Wampis Nation act against illegal logging to protect territory and denounce threats to defenders in the Peruvian Amazon

The Indigenous Wampis Nation in the Peruvian Amazon have taken urgent actions to tackle logging in their territory and have called upon the Peruvian State authorities to support their efforts.

On 23 November, the Wampis’ Autonomous Territorial Government (GTANW) issued a public declaration condemning the uncontrolled destruction of their forests for the illegal timber trade. Despite threats against GTANW leaders and environmental defenders in the region, the Wampis announced the start of mobilisations along the Kanus (Santiago) river to stop these illegal activities.  

Following this announcement, Wampis authorities and members of the community of Soledad took direct action to confiscate seven boats filled with illegal timber, which were en route to Ecuador. The GTANW subsequently had to let these boats and their crew pass following threats of confrontation. Following negotiations with the Amazonas Regional Environmental Authority, the GTANW has agreed to temporarily allow boats to pass in order to leave their territory and a month-long truce to ensure that any continued logging in their lands is fully regulated and controlled. 

The GTANW has indicated that the illegal extraction of timber, which is being transported and subsequently sold in Ecuador, began in August 2020. GTANW environmental monitoring coordinator, Geronimo Petsain, estimates that in recent months, between seven and ten boats loaded with 500 - 600 pieces of timber have been departing daily from the La Poza settlement. Each cargo is estimated to be worth between USD 2,500 and 5,000 dollars, depending on the timber in question.  

The GTANW took these recent actions in response to the “chronic inaction” of the Peruvian State: the GTANW has repeatedly notified the relevant authorities at both local and national level about the illegal activities, but the Wampis say “their silence and inaction are worrying and make them complicit in these actions.”

Peru’s Public Ombudsman Office has urged State bodies including the Regional Environmental Authority and Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office in Amazonas, as well as the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, to take urgent action to stop illegal logging and to prevent the possible escalation of tensions in the Wampis territory. They have also called for effective measures to protect the life of threatened leaders, following threats made by illegal loggers against Wampis pamuk (president) Wrays Perez and his family. 

The Wampis, who comprise more than 15,000 people, have inhabited and protected their rainforest territory in northwestern Peru, covering over 1.3 million hectares - an area larger than the metropolitan region of Paris - for over 7,000 years. Their careful management of their lands across generations has resulted in a particularly low deforestation rate, with forest loss occurring in only 0.91% of their territory. In 2015, the Wampis Nation created their Autonomous Territorial Government (GTANW) to protect, manage and collectively govern their territory and forests against contemporary threats such as illegal logging and mining, and oil and gas extraction.

Earlier this year, the Wampis Nation celebrated the success of their campaign forcing the withdrawal of Chilean oil company GeoPark from Lot 64, which overlaps the Wampis and Achuar territories. Following GeoPark’s exit, the Wampis and Achuar continue to demand the permanent annulment of the oil lot to prevent further collective rights violations and environmental damage by other oil companies. 

See the Wampis Nation's full statement (in Spanish) here.