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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Peru--Occidental
Petroleum Corporation Invades Candoshi Homeland
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
August
17, 1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
Rainforest
Action Network reports in their August action alert
that
Occidental Petroleum has invaded and started drilling in 2.2
million
acres of the territory of the Candoshi people, located in
northeastern
Peru. The Candoshi number some 2,000
persons and
live in
river basins of the Peruvian Amazon.
The Candoshi are
isolated
from the outside world, continuing to depend on their
rainforests
for "economic livelihood, social identity, and
spiritual
grounding." This biologically rich habitat contains many
threatened
and endangered species--such as the giant river otter,
jaguar,
and giant anteater. This appeal for
letters was taken
from
RAN's web site < http://www.ran.org/ran/ >.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Rainforest
Action Network
Action
Alert 111 - August, 1995
Oxy
invades Candoshi homeland in Peru
Occidental
Petroleum Corporation has invaded the territory of the
Candoshi
people in northeastern Peru. Oxy drilled its first
exploratory
oil well June 25, in spite of the group's rejection of
oil-development
activities on its land. Oxy continues to move
forward
with exploration, even though the Candoshi have voiced
their
formal objection to the project, are the traditional and
legal
landholders, and will be the population most directly
impacted
by Oxy's activities.
The
Candoshi number some 2,000 persons and live in the Morona and
Tigre
river basins of the Peruvian Amazon, holding title to only
part of
the 4,000 square miles of their traditional territory. The
Candoshi
have lived in relative isolation from the outside world
and
maintain a rich and traditional culture, depending on their
rainforest
home for their economic livelihood, social identity,
and
spiritual grounding. This fragile and biologically rich region
is also
habitat to many threatened and endangered species--such as
the
giant river otter, jaguar, and giant anteater--and contains
over
forty lakes, including the largest in the Peruvian Amazon,
Lago
Rimachi.
Oxy did
seismic prospecting in late 1993 to determine the
potential
of the 2.2-million-acre "Block 4," an oil concession
seven
times the size of Los Angeles. Large parts of Block 4 lie
within
Candoshi land, and Candoshi communities and Oxy management
agreed
at that time on specific environmental measures to minimize
any
negative impacts on local populations. Candoshi leaders say
Oxy did
not fulfill these commitments.
In
August 1994, Oxy notified the Candoshi that it would resume
exploration
activities on their land. The affected communities
quickly
organized a meeting, at which they unanimously voted to
reject
Oxy's return to the region.
They
said neither their communities nor the environment they
depend
on could afford Oxy's presence, citing these critical
reasons:
the company's poor credibility, the region's ecological
fragility,
and the communities' dependence on river eco-systems
which
would inevitably be polluted with hydrocarbons and other
toxic
chemicals.
The
Candoshi representative organization has denounced Oxy's plans
as a
direct violation of International Labor Organization
Convention
169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in
Independent
Countries. Peru is a signatory of the Convention,
whose
Article 15 declares:
In
cases in which the State retains the ownership of mineral or
sub-surface
resources pertaining to lands, governments shall ...
consult
these peoples ... before undertaking or permitting any
programs
for the exploration or exploitation of such resources
pertaining
to their lands.
The
Peruvian government did not consult the Candoshi about oil
development
on their territory before Oxy's previous prospecting
activities,
nor has it consulted them about current exploration
plans.
The
Candoshi are demanding negotiation on the social and
environmental
terms of operations in Block 4. The international
community
must take urgent action to help the Candoshi defend
their
rights and resources before it is too late.
Juan
Chavez Munoz--president of AIDESEP, the national indigenous
confederation--warns:
"Oil companies have already been conceded 17
million
acres of indigenous lands in the Peruvian Amazon. We can
not
allow indigenous peoples' voices to be quieted on this subject
again."
Occidental
Petroleum Corporation is one of the world's largest oil
companies,
producing oil and gas in 12 countries and exploring in
23.
Corporate assets total nearly $18 billion, with 1994 revenues
reaching
over $9 billion. Peru is Oxy's largest foreign oil
operation.
Another Oxy concession in northeastern Peru produces
60,500
barrels of oil a day.
What
you can do
It's up
to us to make Oxy's future in Peru depend on its
responsiveness
to the Candoshi! A victory for Candoshi human
rights
will strengthen the cause of other indigenous peoples in
Peru
who are confronting corporate activities on their land.
Write
to OXY, and urge it to respect the Candoshi's right to
self-determination!
Sample letter:
Dr. Ray
R. Irani
Chairman,
President, and CEO
Occidental
Petroleum Corporation
10889
Wilshire Boulevard
Los
Angeles, CA 90024-4201
Fax
(310) 443-6922
Dear
Dr. Irani:
I am
writing to express my deep concern over Occidental's
unwillingness
to negotiate and reach an agreement with the
Candoshi
people, on whose land your Block 4 concession in Peru is
located.
The
Candoshi have lived and depended on this land for centuries,
and
Occidental's operations pose a serious threat to their
economic,
cultural, and physical well-being. Like all peoples, the
Candoshi
have the right to decide upon the future of their
territory,
resources and culture - rather than have those
decisions
made for them.
I
respectfully urge you to respond to the Candoshi people's
demands
before advancing further on the Block 4 oil project.
Sincerely,
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