The Mashco Piro tribe of Peru recently used bows and arrows on loggers suspected of encroaching on their territory in the Amazon. CBS NewsRegional indigenous organization FENAMAD said on Monday that it believed illegal logging was taking place in the Mashco Piro region and that a logger was injured in the July 27 attack.
This comes just weeks after photos emerged of an uncontacted tribe looking for food on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon. Experts say the pictures are evidence that logging concessions are “dangerously close” to their territory. Survival International, an advocacy group for indigenous people that closely tracks Mashco Piro issues, said the photos and videos showed about 53 male Mashco Piro on the beach. The group estimated that 100 to 150 tribal members may have been present in the area, along with women and children.
“This is likely illegal because the area where the incident occurred is a forestry concession that Wood Tropical Forests has until November 2022, and we are not aware of any concession that has requested or been granted enabling rights in the same area,” said a FENAMAD representative, speaking anonymously out of personal security concerns. CBS News,
The organization further stated that the lack of security measures by the Peruvian government and the increased activity of companies and illegal operators in the Masco Piro region could lead to “catastrophic consequences”, such as the spread of diseases and increased violence.
It is noteworthy that two loggers were shot with arrows while fishing in the area in 2022. There have been several other previous reports of conflict as well, the outlet reported.
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According to FENAMAD, the tribe is being forced out of their traditional lands due to increased logging activity in the area. They believe the Mashco Piro are moving closer to settlements in search of food and safe refuge.
In addition, Survival International said it is pressuring the Peruvian government to go even deeper into these areas of the Amazon to help control the situation. “It’s a permanent emergency. For the last month we’ve been seeing the Moscow Piro in different places every two weeks, and in all of those places they’re surrounded by loggers,” Survival International researcher Teresa Mayo told CBS News.
“This is literally a matter of life and death. And only the government can stop this and it is its duty to do so,” Ms Mayo said.
