Declaration establishes Working Group on People’s Living in Isolation and Initial Contact following convening in Lima
Photos above of participants during regional convening taken by Jesús Sosa. Following two days of meetings in Lima, Peru, 21 organizations from across the Amazon and El Chaco have formed The Working Group on People’s Living in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. This announcement follows the release of: “Indigenous People’s Living in Voluntary Isolation: Territories and development in the Amazon and El Chaco Regions — Regional Report“, which will be formally presented today at the IUCN III meeting on Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Protected Areas. Land is Life was appointed to be the Secretariat of the Working Group and is pleased to share the Lima Declaration, signed by 21 participating organizations: THE LIMA DECLARATION REGIONAL MEETING ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN ISOLATION: TERRITORIES AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE AMAZON AND THE GRAN CHACO. This is the declaration of Indigenous organizations, NGOs, indigenous leaders, researchers, scholars, and advocates of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname who met in Lima, Peru between October 10-11, 2019. We met to analyze and discuss the situation of indigenous peoples living in isolation and initial contact (PIACI) and learn about the results of the Report: “Indigenous Peoples in Isolation: Territories and development in the Amazon and the Gran Chaco – Regional Report”. The report included the efforts of more than 11 organizations in 8 countries in the region where PIACI exist, resulting in the recording of 185 identified settlements or groups of indigenous people living in isolation. The report signals the pressures and threats that PIACI are under, and established pioneering regional vision of the situation of the PIACI in the Amazon and the Gran Chaco. After our meeting, the organizations, leaders, and researchers issued this declaration to capture their reflections and conclusions: 1. Observing and fully respecting the principle of self-determination of indigenous peoples, we ratify ourselves on the principle of no-contact as the principal guideline and fundamental right of indigenous peoples living in isolation, consecrated in the international standards of the rights of indigenous peoples. We reject the actions and initiatives that promote the forced contact made with these peoples. 2. We are extremely concerned about the setbacks experienced in the region in relation to the protection of indigenous peoples living in isolation and in general with respect to the land rights of indigenous peoples. In this sense, we think that the case of Brazil is paradigmatic and represents the most radical turning in relation to the reorientation of policies that tend to generate setbacks with respect to international landmarks and standards of protection of the indigenous peoples. 3. Nevertheless, the setbacks to PIACI protection policies are not an isolated trend in the region. In Bolivia, there have also been setbacks in policies that affect indigenous peoples and populations in isolation. These setbacks have reversed the legal advances of the previous years, applying extractive plans, mega-enterprise projects and expansion of the agricultural frontiers. In Peru and Ecuador, there had been a number of laws, regulations and guidelines for the protection of PIACI. However, there are policy measures that circumvent responsibility for the protection and intangibility of the indigenous peoples territories. Among other things, we can mention the recategorization of the territories to weaken their protection. Exceptions to the protection of PIACI are made where there are extractive interests, increase of granted areas for exploitation and institutional dismantling and reduction of fiscal resources intended for the protection of the PIACI. There has also been an exclusion of the indigenous peoples who share territory with the PIACI in the process of decision making, monitoring and social control. 4. In Venezuela, there are no specific protection rules for PIACI. Therefore we consider it important to urge the Asamblea Nacional Constituyente to adopt the recommendations that have been made by indigenous organizations, their allies and the Ombudsperson for stipulating a constitutional article for PIACI protection. 5. The implementation of megaprojects, infrastructure work, hydroelectric, roads, forestry concessions, hydrocarbons, and mining in indigenous peoples’ territories – granted with the endorsement of the governments – create an increase in social conflicts, degradation of ecosystems, and violations of fundamental human resources for PIACI. Also, there is a serious absence of state protection in PIACI territories that have been occupied by illicit and illegal activities, weakening the PIACI’s ability to control and protect their states. The current situation entails a real risk of genocide. The conclusions of the Regional Report illustrate how these policies are not the result of dynamics isolated in the national space, but a reflection of a regional scheme that constitutes a “development model” in the Amazon and the Chaco that contradicts the main normative and standards of protection of the PIACI rights. 6. Additionally, the impacts of this development model and its policies create consequences like threats and the criminalization of people and institutions related to indigenous rights, the weakening of Territorial Protection Statutes, as well as the refusal of states and companies to adopt the precautionary principles and other safeguards aimed at ensuring the intangibility of the territories of the PIACI. 7. This landscape demonstrates the lack of political will of governments to implement and observe the protection guidelines while the model of extractive development is consolidated in the region. States have been freezing their decisions on new demarcation for groups in isolation, which undermines the full recognition of their rights, as found in Peru and other countries in the region. While the number of PIACI records has increased between 2005 and 2019, as progress in research processes, official recognition of people in isolation and their territories continues to be a challenge in countries such as Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela. In this Regional Report, we have information about 185 peoples living in isolation. From these, only 66 are confirmed by their governments. 8. We consider it indispensable to point out that indigenous peoples in isolation are found in a situation of vulnerability due to non-compliance and invisibility of their rights by the surrounding society. In conditions without these pressures and
Victory In Ecuador On Indigenous People’s Day!
