Significant inconsistencies and gaps in governmental policies for peatland science and protection in Peru’s Imiría Regional Conservation Area have impacted the livelihoods of Indigenous Shipibo residents, according to a new study. The authors say these issues are hindering the effectiveness of efforts to conserve the area’s peatlands. The study identifies policies that inadvertently impact Indigenous livelihoods and sovereignty — therefore exacerbating tensions and mistrust between the Imiría authorities and communities — and lack of mention of peatlands in the protected area’s master plan. This means locals and policymakers alike are unaware of the importance of the critical ecosystem, according to the study. Shipibo residents who live inside the regional conservation area, or ACR as it’s known in Spanish, say they recognize the need to protect the area’s vital natural resources, but feel they’ve been unfairly targeted by some of the government’s environmental policies. For example, there’s a ban on commercial fishing, which means families can only fish for consumption, but not to sell. “At the moment, local fishing is healthy fishing,” Samuel Cauper, an Indigenous Shipibo who heads the Imiría ACR, told Mongabay by phone. “The local inhabitants of this area do not have the capacity for large-scale exploitation of fishing.” While Cauper said he sees the problems in the conservation area, he has little power to address it. Indigenous residents have protested against the protected area and submitted formal complaints. They’re demanding that authorities annul the supreme decree used to establish the protected area, which they argue was done…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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