Peru decides to protect isolated tribes near Brazil border

Authorities in Peru are going through with a plan that will protect isolated tribes in the Amazon rainforest against the threat of illegal logging, after repeated warnings about their plight.

Back in September 2007 the presence of the indigenous people between Peru and Brazil were revealed by the National Institute of Natural Resources (Inrena) and a Frankfurt-based scientific association. For months several international and local NGOs warned authorities that the Indians' way of life was jeopardized by illegal loggers and oil exploration. The Madre de Dios regional government in the southeast made the decision after officials in Brazil released photos of an isolated tribe to draw attention to threats posed by illegal logging and other development. FUNAI, also known as the National Indian Foundation and the Brazilian government, showed pictured of natives pointing bows and arrows at an aircraft carrying photographers over their village. Marco Tulio Valverde is an advisor to the regional government of Madre de Dios and he says that the tribes that will be protected live by the rivers Manu and Tahuamanu. He goes on and says that the tribes only hunt, gather and fish and they do not farm but they do know what fire is. A monitoring scheme is being worked on by the NGOs and authorities from the Madre de Dios region. If the plan works than outsiders will be kept out of areas where the indigenous groups live. Valverde says that the monitoring plan will prove delicate because the areas do not enjoy international protection and there are also health dangers posed by any outside contact because a common flu could kill them. Experts will soon confirm whether illegal logging is a threat to tribes and will also find out if illegal logging forces tribes to leave their homes. The photos of the indigenous people in Brazil were pushed slowly out of Peruvian territory into Brazil because of loggers who were cutting down their Amazon basin habitat. It is estimated that there are about 500 isolated indigenous people who are living on the Brazilian side of the border.