Dear Land is Life Partners, Just yesterday, after 11 days of nationwide indigenous-led mobilizations that paralyzed the country, Ecuador’s indigenous movement compelled their government to prioritize their demands over those of the International Monetary Fund, an important victory for indigenous organizing and pluri-national democracy, and a powerful blow to a 4.4 billion IMF-backed loan deal that seeks to restructure the Ecuadorian economy towards privatization, resource-extraction, and other severe neo-liberal economic reforms. As the dust settles, the indigenous movement is taking stock of the high costs of this struggle, with at least 7 dead and thousands arrested or injured, as well as the road ahead to demand accountability for brutal human rights violations by the Ecuadorian government. What comes next will define the future of Ecuador and indigenous peoples for generations to come. We would like to send a special thanks to Amazon Frontlines and Amazon Watch for helping us with this joint campaign. Our friends at Amazon Frontlines have been a key partner in supporting legal cases and sharing messages of our Indigenous allies. In that spirit, they have created a photo essay to share the struggle of the past 12 days. While today marks the 527th year anniversary since the arrival of the conquistadors to the Americas – a day formerly known to many as Columbus Day is now rightfully known as Indigenous People’s Day. We send strength and congratulations to our partners in Ecuador as they celebrate a victory for indigenous peoples and self-determination. For more updates, please follow our partners CONAIE and CONFENIAE as they continue their work on the ground.
Humanitarian aid and legal support urgently needed for indigenous peoples in Ecuadorian protests
Tens of thousands of indigenous people have been marching across Ecuador since last week to protest a wave of neoliberal economic measures that threaten to lock the country in a deepening cycle of inequality, corruption, environmental degradation, and natural resource extraction. In response, the Ecuadorian Government has declared a State of Emergency, facilitating increased military and police violence, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on freedom of association and mobility. Hundreds of indigenous protesters have been jailed, including Land is Life partner Marlon Santi, who was held overnight on Thursday of last week. We are alarmed by the deaths announced by CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) and also by yesterday’s attack by governmental forces on the safe zones that were providing medical attention to the injured, and housing children and indigenous peoples. Human rights groups have issued reports citing widespread human rights violations. DONATE TODAY By making a donation now, 100% of your donations will go to: Medicine, food and blankets to the tens of thousands of people arriving in Quito Legal costs to defend and free hundreds of indigenous protestors detained arbitrarily
Land is Life Report: Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation in the Amazon
Land is Life Releases People’s Living in Voluntary Isolation regional report at Lima Convening For over two years Land is Life has worked with 10 indigenous organizations and subject experts to support the development of a report on the situation facing Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation in the Amazon and El Chaco regions, as well as potential threats to their lands and territories. Today we are proud to release the results of this effort, the most comprehensive report on the topic in the past decade: Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation: Territories and development in the Amazon and El Chaco Regions – Regional Report. One of the report’s most critical findings is the identification and verification of more than double the number of indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation than previously formally recognized. Land is Life is dedicated to supporting these populations as they confront the issues that impact their right to self-determination and protection of their lands and territories. In order to follow up on the success of the report and the urgency of these issues, Land is Life has gathered over 60 stakeholders, including contributors to the report and experts on the subject in Lima, Peru. This gathering is being held in anticipation of the upcoming IUCN III meeting on Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Protected Areas on October 14-17, 2019. The report provides a clear overview of the status of land rights recognition for these groups, as well as maps that identify the extractive and development projects that threaten those lands and territories. It additionally offers an analysis of the existing opportunities to protect the lives of community members and the biocultural diversity of their lands and territories. We are pleased to share the final version of the report today and look forward to sharing the outcomes of the gathering this week, as well as supporting the working group as they begin to execute the agenda established together in Lima. Land is Life sincerely thanks all of our partners and contributors to this critical report. Read report: Land is life 25-septiembre-2019.
