By Marianne van Vlaardingen
Marianne van Vlaardingen, a passionate conservationist and long-time advocate for the Amazon rainforest, has dedicated much of her life to protecting the biodiversity of Manu and its surroundings. With deep ties to Pantiacolla, an organization committed to sustainable tourism and rainforest conservation, she has witnessed firsthand the challenges that indigenous communities face in their fight to protect their lands.
Hunt Oil has taken over an oil concession that not only includes Manu National Park’s Cultural Zone but also the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve. Can these crucial parts of the Amazon rainforest still be defended? As I soon realized, the answer depends on whom you ask.
It is March 2009, and I am on the phone with the president of a Peruvian NGO that advocates for indigenous legal rights. The establishment of Oil Block #76 in the Madre de Dios region was done illegally by the Peruvian government. I ask him, «Why did you advise the indigenous communities to negotiate instead of encouraging them to fight against the illegal presence of the oil company?»
His answer is firm, leaving me with the impression that I am speaking with someone well-versed in these matters: “Because they would never win a lawsuit against the oil company. In this country, no local community has ever won a case against an oil company. It’s simply impossible. The best they can do is accept the exploitation and demand the highest compensation possible.”
His words hit me hard because, from what I had seen, the winners of legal battles on this scale are usually those with the deepest pockets. The thought that this fight could end before it even begins is deeply disheartening.
The Threat to Manu and the Amarakaeri Reserve
Oil Block 76 spans both Manu National Park’s Cultural Zone, west of the Alto Madre de Dios River, and nearly all of the Amarakaeri Reserve to the east. Together, this covers approximately 522,000 hectares (almost 1.3 million acres) of Amazon rainforest.
Manu’s Cultural Zone is part of UNESCO’s Manu Biosphere Reserve. While biosphere reserves are not legally protected under Peruvian law, the government has recognized Manu’s UNESCO status since 1977. In fact, the state used this designation to limit local agricultural and logging activities for years.
However, in 2006, something strange happened: the Cultural Zone disappeared from official maps. Coincidentally, that was the same year the Peruvian government signed its contract with Hunt Oil for Block 76. Could it be that UNESCO’s environmental restrictions were inconvenient for the oil company’s plans? The result was clear—Manu’s Cultural Zone lost all legal protection, and its inhabitants lost their right to protest against any activities occurring in the area.
The Amarakaeri Reserve, on the other hand, was established in 2002 to protect the indigenous communities living within and around it. Peruvian law grants these communities special rights, including the ability to help shape the Reserve’s Management Plan, which cannot be approved without their consent. These rights are based on Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which Peru ratified in 1993.
A Manipulated Management Plan
In 2008, the Amarakaeri people drafted their own proposal for the Reserve’s Management Plan. Anticipating the possibility of oil exploitation, they explicitly stated that hydrocarbon activities were harmful to the environment and their health. They also declared the central area of the Amarakaeri Reserve—where key rivers originate—off-limits to oil and other polluting industries. These rivers are their only sources of drinking water, fishing, and daily sustenance.
However, by the time the final Management Plan was approved, the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture, under the leadership of Luis Alfaro, had made significant alterations. The phrase “hydrocarbon activities are considered to be harmful to the environment we live in and therefore to our own health” was replaced with “hydrocarbon exploitation and rainforest conservation are compatible activities.” Additionally, the section that banned polluting activities in the heart of the reserve was completely erased.
This blatant manipulation left the Amarakaeri people unknowingly signing away their rights. Now, Hunt Oil had free rein over most of Manu’s Cultural Zone and the Amarakaeri Reserve, backed by an official Management Plan that falsely claimed oil extraction was not a threat to conservation.
A Ray of Hope
A recent article by journalist Justin Catanoso highlights that indigenous communities often demonstrate stronger environmental stewardship than their governments. Studies show that deforestation rates are significantly lower in territories managed by indigenous groups.
With this in mind, I couldn’t help but wonder: was there really no way to challenge the illegal establishment of Block 76? Was there no legal path to reclaim the Amarakaeri people’s rights?
A few weeks later, a friend sent me a link to a BBC interview from January 2009. Knowing about my conversation with the NGO, he wrote, «Look at this!» The interview featured two Peruvian lawyers discussing their legal victory against the Canadian oil company Talisman in the Cordillera Escalera Reserve, located in the San Martin region of northern Peru. The judges of Peru’s highest court had ruled the oil company’s presence illegal—based on the Reserve’s Management Plan.
This was a game-changer. The indigenous people had won. And they had done so in a case remarkably similar to that of the Amarakaeri Reserve. Talisman, like Hunt Oil, was a powerful company with vast financial resources, yet they had lost the legal battle.
Then came the most shocking revelation: a third person had participated in that BBC interview. He was a representative of an NGO that had supported the legal battle. And who was he? The very same NGO president who had told me, just three months later, that no lawsuit against an oil company had ever been won in Peru!
A Conflict of Interest?
Why would this NGO president deliberately mislead me and the Amarakaeri people? A year earlier, this same NGO had successfully stopped the government from altering the boundaries of another national park, Bahuaja-Sonene, in favor of Hunt Oil. They were widely celebrated as conservation heroes.
But after that victory, the Peruvian government awarded them a $2-million project. Was this a reward for their success—or an attempt to ensure their silence on future cases? If the latter was true, the strategy had worked. By misleading us, this NGO had effectively discouraged the Amarakaeri people from fighting for their rights.
Taking Action
Despite the NGO’s attempt at sabotage, I decided to contact the two Peruvian lawyers from the Cordillera Escalera case. After reviewing the Amarakaeri situation, they agreed to travel to Cusco and present their findings. First, they met with representatives from the Manu tourism sector, and then with the Amarakaeri leaders themselves.
This was our first step. The fight was not over.
Marianne van Vlaardingen continues to work closely with Pantiacolla, advocating for the protection of the Amazon and supporting indigenous communities in their struggle to defend their land. The battle for the Amarakaeri Reserve is far from finished, but as history has shown, perseverance can lead to victory.
How alone that must make you feel. Not just alone but sad, as you recognize the increasing distance between you. No matter how well you articulate the condition, situation, and emotions, I doubt anyone can possibly fully grasp the whole picture. That in itself must add to your loneliness. Of course, I am speaking as if I were in your shoes. I will pray for you. Aubrey Calliste
Vegetarians let me point out are not ethical. They eat diary products and a such support a diary industry that sees calves removed from there mothers immediately after birth. Cows milked so intensively that all dairy produce contains a large % of puss. The dairy is industry is if anything cruel beyond all comprehension and the same goes for any mass produced meat. Elbert Kelzer