CASO PUEBLO INDÍGENA CACATAIBO SOLICITUD DE MEDIDAS CAUTELARES URGENTES: SUSPENSIÓN EXPLORACIÓN DE HIDROCARBUROS

This document consists of a series of annexes supporting a request for urgent precautionary measures to suspend hydrocarbon exploration in the territories of the Cacataibo indigenous people. It provides extensive ethnographic evidence, including over 100 testimonies from 2002 to 2006, to prove the existence of Cacataibo groups living in voluntary isolation. The report details the physical characteristics, diet, and housing of these isolated groups, their historical conflicts with other ethnic groups and rubber tappers, and the environmental and health risks posed by seismic exploration in 'Lote 107'. It also outlines the legal status of Cacataibo communal lands and the chronological process of requesting territorial reserves for the isolated populations.

• The Cacataibo in voluntary isolation are characterized physically as being "bastantes altas, fornidas, con los cabellos largos" and often described as "blancos" or "gringos" due to a lighter skin tone compared to settled Cacataibo.
• Isolated Cacataibo are identified by their distinctively large footprints, which locals use to differentiate them from settled indigenous people or madereros (loggers).
• The isolated groups maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle, residing in temporary, precarious shelters made of woven palm leaves, typically 2 to 5 meters high with a single front door.
• The diet of isolated Cacataibo consists of wild fruits, game meat, taricaya eggs, fish, and small-scale crops of camote, plantain, yuca, papaya, and maize, some of which are stolen from nearby settled communities.
• Historical trauma from rubber tappers (caucheros) and the 'boom' of gold in the 1930s drove some Cacataibo to choose voluntary isolation to avoid forced labor and violence.
• The Instituto Lingüístico de Verano (ILV) attempted to 'civilize' isolated Cacataibo in the 1960s, notably capturing a man known as 'Copai' and bringing him to the Sinchi Roca community.
• Seismic exploration in 'Lote 107' poses a substantial risk to isolated Cacataibo due to the introduction of diseases, forest fragmentation, and the noise of helicopters and explosives which displaces wildlife.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EsIA) for Lote 107 is criticized for insufficient wastewater treatment, proposing a plant for 100 people despite a projected workforce of 620, creating a contamination risk for local water sources.
• The Peruvian state has recognized the existence of isolated Cacataibo within the Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul by establishing a 'Zona de Protección Estricta' (ZPE) in the park's Master Plan approved in November 2004.
• AIDESEP and FENACOCA have requested the creation of territorial reserves for isolated Cacataibo since 1999 to protect them from madereros and oil companies.

APA

Lu, M., Chernaik, M., & Huertas, B. (2007). CASO PUEBLO INDÍGENA CACATAIBO SOLICITUD DE MEDIDAS CAUTELARES URGENTES: SUSPENSIÓN EXPLORACIÓN DE HIDROCARBUROS. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Anexos_completos.pdf

Chicago

Lu, Mercedes, Mark Chernaik, and Beatriz Huertas. CASO PUEBLO INDÍGENA CACATAIBO SOLICITUD DE MEDIDAS CAUTELARES URGENTES: SUSPENSIÓN EXPLORACIÓN DE HIDROCARBUROS. Center for International Environmental Law, 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Anexos_completos.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lu |first1=Mercedes |last2=Chernaik |first2=Mark |last3=Huertas |first3=Beatriz |title=CASO PUEBLO INDÍGENA CACATAIBO SOLICITUD DE MEDIDAS CAUTELARES URGENTES: SUSPENSIÓN EXPLORACIÓN DE HIDROCARBUROS |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=17 December 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Anexos_completos.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lu2007caso, author = {Lu, Mercedes and Chernaik, Mark and Huertas, Beatriz}, title = {{CASO PUEBLO INDÍGENA CACATAIBO SOLICITUD DE MEDIDAS CAUTELARES URGENTES: SUSPENSIÓN EXPLORACIÓN DE HIDROCARBUROS}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Anexos_completos.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }