CACATAIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION THREATENED BY OIL EXPLORATION

The Peruvian government approved an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in August 2007 for the 2D Seismic Project for Block 107, allowing the Canadian-headquartered company Petrolífera to conduct oil and gas exploration using dynamite blasts. This project superimposes 50% of proposed territorial reserves intended to protect the Cacataibo peoples in voluntary isolation (Camanos). Despite requests dating back to 1999, the Peruvian government has failed to establish these reserves. The EIA process is criticized for lacking transparency, ignoring 65 observations from INRENA, and failing to provide adequate measures to prevent forced contact, which historically leads to illness and death for isolated indigenous groups. In response, FENACOCA, IBC, and CIEL are seeking precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

• The Peruvian government approved oil and gas exploration in the traditional territories of the Cacataibo indigenous peoples in August 2007 without their prior informed consent.
• The 2D Seismic Project for Block 107, operated by the Canadian-headquartered company Petrolífera, involves the use of dynamite blasts of 4 to 7 kilograms every 50 meters along 38 seismic lines totaling 1,381 km.
• Block 107 overlaps with 50% of the proposed territorial reserves designed to protect the Cacataibo peoples in voluntary isolation.
• Requests for the creation of territorial reserves to protect isolated Cacataibo peoples have been submitted to various Peruvian agencies since 1999, but have not been implemented after nearly a decade.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Block 107 was approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) in August 2007, despite INRENA having previously raised 65 observations that the company had not fully addressed.
• The EIA is criticized for inadequate safety measures, such as using settled Cacataibo community members as guides, which ignores the risk of violent encounters and the history of illness and death resulting from forced contact with isolated peoples.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2007). CACATAIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION THREATENED BY OIL EXPLORATION. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Catataibo_1.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. CACATAIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION THREATENED BY OIL EXPLORATION. 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Catataibo_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=CACATAIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION THREATENED BY OIL EXPLORATION |date=September 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Catataibo_1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2007cacataibo, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{CACATAIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN VOLUNTARY ISOLATION THREATENED BY OIL EXPLORATION}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Catataibo_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }