members are meeting with loggers and villagers opposed to logging in the area. Failure to improve this precarious situation places young people at risk of conflict and disease. Survival International alerts that a logging company is currently constructing an illegal bridge. This new construction would provide outsiders much easier access, posing the Mashco Piro at a much higher risk.
“Exactly one year after the encounters and the deaths, nothing has changed in terms of land protection and the Yine are now reporting to have seen both the Mashco Piro and the loggers exactly in the same space almost at the same time,” – Teresa Mayo
Last year, at least two loggers were killed in bow-and-arrow assaults after invading Mashco Piro territory. This incident is a painful reminder of the perilous ways white America engages with the tribe. Yet logging still continues in earnest, even after disasters like these. These companies function under government-issued licenses, which insulate them from accountability.
“They still have the license of the government, and that is how they back their activities even if they know they are putting both Mashco Piro and their workers’ lives at risk,” – Teresa Mayo
The Tahuamanu River, which flows close to Mashco Piro territory, is an important transport route for logging boats. Heavy machinery on the other hand is doing far more to disrupt the environment. It represents a serious danger to the health and safety of the Mashco Piro people. Indigenous organizations have called for new protections for Mashco Piro land. These initiatives haven’t yet translated into robust protections.
This includes addressing the issues in Survival International’s reports which describe the current Mashco Piro situation. Moreover, it runs 19 control posts manned by 59 protection agents serving to shield isolated and threatened groups. Even with these positive steps taken, there remains reason to worry about the serious protections that have not seemed to work.
The conflict between contemporary development and Indigenous rights continues to be an urgent topic within Peru. Logging is quickly encroaching on the territory of the Mashco Piro tribe. They’re at an important crossroads—a once in a generation opportunity to act now to protect their land and way of life.