Oliart Seminar4 Presentation

8/3/2019 Oliart Seminar4 Presentation

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AmarakaeriAmarakaeriAmarakaeriAmarakaeri: The Shaky Existence of a Communal Reserve: The Shaky Existence of a Communal Reserve: The Shaky Existence of a Communal Reserve: The Shaky Existence of a Communal Reserve

Photo: Claus Kjaerby

Presentation based on Oliart P. and V.Biffi: Encuentros y desencuentrosen los discursos sobre el futuro de

la biodiversidad amaznica:territorialidad indgena,conservacin y desarrollo para elprogreso. Lima, Instituto del BienComn, 2007.


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Instituto del Bien Comun: Map of Natural Reserves.

The Amarakaeri

Communal Reserve (ACR)in Madre de Dios, wascreated in 2002encompassing 402,335.62Hectares of inhabited

forest, neighbouring 10communities (HarakmbutYine and Matsiguenga)Pop. around 1700 people.

Range of altitude (200 to4000 mts) brings togetherspecies from most areas inthe rainforest.

The ACR is alsosurrounded by 23 migrantsettlements with more than8000 people.


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Natural Reserve

Diamante(Y & M)

Shipiteari (M)

Login

Mining

Barranco ChicoH

Puerto LuzH

San J

ose de KareneH

N

Cusco

Puerto Maldonado

ROADShintuya (H)

Settlers

PUNO

Diagram inspired on map in Alvarez, A. et al, 2008, The Difficult invention of Participation in the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, Peru. In Gavin, M. andT. Haller (Eds.)People, protected Areas and Global Change: Participatory conservation in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Perspectives. SwissNational Centre of COmpetnece in Research (NCCR) North South, University of Bern, Vol. 3, Bern:Geographica bernensia, 560 pp.

SettlersPuerto AzulBo

ca Ishinoe


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Pristine zone used for hunting and fishing. Agriculture also depends on clean water.FENAMAD worked for the creation of the reserve since 1996 due to several pressures:


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Photo Park Watch

1. Threats and increasing pressure over pristine areas posed by intensive loginprompted by the mahogany boom in 1980


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2. Gold mining increasing geometrically from the 1970s onwards...


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Photos: Claus Kjaerby

3. And rumours of oil companiescoming back to the area afterdisastrous experience with CitiesService in the 1970s


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All these lead to the Paro Indgena inNovember 2001 against loggers, miners

and increasing pressure on the rainforest.The reserve was created in April, 2002.



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The law establishes the ACR as a conservationunit co-managed by the state and COHARYMA,the association of Harakmbut, Yine andMatsiguenga communities. GEF granted US$ 1million to support the implementation of ACRmanagement. A buffer zone was established.

A few economic projects were supported byNGOs (collection of Brazilian nuts, crafts, andecotourism). The main problem being thatprofitable use of the forest was rendered illegal.

Environmental monitoring became a paid jobfor some members of the communities.


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No extractive activities are allowed in the reserve. Onlytraditional use of resources and a few developmentprojects.

Wanamei Expeditions, an eco/ethno tourism agencybecame one of those projects.

Unrealistically high expectations on profit, organisational

difficulties, and criticism about the lack of evidence ofbenefits for different communities, rendered it as non-viable project for all communities.

But ideas from the project are still used by dwellersinvolved in tourism.


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Photo: Jamil Alca

Expeditions through the reserve (closeness to the Manu Park allows themto offer a cheaper, more grassroots, alternative).


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Demonstrations of traditional practices, and hosting visitors in the communities.


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Nuestros abuelos vivieron en el bosque, pero nuestros hijos no van a vivir all.


