Kichwa people of San Martin demand that MIDAGRI and MINAM demarcate their ancestral territory in protected areas: court hearing this Thursday

The court will have the opportunity to shift conservation towards respect for Indigenous rights in the country, by ordering the defendant entities to comply with the demarcation of Indigenous territories within natural protected areas (NPAs), as is already permitted by various regulations.

This Thursday 27 June, the Second Civil Court of Tarapoto will hold a hearing regarding a lawsuit filed by organisations of the Kichwa people against the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), the Regional Directorate of Agriculture of the Regional Government of San Martin (DRASAM), the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) and other state entities, demanding that these institutions comply with the demarcation of Indigenous territories that have suffered the imposition of Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), violating their territorial rights, as well as consultation and free, prior and informed consent.

This legal action was brought by the Ethnic Council of the Kichwa Peoples of the Amazon (CEPKA), the Federation of Kichwa Indigenous Peoples of Chazuta Amazonia (FEPIKECHA) and the Federation of Kichwa Indigenous Peoples of Bajo Huallaga San Martin (FEPIKBHSAM), together with their regional confederation, the Coordinating Committee for the Development and Defence of the Indigenous Peoples of the San Martin Region (CODEPISAM).

In the San Martin region, the Cordillera Azul National Park (PNCAZ) and the Cordillera Escalera Regional Conservation Area (ACR-CE) were created in violation of Indigenous rights in 2001 and 2005, respectively. These areas have historically excluded at least 72 Kichwa communities from the three plaintiff federations from adequate access to and management of resources, putting the subsistence of community members and future generations at risk.

Thus, as of this week, the Second Civil Court of Tarapoto will have the opportunity to move conservation towards respect for Indigenous rights in the country, by ordering the defendant institutions to comply with the demarcation of indigenous territories within the NPAs, as already permitted, as of 2022, by Ministerial Resolution No. 136-2022-MIDAGRI.

Kichwa seek compliance with established norms

Specifically, the Kichwa organisations are seeking that the authorities comply with the provisions of the Peruvian Constitution and article 14 of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which states that governments must " shall take steps as necessary to identify the lands which the peoples concerned traditionally occupy, and to guarantee effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession.”

In addition, they request that state entities be ordered to identify the number of native communities whose titling process will include the demarcation of territories superimposed by the NPAs, with the support of the Indigenous federations; and that the demarcated territories be recognised via cesión en uso leasehold contracts for the areas that constitute Indigenous territories within the NPAs, as appropriate.

It should be recalled that, for several years, the Kichwa people have been trying to achieve demarcation through spaces for dialogue, such as in the San Martin region's Land-Titling Roundtable and in the Cordillera Azul National Park Technical Roundtable; however, the authorities have been unwilling to comply with the norms that allow for the recognition of their territorial rights. In addition to this, SERNANP has failed to comply with historic agreements, which hindered progress in the demarcation of Kichwa communities within the Cordillera Azul National Park, in the lower Huallaga.

For more than two decades, the world has been shifting towards biodiversity conservation with respect for human rights. Unfortunately, the Peruvian state continues to lag behind amidst reticence, lack of will and structural racism in conservation policies and actions, and in the recognition of Indigenous territories in order to fulfil its climate and conservation commitments.