Tree of Souls - An Avatar Community Forum - Planned oil drilling in the Peruvian Amazon area threatens indigenous people...

An update from Amazon Watch on the matter of the planned oil drilling in Achuar land:

Quote:

Last week I was in the Peruvian Amazon meeting with the new Achuar leadership. Today, I will be addressing Talisman Energy's top executives at their annual corporate shareholder meeting in Calgary, Canada to let them know that the Achuar people of the Peruvian Amazon continue to say NO to oil drilling on their ancestral territory.

The Achuar of the Morona and Pastaza river basins are adamantly opposed to oil exploration in their territory because they have witnessed the environmental devastation caused by oil operations in the nearby Corrientes river basin. They oppose Talisman's plans to expand seismic testing and drill further exploratory wells on hunting and fishing grounds in the heart of their ancestral lands.

Last week, the new leadership of FENAP – the largest Achuar organization in Peru representing 48 communities, the majority of which lie within Block 64 – condemned the planned expansion and demanded that Talisman respect the Achuar people's rights in a declaration. I will be reading a part of this declaration today.

At last year's AGM, a delegation of Achuar leaders accompanied by Amazon Watch traveled from the remote headwaters of the northern Peruvian Amazon, to Calgary to launch an international campaign demanding that Talisman cease oil operations and withdraw from Achuar territory. In response, the company took an important step by adopting a Global Community Relations Policy, but is now proposing an expansion of oil drilling in Achuar territory, violating indigenous rights and its own policy.

Please, take action now to demand the Achuar's rights and prevent environmental destruction in Achuar territory! Watch and share the video and sign the global petition to let Talisman know that the Achuar say NO!

In solidarity with the Achuar,

Gregor MacLennan
Peru Program Coordinator