In a deal signed in Quito Aug. 3, the government of Ecuador and the UN Development Programme agreed to establish a trust fund to protect Yasuni National Park from oil development in exchange for payments in compensation for foregone revenue. Proponents say the accord will prevent the discharge into the atmosphere of more than 400 million tons of carbon dioxide that would have resulted from burning oil from the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) fields in the area.

Various river ports have been blocked for the past week by some 2,000 indigenous protesters in Peru's northern region of Loreto, effectively cutting off traffic on the Tigre and Corrientes rivers, to press demands for the titling of native lands and payment to local communities for use of the waterways by oil companies. Local commissioners from the Defensoría del Pueblo (rights ombudsman) have been dispatched to the caserío (settlement) of Paraíso to negotiate with the protesters, who are led by the Federation of Indigenous Communities of Bajo Tigre (FECONABAT). Pluspetrol, Talismán, ConocoPhilips, Cares Perú and Perupetro are among the companies with operations in the area. (Diario La Primera, Lima, July 29)

On July 27, the eve of Peru's Independence Day, much of the southern regions of Cusco, Puno, Madre de Dios and Apurímac were paralyzed by a paro, or general strike, to call a halt to the export of natural gas from the Camisea field in the rainforest of Cusco region. Called by peasant and indigenous groups organized in regional Defense Fronts, and supported by many local municipalities, it is the second general strike in as many months to halt traffic and business in Peru's Southern Macro-Region—and this time the strike has been declared open-ended. Violence was reported at various locales around Cusco region on the strike's opening day, as National Police used horses, clubs and tear gas to disperse protesters and clear roadblocks. Attacks were also reported on local residents who refused to observe the strike.

Brazilian indigenous rainforest dwellers are occupying the site of the Dardanelos hydroelectric plant on the Aripuana River in Mato Grosso state, demanding that they be compensated for the damage caused to their lands by the dam, and an end to further destructive hydro development in the region. Around 300 Indians from eleven tribes, including about 50 from the Enawene Nawe people, arrived July 25 at the dam site, and more are continuing to join the occupation.

On July 1 the Peruvian government notified Father Paul McAuley, an environmental activist in the northern Amazonian department of Loreto, that the Interior Ministry is rescinding his residency, which he has held since 2006. The order to expel the British priest, who has called Peru home for the past 20 years, comes on the heels of his efforts to ensure accountability for the massive June 19 PlusPetrol oil spill, which contaminated several rainforest communities.

Illegal mahogany loggers are plundering uncontacted indigenous peoples' land in the depths of the Peruvian Amazon, according to a new report by the Upper Amazon Conservancy (UAC). The report says the logging "provides evidence that Peru is failing to uphold the environmental and forestry obligations of its 2009 Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US" because "more than 80% of Peru’s mahogany [is] exported to the United States."

Some 4,000 people living in communities on the banks of the Rio Marañón in Peru's northeastern Loreto department have been affected by an oil spill that occurred June 19, according to Lilia Reyes, the Loreto representative for the national rights ombudsman, the Defensoría del Pueblo. At least six communities that have been affected by the spill, including Santa Rita de Castilla, Ollanta, and Alfonso Ugarte.

President Alan García refused to sign an historic new law that would recognize Peru's international obligation to consult with indigenous peoples before proceeding with resource extraction projects that affect them. Despite broad appeal from the International Labor Organization of the United Nations, human rights groups and indigenous organizations, Garcia sent back the law to Congress with his objections just before the deadline late on June 21.