Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance

A statement signed by 45 organizations and individuals, including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), condemning the dismissal of the Executive Director of Peru's forest authority, SERFOR, by the Ministry of Agriculture.

• The Ministry of Agriculture dismissed Luis Alberto Gonzales-Zúñiga, the Executive Director of the Peruvian forest authority SERFOR, via Supreme Resolution N.°02-2020-MINAGRI. The dismissal was based on a "loss of confidence" and bypassed the SERFOR Board of Directors, which was not informed or convened prior to the action.
• Luis Alberto Gonzales-Zúñiga was the first Executive Director of SERFOR appointed through a public tender process endorsed by the Civil Service National Authority (SERVIR) for a five-year term, a structure intended to ensure the independence and continuity of forest and wildlife management in Peru.
• The dismissal occurred while SERFOR was improving timber traceability mechanisms to verify the legal origin of timber from forest to export. The statement claims this progress faced opposition from public and private stakeholders benefiting from illegal timber trade and corruption, with some officials receiving physical attacks and death threats.
• The Financial Intelligence Unit has determined that at least 60% of timber produced in Peru is of illegal origin, often laundered using falsified documents created by corrupt concession holders and authorities.

APA

Peralta, C. A. I., Zapata, F. D. M. V., Cáceres, J. D. E., Bello, J. L. D., Méndez, L. A. H., Sánchez-Moreno, M. C., De Lama, M. L., Fernández-Davila, P., Merino, R., Vasquez, S. C., Huaman, S. S., & Uwarai, Y. A. (2020). Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/civil-society-and-indigenous-peoples-statement-regarding-the-affront-against-institutionality-and-forest-governance/

Chicago

Peralta, César A. Ipenza, Flor de María Vega Zapata, Jose De Echave Cáceres, Juan Luis Dammert Bello, Luis A. Hallazi Méndez, Mariano Castro Sánchez-Moreno, Mercedes Lu De Lama, et al. Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance. Center for International Environmental Law, 2020. https://www.ciel.org/civil-society-and-indigenous-peoples-statement-regarding-the-affront-against-institutionality-and-forest-governance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Peralta |first1=César A. Ipenza |last2=Zapata |first2=Flor de María Vega |last3=Cáceres |first3=Jose De Echave |last4=Bello |first4=Juan Luis Dammert |last5=Méndez |first5=Luis A. Hallazi |last6=Sánchez-Moreno |first6=Mariano Castro |last7=De Lama |first7=Mercedes Lu |last8=Fernández-Davila |first8=Patricia |last9=Merino |first9=Roger |display-authors=etal |title=Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=6 June 2020 |url=https://www.ciel.org/civil-society-and-indigenous-peoples-statement-regarding-the-affront-against-institutionality-and-forest-governance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{peralta2020civil, author = {Peralta, César A. Ipenza and Zapata, Flor de María Vega and Cáceres, Jose De Echave and Bello, Juan Luis Dammert and Méndez, Luis A. Hallazi and Sánchez-Moreno, Mariano Castro and De Lama, Mercedes Lu and Fernández-Davila, Patricia and Merino, Roger and Vasquez, Sandro Chavez and Huaman, Silvia Sánchez and Uwarai, Yanua Atamain}, title = {{Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Statement Regarding the Affront Against Institutionality and Forest Governance}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/civil-society-and-indigenous-peoples-statement-regarding-the-affront-against-institutionality-and-forest-governance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }