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Saving the Amazon
A new model for forest conservation in Bolivia shows saving trees makes good financial sense.
26 November 2024
A new report warns that more than 270 Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon face critical risks of invasion, violence and displacement due to expanding drug trafficking routes.
The report details the river, land and air routes used to produce and transport cocaine across the Peruvian Amazon.
It finds that drug trafficking and land defence conflicts led to the assassination of at least 27 Indigenous leaders between 2020 and 2025.
The report also critically analyses recent Peruvian anti-drug policies, stating that many have fuelled coca expansion and land trafficking, often harming the collective rights of Indigenous peoples.
It specifically denounces the issuance of individual land titles within Indigenous territories, which has enabled territorial fragmentation and invasions. In response, Indigenous organisations propose concrete measures to address this crisis, including collective titling and recognition of Indigenous peoples as key political actors in combating criminal economies.
‘We, the Indigenous defenders, face threats from drug traffickers when we speak out. We are calling for real change in how this crisis is addressed. Our territories and self-protection systems need global government support.’
MARCELO ODICIO
President of the Kakataibo Federation
The report urges the United States and European nations – the main destinations for cocaine from the Amazon – to take responsibility.
The signatory organisations criticise international cooperation models that have supported failed Peruvian drug policies and call for major reforms that prioritise Indigenous territorial protection as a key strategy to curb drug trafficking.
The report argues that recognising Indigenous peoples as strategic allies in forest protection and regional stability is a shared global responsibility.
The report was published by the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali (ORAU), Amazon Watch and the Institute of the Common Good (IBC).
The organisations will launch an international advocacy agenda to present their proposals at the upcoming Summit of Amazonian Presidents, to the president of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and to major negotiating blocs at COP30.
They aim to elevate Indigenous territorial defence as a priority on both climate and regional security agendas.
‘Amazon Watch has worked on this issue for four years, documenting the reality on the ground. This report marks a milestone in a broader strategy to bring territorial perspectives into international spaces and generate lasting change.’
VLADIMIR PINTO
Amazon Watch’s Peru coordinator
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