The Kichwa people continue their struggle for a new social contract with the Cordillera Azul National Park

On 7 October 2022 in the Indigenous community Mushuck Llacta de Chipaota, in the lower Huallaga, San Martin, a high-level meeting was held where the Kichwa people continued their advocacy actions in the search for a new social contract in relation to the Cordillera Azul National Park (PNCAZ), for a conservation that recognizes and respects the fundamental rights of their communities.

Participants included the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), the Coordinator for the Development and Defense of the Indigenous Peoples of the San Martin Region (CODEPISAM) and three of its Kichwa federations, the Ethnic Council of the Kichwa Peoples of the Amazon (CEPKA), the Federation of Kichwa Indigenous Peoples of Chazuta Amazonas (FEPIKECHA), and the Federation of Indigenous Kichwa Peoples of the Lower Huallaga San Martin (FEPIKBHSAM), whose communities are demanding respect for their fundamental rights from the PNCAZ.

The Vice-Ministry of Interculturality of the Ministry of Culture (MINCU) and its General Directorate of Indigenous Peoples' Rights, as well as the Functional Operational Unit for Participatory Management of the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP) and the Park's management participated on behalf of the Peruvian State. Also present were representatives from the Center for Conservation, Research and Management of Natural Areas (CIMA).

The meeting began with a review of the agenda set on 3 September in Chazuta. Samuel Pinedo, President of FEPIKBHSAM, asked SERNANP for more political will to lead the dialogue and generate fruitful tools that would not merely remain on paper.

 

"On point 1, I see the lack of interest on the part of SERNANP to implement the dialogue roundtable. There has been no coordination. What are going to be the mechanisms for setting up the roundtable? I would ask you to have more commitment to implement this roundtable because otherwise all you do is listen and make commitments, but nothing more. You in the PNCAZ have been rewarded for your good governance, management capacity and transparency, but your weakness is reflected here. You have not been able to coordinate anything so that the apus can coordinate this meeting, but that is the basis for the principle of respect", said Samuel Pinedo.

 

The MINCU representative commented that the procedures for convening the 7 October meeting were unfortunately not explicit in the minutes of 3 September, but that progress had been made:

 

"In the case of SERNANP and MINCU, we have done our homework and the vice ministers met to discuss this agenda and from there, we have coordinated for the creation of the group to follow up. This work has been done after being in Chazuta".

 

She also stated that there is a willingness to hold the necessary meetings to achieve an effective dialogue and that SERNANP would also present proposals to improve participation based on its experience in other areas of the country.

The SERNANP representative reiterated that the PNCAZ and SERNANP at the national level have every interest in consolidating the work with the Indigenous communities and apologized for the misunderstanding in the organization of the follow-up meeting.

Another point questioned by the Kichwa leaders during the meeting was the need to respect the structure of the Indigenous movement, and that any coordination with the grassroots communities should be done with the technical and political accompaniment of the Indigenous federations, as requested by the Kichwa people at the 3 September meeting. This included coordination in relation to the development of the Mapping of Uses and Strengths (MUF) that the PNCAZ has been carrying out and which should be corrected to avoid generating conflicts.

 

"...on Sunday 4 September (one day after the meeting on 3 September in Chazuta), you were already calling Indigenous communities directly. From there we see that you are not taking our petition seriously and we are going to have many gaps. We are not coming to beg SERNANP or Cordillera Azul National Park. It is your duty to be transparent and precise," warned Samuel Pinedo of FEPIKBHSAM.

 

On the other hand, the federations’ technical advisors called for the need to hit the ground with concrete proposals to improve participation mechanisms in relation to the PNCAZ and fully address the Kichwa’s demands.

 

"Who, how, when, what issues, who assumes the costs of logistics in order to be able to inform in a transparent manner, securing a space that is financed by SERNANP in the short term and outline to us what this participation mechanism is going to look like. Our request as grassroots communities should be translated into this participation mechanism in such a way that it can be validated by the federations". Marco Sangama, CEPKA technical advisor.

 

For its part, SERNANP informed that it shared with CODEPISAM the technical file for the establishment of the PNCAZ so that the federations could learn about the process of its creation. This was done through LETTER 683-2022-SERNANP-DGANP dated 14 September, which contained the DS-031-2001-AG that created the PNCAZ, as well as the "Technical file for the definitive categorization and delimitation of the Biabo-Cordillera Azul Reserved Zone as Cordillera Azul National Park," dated May 2001, which justifies the creation of the natural protected area.

The MINCU representative reported on the meetings held between the Vice-Ministry of Interculturality and the Vice-Ministry of Strategic Development of Natural Resources of the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) to discuss the Kichwa case, and that this analysis will be shared in detail in a report to the Kichwa organizations.

Regarding the specific request of the Kichwa organizations that involves the "Demarcation of collective territories within Cordillera Azul National Park, according to recent regulations, and that these territories are legitimately visible in the NPA Master Plan," MINCU commented to the Kichwa leaders about the dialogue with the General Directorate of Agrarian Property Sanitation and Rural Cadastre (DIGESPACR) on the process of demarcation of Indigenous territories contemplated in the new regulations that allow it to be carried out in protected natural areas. SERNANP stated that it shared its technical report on these regulations with the Regional Government of San Martin (GORESAM) on 6 October 2022.

Finally, SERNANP reiterated its full disposition to accompany the technical roundtable and articulate other points, even outside of the Kichwa agenda: "We are fully available to continue addressing these issues in a climate of good dialogue and good faith between Peruvian citizens. And we are willing to continue opening the doors to dialogue," said Gustavo Montoya, head of the PNCAZ.

The meeting closed with the agreement to form a technical roundtable to follow up on the Kichwa’s demands in relation to the PNCAZ, the next meeting of which will be held on Friday 11 November 2022. In addition, the Kichwa leaders presented their proposal for the formation of the roundtable, with the participation of AIDESEP, CODEPISAM, FEPIKECHA, CEPKA, FEPIKBHSAM and communities related to the PNCAZ, and whose technical secretariat will be led by SERNANP while MINCU will carry out the facilitation.

The Kichwa demands regarding the Cordillera Azul National Park presented at the Chazuta meeting on 3 September 2022 were:

1. Prior consultation of the Cordillera Azul National Park and the REDD+ carbon project, in accordance with the international and national normative framework that protects the rights of Indigenous peoples.

2. Demarcation of collective territories within Cordillera Azul National Park, according to recent regulations, and that these territories are legitimately visible in the NPA Master Plan.

3. Accountability and transparency on the part of CIMA and SERNANP in the Kichwa communities, with the presence of the Ministry of Culture and the federations.

4. Full and effective participation in the management of Cordillera Azul National Park.

5. Distribution of carbon credit benefits to Kiwcha communities.

6. Respect for the structure of the Indigenous movement. Any coordination should be with the accompaniment of the federations. This includes the development of the Mapping of Uses and Strengths (MUF) that the Park will carry out.

7. The communities do not agree with the awarding of the PNCAZ on the Green List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

8. Reparation and compensation for 20 years of exclusion of the Indigenous communities.

9. Follow-up meeting of the signed act in a Kichwa community.