With Your Help, Indigenous Communities Are Fighting Back Against The Amazon Fires
Drone footage from historic Amazon fires taken in an Indigenous community of El Gran Chaco and Chiquitania in Bolivia. As cattle ranchers and agricultural interests continue to burn thousands of acres of forest across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, I’m writing to you with an update on how your crucial support is helping frontline indigenous communities fight back against this crisis. Since late August, when images of the fires gripped world headlines, our joint-campaign with Amazon Frontlines has raised $180,442 from 4,318 online donors. Together, we have sent 100% of these funds directly to Indigenous organizations and communities affected by the fires. Your support is being used by Indigenous frontlines’ brigades to fight encroaching fires, while also rebuilding their communities, re-establishing crops, and re-constructing ceremonial houses. We are committed to keeping you informed about how your funds are being deployed to best serve indigenous peoples, who are risking their lives to protect their lands and livelihoods from this global assault on our planet’s most important rainforest. In the coming weeks, we will be organizing multiple trips for indigenous filmmakers from the Upper Amazon to document the perspectives and stories, and amplify the voices of indigenous peoples affected by these fires across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. As the fires continue to rage across the Amazon rainforest during this dry season, urgent action and mobilization have never been so necessary. There’s still time to donate and show your support, if you haven’t already.
Land Is Life Calls On The Government Of Indonesia To Halt Oppression Of Indigenous Peoples Of Papua
Reports coming out of Indonesia detail an escalation of violence and an unconfirmed number of casualties following protests that began two weeks ago in reaction to reports of harassment and racial discrimination towards Papuan students by police in Surayaba. This incident is just one example in a long history of discriminatory treatment and human rights abuses by the Indonesian government against the people of Papua and West Papua. Executive Director of Land is Life, Casey Box adds, “Based on my personal experience in Papua, ongoing conversations with our partners, and reports developing daily, we know the Indonesian government is ignoring the concerns and demands of Papuans. They are reacting brutally to Papuans’ protests, continuing to propagate and promote racist tropes and biases, limiting their basic human rights, and militarizing radical groups against Papuan demonstrators.” Land is Life strongly condemns the Indonesian government’s history and current practices of racial discrimination and persecution of Papuans in the country and calls on the Indonesian government to: Halt the escalation of violence against demonstrators exercising their right to protest and for the release of all those unjustly imprisoned as a result; Immediately open up an authentic dialogue with Papuans about their concerns at the root of the conflict and their aspirations, as well as allow international authorities (namely the UN) to enter the region and evaluate the severity of the human rights violations; Restore the internet and cellular channels in the province to allow for the exercise of free speech and stop the denial of these basic human rights for Papuans and all others affected. Land is Life echoes the concerns of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in her statement made yesterday. Michelle commented, “I have been disturbed by escalating violence in the past two weeks in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, and especially the deaths of some protestors and security forces personnel…I encourage the authorities to engage in dialogue with the people of Papua and West Papua on their aspirations and concerns, as well as to restore internet services and refrain from any excessive use of force. Blanket internet shutdowns are likely to contravene freedom of expression and limiting communications may exacerbate tensions”. Land is Life has been partnering with grassroots indigenous partners in West Papua for years. We’re currently proud to support a partnership with YADUPA and stand strongly in support of their work towards fully exercising their self-determination.
