By Jennifer Stein, Greengrants Intern
A liquid natural gas spill from the Camisea pipeline has reignited long-term controversies about the rights of indigenous communities to be consulted on decisions and protected from environmental and social harm.
On December 22, 2004, a major spill at kilometer eight of the Camisea pipeline leaked liquid natural gas into Kemariato Ravine. The pipeline, which stretches from the Upper Urubamba River basin to the coast near Lima, has been controversial since its design phase. Operators of the pipeline, Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP), told the government they detected a substantial drop in pressure along part of the pipeline, but the company did not notify local communities.
TGP reports that it conducted a study of the spill “without having detected any effect” on fish or animals. A statement by the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines said more than half the spill “evaporated immediately” and the rest “dispersed immediately”. Nearby communities, however, reported fish kills, strong fumes, contaminated drinking water, and a flood of liquid gas in one village. According to Amazon Watch, fumes were reported as far as 75 kilometers from the site.
Indigenous communities of the Urubamba basin say they are still waiting for a response from the companies and the government. To highlight their concerns, local indigenous organizations immediately called for postponement of upcoming discussions on expansion of the pipeline.
AIDESEP, the official representative of indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon; and COMARU, the Machiguenga tribal council, believe that pipeline developers have long disregarded the rights of local people and have endangered traditional communities and the ecosystems they depend upon. Several communities in the region are uncontacted peoples that wish to remain in isolation. COMARU says pipeline expansion violates Machiguenga rights, the Peruvian Constitution and International Law. The group opposes the expansion, claiming that it was not consulted prior to the auctioning of the new lot.
TGP has a history of covering up its environmental violations. A PBS Frontline World Fellows report on a Machiguenga community adjacent to a TGP worker’s camp in the Lower Urubamba region told of numerous diesel spills in 2003 that were not fully reported by the company. Local workers were threatened with job loss for speaking out, and when community leaders came to the camp seeking a response they were given no information and ordered to return to their villages.
The proposed pipeline expansion will cross into an area called Block 56, a 58,500 hectare parcel that is 82 percent indigenous territory. Block 56 is home to Machiguenga communities and the Kirineri people, a highly vulnerable indigenous group that has little or no contact with the outside world and whose territories are buffered by the Machiguenga.
In September 2004, the Peruvian government negotiated a contract with Perupetro and other companies for expansion of the pipeline. Members of all seven Machiguenga communities, and representatives of the more than 2500 inhabitants of Block 56, joined to protest their exclusion from the decision-making process. In response to a new round of protests after the spill, the Ministry of Energy and Mines called for a temporary suspension of the public audiences over pipeline expansion. Groups hope that this delay will offer a chance for indigenous people to influence the project. The InterAmerican Development Bank has approved $130 million in public funding for pipeline expansion, but funds have not yet been disbursed.
A 1997 Smithsonian study found the area to be one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. Greengrants has made several grants to support AIDESEP, COMARU and other groups working to protect indigenous traditional lands and minimize the social and environmental harm that the pipeline is bringing. The Peruvian Energy Investment Agency (OSINERG) is currently investigating the spill.