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Gas Project Threatens the Peruvian Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 24, 2001 (ENS) - The San
Francisco based Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has just issued an action
alert concerning a remote region of the Peruvian Amazon that may soon be
the site of a $2.7 billion gas project.
The region encompasses the Urubamba River valley of the Ucayali watershed,
between the northern spurs of the Vilcabamba Mountains to the west and the
Urubamba Mountains to the east. Much of the area has been identified by the
Republic of Peru for gas and natural gas liquids development.
The Camisea project will be located in Peru's Lower Urubamba River Valley,
a biologically rich area that is home to several uncontacted indigenous
tribes in one of the world's most biologically diverse regions.
Construction on the project is slated to begin in early 2002, with
equipment expected to arrive in the area at any time, RAN warns. The
financial advisor for the Camisea project is
Citigroup, a group of financial institutions which backs other oil and gas projects around the
world.
In 1996, Shell Prospecting and Development (Perú) B.V. and the Perúvian
government began work on a major gas and condensate development project in
the Lower Urubamba River Valley, near the Camisea River, according to a study by the
Smithsonian Institution's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program.
The Camisea project would benefit Peru economically, providing energy from
a new source and allowing new industries to develop. But the natural gas
and condensate reservoirs are located in the Amazonian lowlands near Manu
National Park and another reserve area - home to much of the biodiversity
of Perú.
Shell and Mobil, two original partners in Camisea, later withdrew from the
project after investing more than $250 million. The project has been on
hold since 1998, due in part to strong opposition from human rights,
environmental, and indigenous groups around the world.
The Smithsonian study found that the region houses more than 61 different
plant species per acre, nearly 800 species of birds, 120 species of fish,
86 species of reptiles, 69 species of medium and large mammals, 300 species
of
small mammals, and 600 species of invertebrates. Researchers found the
region to be in "nearly pristine condition," with no evidence of human
activity.
The Lower Urubamba Region is home to the legally recognized territory of
two isolated and uncontacted indigenous tribes, the Nahua and Kugapakori.
Dozens of other indigenous communities can be found along rivers in the
region.
An initial Environmental Impact Assessment report found that the project's
socio-cultural impacts could include loss of food resources, contamination
of drinking water, loss or damage to archeological sites, changes to
existing economic activity, and the spread of disease.
The project has already proven deadly for the Nahua tribe. During preliminary
exploration in the Camisea region in the 1980s, exploration workers exposed
the Nahua to a whooping cough and influenza epidemic that killed off an
estimated 50 percent of the tribe's population.
As the financial advisor for the project, Citigroup has the role of
arranging the project's financing. The Rainforest Action Network is asking
that the public take action to lobby Citigroup to withdraw as financial
advisor.
Citigroup includes many banking and insurance institutions: Citibank,
Travelers, Salomon Smith Barney, and Primerica Financial Services, among
others.
RAN has composed a sample protest letter to Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill that
asks for understanding of the environmental issues raised by the
development. It says, "A major gas development project in such a culturally
and environmentally sensitive area would have far reaching and potentially
devastating consequences. I urge you to show respect for the environment
and indigenous rights and by withdrawing from the Camisea Project
immediately."
RAN's website is set up so that quick emails can be sent on action alerts.
Visit:
http://www.ran.org/action/alerts.html
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2001. All rights reserved. |
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