I´m currently sitting in a hot and humid Internet cafe in the city of Iquitos, located in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon.  I´m here partly to investigate the many fossil fuel-related environmental and human rights issues in this part of the world.  But what´s struck me again and again, while here, is how closely the future of the Peru´s Amazon is tied to another battle raging in my own home: the Pacific Northwest, USA.  In this post, I want to try to convey some of the urgency of confronting fossil fuel development in Oregon and Washington for the people and ecosystems of Peru.

Over the last few months, Peru has become a front line in the fight against the globally expanding fossil fuel empire.  Peru is also a shining example of how corporate globalization and ¨free trade¨ contributes inevitably to the strengthening of that empire.  As regular readers of this blog will already know, last month saw the massacre of an unknown number of indigenous activists protesting oil, gas, and timber development, and the seizure of indigenous lands in the Amazon.  Most of the killing occurred in the Bagua area of Peru, and the Peruvian government has attempted to cover up the actual number of activists killed (the highest number I heard in the US was about 80 deaths, but the actual number seems to have been much higher).  The protests were brought on in response to several decrees passed by the Peruvian government to facilitate a ¨free trade¨ agreement with the US.  From the beginning, it´s been clear: the environmental and human rights abuses which triggered the protests and the massacre in Bagua came about as a direct result of this trade agreement, and pressure from the US for Peru to open up its oil and gas reserves for exploration.

But the international implications of the massacre go even deeper, and center on several communities in Oregon and Washington currently working to keep infrastructure for a new and dirty fossil fuel out of the Northwest.  Here, energy companies are attempting to build at least three import terminals for natural gas extracted in distant parts of the world, and shipped to the US after a supercooling process to convert the gas to a more easily transported liquid: thus the name Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG.  The Northwest is a focal point for an industry attempt to make LNG a much more important fuel in the United States.  And where would this imported gas come from?  Well, it could be the Middle East, or it could be Russia.  Or it could be the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.

If the energy giants get their way, importation terminals in my home region will grant LNG an open door to the US market.  Suddenly, the Peruvian government will have an even greater incentive than it does now to explore for gas in the Amazon.  I recently spoke with a local concerned citizen in Iquitos, whose name I will protect, who explained to me what increased oil and gas development will mean for the people of the Amazon.  My Spanish is not the greatest, but in a conversation consisting of mixed English, Spanish, and hand gestures, my friend conveyed this central message: the Peruvian government and President Alan Garcia are not particularly concerned with the well being of Peru´s indigenous people, and will not hesitate to use force to obtain land for fossil fuel exploration.  The Bagua massacre could be only the beginning, and importing LNG in the Northwest will only exacerbate the pressure on indigenous communities. 

In Iquitos – a town that grew up around rubber extraction and where the extractive industries continue to be important – graffiti art criticizing Garcia and the exploitation of the Amazon is a common sight.  This is the opposite of the old, misguided stereotype that rainforests are being destroyed because the local people don´t know how to take care of their own resources.  In Peru, there can be no doubt as to the real force behind deforestation.  Over half of Peru´s forest is already under concession to oil and gas developers, and the disillusioned local people I have spoken with are well aware of the health and environmental effects of fossil fuel development.  To save Peru´s carbon-sequestering Amazon and the people who live there, we must reverse or substantially alter the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement.  We must get US corporations out of the Amazon.  And we must stop LNG from becoming an important source of fuel in the US.

Peru´s Bagua massacre may be the worst case of violence in Latin America that can be traced directly to a trade agreement with the US.  The horror of the police crackdown and subsequent cover-up here is not something I can even attempt to convey.  But there are some signs of hope on the horizon.  The two most controversial government decrees have been, at least for the moment, suspended in response to the Bagua crisis.  In Oregon, the legislative session just ended with the defeat of a bill that would have smoothed the way for LNG companies attempting to begin work on projects there.  This fight that extends from the heart of the Amazon to rural areas in Oregon and Washington will be a long one, but it´s one I believe we can win.

My friend from Iquitos and I agreed that both our country´s governments have ignored the effects of fossil fuel extraction for far too long.  I tried to convey that we are making some progress in the US, though my optimism was far from unqualified.  ¨Your president,¨ said my friend, ¨he has an honest face.¨ I replied cautiously that I believe Obama truly wants to make change, but there are many other individuals in our government who will make it difficult for him.  My eyes lingered on the No LNG button pinned to the backpack of my travelling companion from the US.  She, like me, has gone to protests against LNG back home, and worked to raise awareness of the issue at our school.

I have never felt the international implications of the struggle against LNG more tangibly than now.  It´s time to shut the door to new fossil fuels in the Northwest once and for all, and score a victory for a battle that extends to indigenous communities in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.

Posted in Americas, Deforestation, Extraction, Impacted Communities, Indigenous, International Affairs, LNG