Amazon Fires Provoke Potential Genocide for Indigenous Peoples Living in Isolation and Initial Contact
(The following statement was developed by Land is Life Special Advisor on Isolated Peoples in South America along with Land is Life’s network of grassroots Indigenous partners from across the Amazon) Facing the fiery scenario in South America, we have seen the need to express ourselves publicly and denounce the dramatic situation in which these affected groups live. We are Indigenous Organizations, Allied Organizations and specialists working to protect PIACI (Peoples Living in Isolation or with Initial Contact) living in the Amazon and the Great Chaco. PIACI are under constant threat. Current fires aggravate their situation and put at risk their physical integrity. A predatory development model, along with the negligence of the state to protect these peoples have resulted in an increase of their socio-epidemiological vulnerability. Peoples Living in Isolation have a condition of vulnerability in the context that drives Western society. Among the conditions that have created this situation, we highlight the constitutional dimension, related to the development policies implemented in the region that are associated with autonomous and / or illegal initiatives. They constitute vectors that increase the life threatening situations of these populations. For this reason, governments don’t feel the need to give special attention to PIACI. We publicly defend the PIACI and demand that the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela take immediate measures to counteract such fires and, in coordination, implement special protection measures for these peoples, respecting their self-determination and decision to continue living in isolation. We are aware that behind the burning of the Amazon, the Chiquitanía and the Great Chaco there is a million dollar market In Brazil, “setting fire to an area of 1,000 hectares costs around 1 million reais in the black market.” Who pays and what do they earn? We, the Indigenous Organizations, the Allies and the experts of PIACI present in collaboration an overview of the seven countries of the Amazon Basin and the Great Chaco in Paraguay. We have identified 185 records of isolated indigenous peoples in the region, from those, the existence of 66 has been confirmed. BoliviaSo far in 2019, 1 million hectares of forest have officially burned. From the end of July to August, the forest fire of the Chiquitanía devastated 780 thousand hectares. The most affected territories comprise the region of Chiquitanía and the Ayoreo, Chiquitano and Monkoxi Territories. Dry forests have also been severely affected and have disappeared along the border with Paraguay. This area had been decreed with intangibility for Ayoreo Isolation Peoples and the Guaraní Territory. These areas represent the last refuges for the survival of PIACI and are increasingly threatened by agribusiness and the government. BrazilThe Brazilian Government’s answers to these problems have been completely disrespectful to the constitutional principles. For months, the president of the government, Jair Bolsonaro,has delivered speeches against indigenous peoples and the environmental movement. He has disrespected environmental legislation. The government is subject to international repercussions in the face of Brazilian scandals and the pressure of the G7. Given this, a crisis cabinet was instituted and thereafter initiatives were taken; discussion and contempt were the only two pronouncements of the president and his team to the international community and especially before the civil society organized in favor of Brazil. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon since July (or prior), is 278% greater than during the same period of 2018. These are official numbers of the INPE. Between August 15 and August 20 of this year, 131 Indigenous lands have burned in Brazil. These numbers keep increasing because every day there are new fires. These data have been collected by Ananda Santa Rosa and Fabrício Amorim based on the Fire Information System. The most dramatic situation is that of two groups of indigenous peoples in isolation. In Brazil there are 114 records of communities of Peoples Living in Isolation, of which 28 are confirmed by the official indigenist government agency or FUNAI. How many fled the fire? The information collected suggests that 15 fires were counted in lands where there are records of Isolated Indigenous Peoples, especially in the states of Mato Grosso, Pará, Tocantins and Rondônia. FUNAI still doesn’t have reliable data to determine how many were affected. ColombiaIn most countries, fires are a result of the interests of the development model implemented. The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia – IDEAM, registered 138,176 hectares deforested in the Amazon in 2018. Although the fire season in Colombia is usually between January and February, the accelerated deforestation affects the corridor between the Andes mountain range -Amazon – Orinoquía. From 2016 to 2018 the Colombian Amazon has lost 478,000 hectares of forest of which 73% (348,000) corresponds to primary forest, and, so far in 2019, alerts indicate the additional loss of 60,600 hectares, of which 75% (45,700 hectares) was primary forest. These mainly impact four protected areas: Tinigua National Parks, Sierra de la Macarena, Nukak National Reserve and Chiribiquete mountain range. The Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park, home of at least two isolated villages still pending confirmation, the Carijona and Murui peoples, lost 2,600 hectares since their expansion in July 2018, of which 96% corresponds to primary forest. On the other hand, despite not being directly affected by the fires, the Río Puré National Natural Park, which houses the thick tropical rainforest, and pending confirmation of the peoples of the Yuri – Passé, is under pressure from exploitation and hydrocarbon exploration, the advance of the agricultural frontier, the development of road infrastructure and mining. EcuadorIn Ecuador there have been no large fires in the Southern Amazon. However, mining activities are mainly conducted on indigenous territories in the South Amazon of Ecuador, causing a huge loss of biodiversity, water pollution and the displacement of Shuar indigenous communities. It has been observed through satellite images that in recent years there has been an increase in rainfall and the creation of flood zones in the northern Amazon. In the past decades, these have been destroyed and contaminated by oil activities. The advance of
Send Your Support to Grassroots Indigenous Communities in Brazil Threatened by the Historic Amazon Fires
Millions of acres of Indigenous territory across Brazil are burning, releasing enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and threatening the lands and lives of over a million Indigenous people in the region. In response, Land is Life is working with Amazon Frontlines on an urgent campaign to encourage our networks to send support directly to our grassroots Indigenous partner the Indigenous Confederation of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) who are organizing a frontlines response to the fires to protect their lands and territories from further destruction. All funds raised will directly support COIAB’s Indigenous-led “fire brigades” currently fighting the fires and to their organizational capacity in order to protect the Amazon long into the future. The fires now raging across the Amazon are not natural. They are part of a political crisis in which the governments of the region, most notably that of Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, has enabled the destruction of formerly protected areas, including hundreds of Indigenous lands. HELP COIAB BATTLE THE HISTORIC AMAZON FIRES TODAYWe also want to make an international call for the lives of the Indigenous Peoples living in Isolation that inhabit the Brazilian Amazon. We do not have information about these groups current situations in the midst of the flames, but they live in the jungles that have been affected. The devastation is so aggressive that we have deep doubts about its ability to survive this historic crisis. A call to the Brazilian government to stop this genocide and act efficiently and respectfully to guarantee the survival of Indigenous peoples is urgently needed.
