Landmark Ruling For Kichwa Community Puerto Franco Defends Indigenous Rights Against Exclusionary Conservation of The Cordillera Azul National Park

The judge of the Mixed Court of Bellavista, Simona del Socorro Torres Sánchez, granted each of the claims requested in the lawsuit, ordering the following:

• That the Regional Agrarian Directorate of the Regional Government of San Martin initiate the land titling process for the entirety of the territory traditionally used and occupied by the community.  That articles 11 and 18 of Law 22175 and 76 of Law 29763, which regulate the titling of the lands of native communities with a form of leasehold use contract, known as “cesión en uso”, be inapplied. And that the Regional Government of San Martin titles the entirety of the traditionally occupied territory of the Puerto Franco community.  
• That the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) resize the Permanent Production Forest (BPP) that affects the territory traditionally occupied by the community.  
• That the Regional Environmental Authority of the Regional Government of San Martin declare the forestry concessions within the community’s territory null and void.  
• That the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP) carry out a free and informed consultation of D.S. 031-2001-AG that created the Cordillera Azul National Park and its Master Plan 2017-2021.  
• That SERNANP instruct the Park's rangers not to impede access to natural resources for members of the Puerto Franco community and other affected communities.  
• That SERNANP complies with the right of the native communities over which the PNCAZ overlaps to benefit from conservation activities in their territories (such as the Park's REDD+ Project, in accordance with Article 15.2 of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation).  
• SERNANP should comply with the right of the native communities over which the PNCAZ overlaps to participate in the management of the Park with decision-making capacity.

This first instance ruling marks a milestone for constitutional justice for Indigenous peoples' rights, recognising the territorial rights of Indigenous peoples affected by the creation of natural protected areas without prior consultation, as well as recognising the communities' right to the benefits that conservation activities generate, such as sales of carbon credits through REDD+ mechanisms, the first case of its kind to be registered in Peru.

Furthermore, this decision pushes for a new conservation paradigm in the country, which the Kichwa communities have called a new social contract for biodiversity conservation and a struggle against climate change which respects the rights of Indigenous peoples. This paradigm must move away from the institutionalised system of exclusionary conservation that has been imposed by the institutions responsible for the administration of natural protected areas such as SERNANP and the Ministry of the Environment.

 

"It is a joy for us and for the Kichwa people and for Puerto Franco, a base community of CEPKA, to know that the ruling is in favour of what is ours, because the law itself protects us and it would have been illogical for this case not to come out in our favour. And to say to our brothers and sisters: the struggle continues! Even if Puerto Franco’s lawsuit against Cordillera Azul came out in our favour, we must continue to fight for more in defence of the Kichwa territory."

Apu Reogildo Amasifuén, president of CEPKA.

 

 

"For the Kichwa people, this sentence marks an important precedent, hopefully putting an end to this process for the recognition of the ancestral territories which Kichwa communities have protected and inhabited for our collective use. We thank the judge of the Mixed Court of Bellavista, Simona del Socorro Torres Sánchez, and the Superior Court of Justice of San Martín for their inevitable decision, for their great work in understanding the violations and affectations by the Cordillera Azul National Park, and by a State that tries to disappear a healthy environment, food and cultural identity". Apu Nelsith Sangama Sangama Sangama, leader of AIDESEP.