Survival International stressed urgent removal of loggers near Mashco Piro territory by Las Piedras river, where recent images showed Uncontacted Tribe members emerging.
Multiple logging firms hold concessions within this area, prompting concerns as over 50 Mashco Piro individuals have been sighted near the Yine village of Monte Salvado.
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Living between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios, the tribe seldom interacts with outsiders. Director Caroline Pearce warned of an impending humanitarian crisis and urged immediate expulsion of loggers to ensure the protection of Mashco Piro lands, long overdue and vital for their preservation.
Survival International reported that Canales Tahuamanu has constructed over 200 kilometers (120 miles) of roads to facilitate timber extraction for logging trucks in Madre de Dios.
Despite requests for comment from Reuters, a representative of Canales Tahuamanu in Lima did not respond. The company holds 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, focusing on the extraction of cedar and mahogany in the region.
On June 28, the Peruvian government reported sightings of Mashco Piro near the Las Piedras river, 150 kilometers from Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios.
According to Rosa Padilha of Brazil’s Indigenous Missionary Council in Acre state, the tribe has also been observed across the border in Brazil, fleeing from loggers in Peru.
Alfredo Vargas Pio, president of the local indigenous organization FENAMAD, stressed the urgent need to protect the tribe’s territorial rights. He criticized the government for neglecting their protection and allowing logging companies access, which poses risks such as disease outbreaks and potential violence, threatening the Mashco Piro’s survival.