But nothing compares with the cash flow that logging and mining provide


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Hay dos visiones diferentes: los ancestros y los jvenes. Para losancestros est claramente que esa reserva comunal es de ellosporque ellos han pasado muchas cosas ah, tienen buenosrecuerdos, donde ellos han tenido enfrentamientos, que hansalido a la civilizacin mediante los dominicos, para ellos esareserva es como su casa, son algo sagrado para ellos. Sientenrespeto (Leader of FENAMAD)

A generational divide has on one side the elderly and the generationof leaders who had the creation of ACR as a political triumph, and onthe other, young families trying to stretch the boundaries of thebuffer zone in the reserve as much as possible.


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No benefits are perceived from having a reserve they cant use, and anincreasing rebellion defies the leaders authority on an daily basis, with familiesengaging in mining and logging in growing areas of the reserve.

The news that Hunt Oil has signed a 40 year contract to conduct explorationand oil exploitation in almost the total area of the reserve has only reinforcedfeelings of vulnerability among dwellers, making some even more resolute toengage in extractive activities.

En principio (los jvenes) pensaban que la reserva

era para ellos, pero ahorita los jvenes, dicen

tenemos la reserva pero no tenemos ningnbeneficio de la reserva. Por gusto reclaman lareserva.


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Gold panning in Puquiri river.

Photo: Park Watch


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Photo Park Watch


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si t te encargas de alimentar a

mis hijos, si t te encargas de hacer

estudiar a mis hijos, yo no trabajoResponse given to a guard when he tried to stop men from

mining in a river bank within the reserve.

Photos: Alex Alvarez


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Se ha hablado bastante, pero como te digo, ya no hay ese concepto que si

te portas t as, ya no cortas madera. Ya no ya, al contrario, te mandan a rodar,

T quien eres para que mandes as. O sea ya no hay respeto prcticamente,

porque hace poco noms sacaron madera de la reserva. Entonces decomisamos la

madera, T quien eres para que decomises Y a la semana siguiente del decomiso

est desaparecida la madera. [A las autoridades] nos mandan a rodar.

Photo Park Watch


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[Las personas que trabajan madera o minera de manera ilegal] sienten como que t

les estaras prohibiendo que hagan esas cosas, porque las necesidades son bastantes. Y

lo que se est haciendo ahorita como organizacin es que las actividades se formalicen

para que no estn trabajando ilegalmente. Esa es la nica forma como nosotros

estamos promoviendo porque no le puedes decir tambin que no puedes trabajar. En

esa parte si estamos nosotros, que las actividades, que las formalicen legalmente para

ellos para que no tengan problemas. En esa parte estamos como organizacin.

Photo Park Watch


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The environmentalist agenda was not behind the creation of thereserve. Conservationism as a global agenda is not embraced bythe central state, the regional government, or even the NGOsworking with indigenous organisations. Although accepted as lip

service, it bears no real legitimacy as a discourse. The environmentalist rationale behind the law that allowed the

creation of the reserve was brought into play to secure access forindigenous communities to a threatened pristine area, sought afterby many for its unexploited resources.

The unspoken problem is that in the midst of all the conflict anddiscussion, few acknowledge the integration to the market thatsociety forces upon people who only a few decades ago had little orno contact with the West.

The other unspoken fact by those defending the reserve is the

demographic reality of a majority of a migrant population whosereasons for being there are the resources of the rain forest.


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FENAMAD has remained the most consistentactor in this ordeal, loyal to the protection ofindigenous rights, and with only prudentallegiance to other agendas, usually with very

practical purposes behind. The need for control over loggers and miners

however is very urgent, not only for economic orenvironmental reasons, but also for culturalreasons.

In this scenario, the presence of oil companiesemerges as a potentially beneficial presence,

mostly by a proven ability to pay guards whocould prevent the intrusion of illegal loggers andminers in the area.


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Y de qu manera podemos hacer el

negocio con ellos (Hunt Oil)? Nosolamente es que las mismascomunidades vengan a decir

Oye sabes qu? Queremos trabajo.Ya, que entre noms.Entonces, si es que queremos

hacer un buen negocio con ellos y quecumplan con todos los requisitos quedice la ley, lgicamente se puede hacer

un buen trato.

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Oliart Seminar4 Presentation