Protecting Forests to Protect People—Uncontacted Tribes in the Amazon
Posted under: Jared Margulies
Last week Survival International released never before seen video footage of one of the last remaining ‘uncontacted’ tribes on Earth—an indigenous population in the Amazon that has yet to have direct contact with ” the outside world”.
This video is so important, because it shows just how deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon can threaten the very existence of these peoples, who have managed to live completely removed from the rest of the world, up until now. Loggers and miners are moving in, closer and closer to their homes. Not only that, but other tribal populations are being forced to migrate because of the oil drilling and illegal logging – which is, as a result, forcing these groups to come into contact when they previously never would have. (Finding new peoples trespassing on their land, who they’ve never seen before, could be a source of conflict!)
Another problem is that when an uncontacted tribe comes into contact with other groups like illegal loggers, they risk catching everyday illnesses, like the common cold, which they probably don’t have the immunity to or the medicines to treat. This is a really serious problem considering that, in the past, entire villages of people have been destroyed from being exposed to these basic sicknesses.
To protect these forest dwellers their forests must also be protected. If illegal logging continues in Peru, the very existence of these tribes may be at stake. The good news is this new footage has already led Peru’s government to announce plans to work towards reducing illegal logging on the Peru-Brazilian border. But you can help too! Ask Peru’s President to protect these people (and therefore, the Amazon) on Survival International’s page here
