Context: A new report revealed that the Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor—home to the world’s largest population of isolated Indigenous Peoples—is under imminent threat from oil expansion, logging, and organized crime.
About The Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor:
What it is?
- The Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor is a massive, proposed 16-million-hectare protected territory. It is a global biodiversity stronghold and home to the largest population of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in the western Amazon.
Location:
- Transboundary Region: It runs along the western border of Brazil (Amazonas and Acre states) and Peru (Loreto and Ucayali departments).
- Basin: It is situated in the southern basin of the Amazon River.
Tribes and Groups Involved
- Isolated Groups: Brazil recognizes at least 17 isolated Indigenous groups within the corridor, primarily in the Vale do Javari Indigenous Territory.
- Recognized Communities: Includes the Matsés, Isconahua, Remo, Kapanawa, Mayoruna, Matis, Korubo, Marubo, and others.
- First Line of Defense: The Matsés people act as the primary guardians for their isolated relatives, using their deep traditional knowledge to monitor and protect the territory.
Key Features:
- Carbon Sink: The corridor holds some of the highest above-ground carbon densities in the world, essential for global climate stability.
- Biodiversity Hotspot: It is recognized for having the highest primate diversity on the planet.
- Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs): Over 907,000 hectares of the corridor are internationally recognized for being crucial to the persistence of biodiversity.
Implications of Current Threats
- Oil and gas blocks overlap with more than 10% of the corridor, threatening 1.7 million hectares of intact tropical forest.
- Logging concessions currently infringe upon 500,000 hectares in the Peruvian segment, even though such activities are illegal in proposed PIACI reserves.