Remarks by Mr. Brian Keane, Rapporteur of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 9 August 2019 Remarks by Mr. Brian Keane, Rapporteur of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. LIU Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs, Chief Thompson, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen I am honoured to be here today to celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples with the theme of Indigenous Languages. On behalf of the members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, I would like to thank the General Assembly for proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This has brought significant attention to the urgent need to promote, revitalize and strengthen indigenous languages. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 oral languages in the world today, most of them spoken by very few individuals. It is estimated that approximately half of the world’s languages will become extinct by the year 2100. Most of these will be indigenous languages. More than 50 percent of the world’s indigenous peoples are in danger of losing their languages. Data clearly show that this devastating trend is occurring all over the world: In Latin America, UNICEF estimates that one fifth of the indigenous communities no longer speak their languages; one fourth, of the indigenous languages of the region are in danger of extinction. In the United States of America, only four Yuchi-speaking elders remain. They are all over 90 years old. For the Tjwao / San people in Zimbabwe – In a population of about 2500, only a dozen elders between the ages of 65-95 now speak and understand their language. These are only a few examples. There are, unfortunately, many more. If this trend is allowed to continue, the children and grandchildren of the majority of this generation of indigenous peoples will NOT speak their Mother tongues. This is among the most critical issues that indigenous peoples face today, as it is language that allows indigenous peoples to express their histories and traditions and to transmit their knowledge to future generations. The loss of indigenous languages is exacerbated by ongoing conflicts over natural resources, destruction of indigenous peoples’ livelihoods, and forced relocation from their ancestral territories. This is intensified by assimilationist policies where indigenous peoples are required to adopt the cultures and languages of the dominant population. The lack of legal recognition of indigenous languages often results in prejudicial treatment and disadvantages for indigenous peoples, in particular in the areas of education, health and access to services. More often than not, indigenous languages are not taught in schools. In fact, in some countries indigenous children are still forcibly removed from their families and sent to boarding schools, where not only are they forbidden from speaking their languages, but they often also suffer physical, mental and even sexual abuse. This is unconscionable. We know from the history of boarding schools in the United States and Australia; we know from the work of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was headed by Chief Wilton Littlechild and which spent over five years gathering evidence and listening to the testimony of over 7000 residential school survivors, that the purpose of these institutions is to destroy the cultural identities of indigenous children. We can and must do better than this. Indigenous languages cannot be revitalized in a vacuum. Protection of indigenous peoples’ languages requires protection of their lands, territories and resources. It requires recognition of all of their rights, as laid out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Cultural and language rights are indivisible from all of the other rights of indigenous peoples, and are critical to the implementation of the Declaration – as committed to by Member States at the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014. Central to all of these rights, and key to the protection of indigenous languages, is indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, which includes their right to freely pursue their own economic, social and cultural development, to self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, and their right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions (as stated in articles. 3, 4 and 5). Further, to preserve and revitalize their languages, indigenous peoples must be able to establish and control their own educational systems and institutions, and have access to education in their own languages (as stated in articles 13 and 14). Indigenous languages have been developed over millenia and are inextricably linked to the lands, waters, territories and resources of the peoples that speak them. Each language represents a unique framework for understanding the world in all its intricacies and represents a complex system of knowledge that is vital for sustaining the Earth’s biological diversity, for finding effective responses to the challenges presented by global climate change, for maintaining the ecological integrity of the world’s remaining intact ecosystems and for ensuring long-term global health and food security. Each time a language dies, so too does a wealth of unique ecological, economic, pharmacological, cultural and