Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon denounce failure of the World Bank’s Forest Investment Programme in Peru to respect their rights to lands and territories

On the eve of the latest visit of the Forest Investment Programme (FIP) to Peru (18 -20 February 2013), AIDESEP, the Peruvian national indigenous organisation, has sent a letter to the FIP mission denouncing the efforts of the Peruvian government to backtrack on previous commitments to recognise millions of hectares of untitled indigenous territories as part of their ‘Forest Investment Strategy’. 

The draft version of the Investment strategy (dated 21 January) was obtained unofficially by AIDESEP and excludes the commitments reached by indigenous organisations with the Peruvian government as a condition of their endorsement of Peru’s Readiness Preparation Package (RPP) and its subsequent approval by the World Bank's FCPF Participants Committee in March 2011. These commitments had been partially addressed in the initial draft investment strategy prepared by consultants hired by the Peruvian government in 2012 (see http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/forest-investment-programme-fip/news/2012/08/world-bank-forest-investment-programme-challenge). These included allocation of $12.5 million of the $50 million to recognise untitled indigenous lands and support community forest management. These were endorsed by indigenous peoples and their organisations in consultations held in August and September 2012 before presentation of the final strategy to the government.

AIDESEP have reiterated on multiple occasions that the failure to prioritise recognition of untitled indigenous lands will violate agreed international standards and country obligations under human rights and environmental treaties ratified by Peru and will result in a land grab for indigenous peoples’ traditional lands as well as miss out on a proven measure to protect forests and reduce emissions from deforestation. Unless these rights are protected then Peru’s REDD+ strategy will not only fail to reduce emissions, it will also undermine indigenous peoples’ rights and could lead to social conflict (see http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/redd-and-related-initiatives/publication/2011/reality-redd-peru-between-theory-and-practice-i). As Daysi Zapata, Vice president of AIDESEP has stated: “Redd+ is a threat to indigenous peoples, our aim is to transform it into an opportunity’”

AIDESEP have indicated that the failure to adequately protect indigenous peoples’ lands and rights and address indigenous peoples issues will, if approved by the FIP subcommittee, constitute a failure to comply with FIP obligations ‘in accordance with relevant international instruments and obligations’. They also point out that in procedural terms the development of the investment strategy has already failed to comply with FIP obligations to ensure indigenous peoples’ ‘full and effective participation’ as well as meaningful consultation processes through its failure to implement a process for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and ensure that ‘broad community support for the investment strategy, programme or project must derive from the consultations before the strategy, programme or project advances’

AIDESEP warn that if these concerns are not taken on board they will proceed to issuing a formal complaint against the Forest Investment Programme.