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BLoCK 1 AB AND BLOCK 8-8x

More than 35 years of petroleum operations in the CorrientesRiver basin

See map of petroleum blocks

Another part of the Achuar people’s territory is located in the CorrientesRiver basin. For more than 35 years, the people in this area have suffered the consequences of pollution from the petroleum companies’ environmentally and socially irresponsible operations.

In 1970, petroleum exploration and production began in Blocks 1AB and 8-8X, which are superimposed over the territories of Achuar, Kichwa and Urarina communities. The concessions to these blocks are held by OXY and PETROPERU, respectively. PLUSPETRO NORTE S.A. has operated in Block 8-8X since 1996 and Block 1 AB since 2000. Although the two blocks provide about half the petroleum used in Peru, this wealth has left the Achuar people only serious damage to their environment and their health.

The companies OCCIDENTAL (OXY) in Block 1AB and PETROPERÚ in Block 8-8X have discriminated against the communities and violated the rights of the Achuar, Kichwa and Urarina peoples in the Corrientes River basin.

Since 2003, the communities along the CorrientesRiver have been trying to reach an agreement with PLUSPETROL NORTE S.A. based on their rights to territorial and cultural integrity, well-being and development. The communities have exhausted efforts to arrive at a framework agreement that would provide for restoration of the environmental conditions needed for the communities to enjoy a healthy life, as well as indemnification for damages, emergency health care, the right to oversee and monitor operations on their lands, elimination of procedures that pollute the environment, fair distribution of the economic benefits resulting from the extraction of resources on their lands, and other rights.

PLUSPETROL NORTE S.A., meanwhile, has continued fostering division among the communities by supporting the creation of a new organization, FEPIBAC, in the CorrientesRiver basin and encouraging the formation of small companies in the communities to provide cleaning and other services. It has also promoted the signing of agreements with certain communities to provide them with goods and infrastructure projects that do not begin to compensate for the violation of their rights, the company’s use of their resources and community lands, and the damage to and pollution of the people’s water sources, food supply and health.

Because of the protests filed by FECONACO over the violation of the people’s rights, government officials have promised several times to assess the situation and propose solutions to be implemented by the appropriate government agencies. So far, however, these promises have not been kept and the government has not given these problems the attention they deserve.

This process must be monitored and analyzed so as to find other means of defense for these peoples.