spiritual knowledge. The consequences affect all of us. As the great Marcos Terena, a Xané man from Brazil, said when speaking to the world’s governments at the Earth Summit in 1992 – “the future of indigenous peoples, is the future of humanity”. So we cannot be complacent. We must all acknowledge that much more needs to be done. We must accelerate our efforts towards the full and effective implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In closing, I reiterate the call of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to proclaim a Decade on Indigenous Languages. We are joined in this call by the other indigenous-specific UN mechanisms – the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. Looking to the future, I urge you all to be bold, to invest in inclusive, rights-based approaches to sustainable development that go far beyond 2030, and to
Land is Life Condemns “Decree 751” Which Threatens Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park
According to data collected and presented by Land is Life in the 18th United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNFPII), there are a total of 185 records of Indigenous Peoples Living in Isolation (PIAV) in South America, of which 66 are confirmed and 119 are pending confirmation. In 2007, the Ecuadorian government established a Plan of Precautionary Measures for the Protection of Isolated Indigenous Peoples. The plan mandated the creation of the Tataeri Taromenane Intangible Zone (ZITT), within the Yasuní National Park and defined a 10km diameter buffer zone. The objective was to avoid development activities, mainly extractive, that put at risk the integrity of the ZITT and the people living therein. In the following year, in a referendum to the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, the State explicitly recognized the existence of Isolated Peoples and their fundamental rights. The state declared their territories an “irreducible ancestral possession” and intangible, banning all forms of extractive activity. These initiatives elevated Ecuador as a leader in the defense and protection of the PIAV. However, the state’s declaration did not lead to any progress, and even now, Ecuador has no public policy codifying the protection of isolated indigenous peoples. In addition, numerous official measures have been taken that put at risk the protection of these peoples including: Constant reduction of human and financial resources; Postponement of the development of public policy for the protection of PIAV; Absence of effective protection initiatives for PIAV and their territories in the face of threats from oil activities, directly promoted by the Ecuadorian State with capital from China, Spain and Ecuador; Expansion of the agricultural and colonization frontiers, exposing the PIAV to surrounding populations; Local governments are creating roads and infrastructure adjacent to PIAV populations without proper consultation. The current administration has further weakened the ability of government agencies to manage and execute the protection of the PIAV by merging the Directorate of Isolated Peoples with the National Secretariate for Policy Management – diluting the original agency’s power and removing their independence. The new organization is now exposed to political pressure by parties who have publically declared their interests to be in opposition to those of the Indigenous Peoples. Map showing impacts of Decree 751 On May 21, 2019, the government passed Executive Decree 751. This decree is unconstitutional and contradicts the result of the government organized Popular Consultation in February of 2018 and further demonstrates their anti-protection agenda. While Article 2 expands the ZITT by 60,450 hectares, Article 3, then places PIAV in a vulnerable position since it allows the construction of “platforms of hydrocarbon production” in the buffer zone of the ZITT – an invasion that was previously prohibited. On top of intruding on the protected area, such platforms harm the environment, pollute the soil and water, and disturb the ecological system that peoples in isolation depend on. Many scientific studies affirm and verify the presence of these populations outside the ZITT, however, Decree 751 deliberately ignores these studies, even though they have been widely disseminated. Decree 751 threatens the physical and social integrity of the PIAV that inhabit the interior of Yasuní Park, violating the international standards of protection of the fundamental rights of these peoples. Land is Life makes a public call to action and affirms the countless scientific studies and articles published nationally and internationally, urging the Ecuadorian State to: Convene civil society, through indigenous and allied organizations, for public consultation within the framework of the provisions of Convention 169 of the ILO, to define the Public Policy of Protection for the PIAV; Revoke Decree 751 and accept the original mandate of the referendum, that the constitutional precepts be enforced in article 57, on irreducible and intangible ancestral possession of their territories, thus prohibiting any type of extractive activity in the buffer zone and within the ZITT; Obey the results of the referendum, in which a large majority responded favorably to the increase of the ZITT and the reduction of oil exploitation in the area.