Severe threats to Peru’s indigenous communities from Mennonite deforestation

In Peru, Mennonites have deforested over 7,000 primary forests since 2017 with chemicals and heavy machinery: attempts to stop them are futile

In Peru’s Ucayali region, the indigenous Shipibo-Konibo community of Caimito is facing severe threats from deforestation and land usurpation by Mennonite settlers. Despite court orders to halt deforestation, Mennonite agricultural activities continue to devastate the area.

Court orders ineffective against ongoing deforestation

In December last year, the Transitory Preparatory Investigation Court for Environmental Crimes in Ucayali issued a precautionary measure to stop these practices. However, legal provisions seem ineffective against the ongoing agricultural expansion that affects the environment and the lifestyle of about 500 Caimito residents.

According to an investigation by journalist Ronald Suárez Maynas, the Mennonites have cleared over 17,000 acres of primary forests since 2017, using intensive agricultural practices unsuited to Amazonian ecosystems. The use of chemicals and heavy machinery is degrading the soil, leading to irreversible environmental damage.

Marc Dourojeanni, emeritus professor at the National Agrarian University, criticizes the authorities’ passivity in the face of these violations. Despite the short-term profits from soybean and rice cultivation, the Mennonites’ practices are unsustainable in the long run.

Another amazonian region severely affected

The Caimito community has responded by forming a Shipibo indigenous guard to protect their territory. In October 2023, this guard managed to stop attempts by the Mennonites to start new crops, removing machinery and structures under construction.

Despite these tensions, the community acknowledges some economic benefits from the Mennonite presence, which provides high-quality agricultural and dairy products at competitive prices. Ruth Vásquez Santos, from the annexed community of San Pedro in Masisea, highlights how the Mennonites offer affordable products, but Abner Ancón Rodríguez, head of the Caimito community, denounces the lack of reciprocity in trade, benefiting only one side.

The deforestation caused by the Mennonites poses a threat not only to Ucayali but also to Loreto, another severely affected Amazonian region. From 2022 to 2023, five Mennonite colonies in Peru have cleared over 6,000 acres.

The Organization of the Indigenous District of Masisea (ORDIM) has declared their territories in a state of emergency, seeking to protect themselves through collective security mechanisms and denouncing illegal logging, coca leaf cultivation, and resource exploitation by external companies, hoping for a breakthrough.

Source: Infobae