<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/17/ive-seen-the-dark-fat-grease-stuck-to-the-leaves-oil-and-gas-encroach-on-perus-uncontacted-peoples>
"Above the canopy of the tallest trees that vie for sunlight in the depths of
the Peruvian Amazon, gas flares shoot into the sky. Below, Julio Cusurichi, 53,
can see the thick, dark grease that clings to the leaves and the toxins leaking
into the streams.
“Oil and gas projects are coming closer and closer. They are expanding into new
lands,” says Cusurichi, a member of the Shipibo-Conibo people, a Goldman prize
winner and one of Peru’s foremost Indigenous leaders. “Our territory is our
life, but the government is auctioning off plots. It is a great invasion with a
grave impact.”
Oil and gas have been extracted from some of Peru’s most biologically diverse
territories for decades. Now, researchers warn, companies are expanding further
into the lands of some of the last uncontacted Indigenous peoples.
Peru is home to one of the world’s largest populations of “peoples in isolation
and initial contact” (Piaci), estimated at 7,500 by the government. Their
territories comprise some of the most intact areas of the Amazon. Yet, recent
analysis by Earth Insight has found that Peru’s current and proposed oil and
gas blocks overlap with 20% – or 1.6m hectares (3.95m acres) – of reserves for
these communities.
Researchers warn of devastating effects on health and the species-rich
environment, with frequent spills coating the lush rainforest in black sludge.
The consequences of this pollution are still being investigated, but initial
conclusions are devastating.
In Peru, women report nausea and miscarriages, while men talk about developing
skin rashes and unexplained illnesses after oil and gas mining begins.
According to Cusurichi, a health crisis is under way among uncontacted
Amazonian peoples due to large-scale fossil fuel exploitation."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
