VOA科学技术2024--Groups Warn of Conflict Between Loggers, Tribe in Peru

An advocacy group for Indigenous¹ peoples has released images of a reclusive Peruvian Amazon tribe's members searching for food outside of their usual area.

The group calls the pictures evidence that industrial tree cutting operations are "dangerously close" to the tribe's territory. The industry is also known as logging.

The group, Survival International, said the photographs and video it posted recently show members of the Mashco Piro looking for food near the community of Monte Salvado, on the Las Piedras River in Madre de Dios.

Several logging companies hold timber agreements inside territory the tribe lives in, Survival International says. The group has long worked to protect what it says is the largest "uncontacted" tribe in the world. The nearness of logging operations raises fears of conflict between loggers and tribal² members, as well as the possibility that loggers could bring dangerous diseases to the Mashco Piro, the group said.

Two loggers, one of whom died, were shot with arrows while fishing in 2022 in a reported fight with tribal members.

Cesar Ipenza is a lawyer who specializes in environmental law in Peru. He is not connected with Survival International.

Ipenza said the new images are evidence of a "worrying situation because we do not know exactly what is the reason for their departure (from the rainforest) to the beaches."

Isolated³ Indigenous tribes may travel in August to collect turtle eggs to eat, he said.

"But we also see with great concern that some illegal activity may be taking place in the areas where they live and lead them to leave and be under pressure," he said. "We cannot deny the presence of a logging concession⁴ kilometers away from where they live."

Survival International called for the Forest Stewardship⁵ Council (FSC), a group that confirms sustainable forestry⁶, to remove its approval of the operations of one of those companies, Peru-based Canales Tahuamanu. The FSC responded in a statement that it would do "a comprehensive review" of the company's operations to ensure it is protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Canales Tahuamanu, also known as Catahua, has said in the past that it is operating with official permission. The company did not immediately answer a message seeking comment on its operations and the tribe.

A 2023 report by the United Nations' special reporter on the rights of Indigenous peoples said Peru's government had recognized in 2016 that the Mashco Piro and other isolated tribes were using territories that had been opened to logging.

The report expressed concern that the territory of Indigenous peoples had not been marked out "despite reasonable evidence of their presence since 1999."

Survival International said the photos were taken June 26-27 and show about 53 male Mashco Piro on the beach. The group estimated as many as 100 to 150 tribal members would have been in the area with women and children nearby.

"It is very unusual that you see such a large group together," Survival International researcher Teresa Mayo said in a talk with the Associated Press.

Ipenza, the lawyer, said Indigenous people usually move in smaller groups, and a larger group might be a "situation of alarm" even in the case of legal logging.

Words in This Story

advocacy - n. the act or process of supporting a cause

reclusive - adj. withdrawn⁷ or separate from society

arrow - n. a sharp object with a slender shaft⁸ that is shot from a bow

sustainable - adj. of or relating to a method of using a resource so that the resource is not permanently⁹ damaged

concession - n. a grant of land or property in return for services or for a particular use

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

5 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

6 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

7 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

8 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。