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Remote Indigenous Tribe Kills Two Loggers in Peru as Rights Groups Call for More Government Action

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Wednesday, September 4, 2024

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Two loggers have been killed by bow and arrow after allegedly encroaching the land of the uncontacted Mashco Piro Indigenous tribe deep in Peru's Amazon, according to a rights group. The group, known as FENAMAD, defends the rights of Peru's Indigenous peoples. It says tensions between loggers and Indigenous tribes are on the rise and more government protective action is needed.Two other loggers in the attack were missing and another was injured, FENAMAD said, and rescue efforts were underway. The rights group, which represents 39 Indigenous communities in the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions in southeastern Peru, said the incident took place on Aug. 29 in the Pariamanu river basin while loggers were expanding their passageways into the forest and came into contact with the reclusive and renowned territorial tribe. “The Peruvian state has not taken preventive and protective measures to ensure the lives and integrity of the workers who have been gravely affected,” the group said in a statement Tuesday, adding authorities have yet to arrive in the area since the incident.FENAMAD said the attack happened just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from a July incident, when the Mashco Piro again attacked loggers. The group said in their statement that even though they advised the government of the risk of a rise in violence, nothing has been done. “It’s a heated and tense situation," said Cesar Ipenza, an Amazon-based lawyer who specializes in environmental law in Peru. “Undoubtedly, every day there are more tensions between Indigenous peoples in isolation and the different activities that are within the territory that they ancestrally pass through.” There have been several other previous reports of conflicts. In one incident in 2022, two loggers were shot with arrows while fishing, one fatally, in an encounter with tribal members.In January, Peru loosened restrictions on deforestation, which critics dubbed the “anti-forest law.” Researchers have since warned of the rise in deforestation for agriculture and how it is making it easier for illicit logging and mining.Ipenaza said some effort has been made by authorities in the area like mobilizing a helicopter, but overall there has been “little commitment” by Peru's Ministry of Culture, responsible for the protection of Indigenous peoples. The Ministry of Culture did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday seeking comment on the attack and their protection efforts.The attack took place a day before the Forest Stewardship Council suspended the sustainability certification of a logging company for eight months which rights groups and activists have accused of encroaching on the Indigenous group’s land.“It’s absurd that certifiers like the FSC keep the certification of companies that clearly and openly violate basic human rights and Indigenous rights,” said Julia Urrunaga, director of the Peru program at the Environmental Investigation Agency. “How terrible that people have to keep dying and that it has to be an international scandal for action to be taken.” Follow Steven Grattan on X, formerly Twitter: @sjgrattanThe Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - July 2024

Two loggers have been killed by the reclusive Mashco Piro Indigenous tribe deep in Peru's Amazon

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Two loggers have been killed by bow and arrow after allegedly encroaching the land of the uncontacted Mashco Piro Indigenous tribe deep in Peru's Amazon, according to a rights group.

The group, known as FENAMAD, defends the rights of Peru's Indigenous peoples. It says tensions between loggers and Indigenous tribes are on the rise and more government protective action is needed.

Two other loggers in the attack were missing and another was injured, FENAMAD said, and rescue efforts were underway.

The rights group, which represents 39 Indigenous communities in the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions in southeastern Peru, said the incident took place on Aug. 29 in the Pariamanu river basin while loggers were expanding their passageways into the forest and came into contact with the reclusive and renowned territorial tribe.

“The Peruvian state has not taken preventive and protective measures to ensure the lives and integrity of the workers who have been gravely affected,” the group said in a statement Tuesday, adding authorities have yet to arrive in the area since the incident.

FENAMAD said the attack happened just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from a July incident, when the Mashco Piro again attacked loggers. The group said in their statement that even though they advised the government of the risk of a rise in violence, nothing has been done.

“It’s a heated and tense situation," said Cesar Ipenza, an Amazon-based lawyer who specializes in environmental law in Peru. “Undoubtedly, every day there are more tensions between Indigenous peoples in isolation and the different activities that are within the territory that they ancestrally pass through.”

There have been several other previous reports of conflicts. In one incident in 2022, two loggers were shot with arrows while fishing, one fatally, in an encounter with tribal members.

In January, Peru loosened restrictions on deforestation, which critics dubbed the “anti-forest law.” Researchers have since warned of the rise in deforestation for agriculture and how it is making it easier for illicit logging and mining.

Ipenaza said some effort has been made by authorities in the area like mobilizing a helicopter, but overall there has been “little commitment” by Peru's Ministry of Culture, responsible for the protection of Indigenous peoples.

The Ministry of Culture did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday seeking comment on the attack and their protection efforts.

The attack took place a day before the Forest Stewardship Council suspended the sustainability certification of a logging company for eight months which rights groups and activists have accused of encroaching on the Indigenous group’s land.

“It’s absurd that certifiers like the FSC keep the certification of companies that clearly and openly violate basic human rights and Indigenous rights,” said Julia Urrunaga, director of the Peru program at the Environmental Investigation Agency. “How terrible that people have to keep dying and that it has to be an international scandal for action to be taken.”

Follow Steven Grattan on X, formerly Twitter: @sjgrattan

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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‘We are not here for theater’: Can the ‘most Indigenous COP’ live up to the hype?

Brazil’s push to spotlight Indigenous voices at COP30 could redefine what inclusion looks like — or expose how shallow it’s been.

The United Nations-sponsored climate negotiations begin this week. Known as COP30, this year’s conference marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and will be the first ever held in the Amazon. It is also being marketed as the most Indigenous of COPs. As the host country, Brazil is taking the lead to provide camping sites for up to 3,000 people, credentials for hundreds to enter the official venue, and direct channels for Indigenous contributions and demands to be presided over by Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous People, Sonia Guajajara. Indigenous experts say that on paper, what Brazil is doing for Indigenous participation at COP is major progress. Whether those actions translate to influence will be the true test.  This, as 2024 became the hottest year on record, with global temperatures breaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set by the Paris Agreement, global greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise, and international experts projecting that extreme climate events like droughts, floods, and storms will be more frequent and intense. In Brazil, 46 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, primarily due to illegal practices like logging, farming, and ranching in the Amazon.  But Indigenous peoples in Brazil, and globally for that matter, continue to offer solutions. Indigenous territories in the Amazon are among the best preserved and in 2024, less than 1.5 percent of deforestation occurred inside demarcated lands, which are responsible for almost 60 percent of the forest’s carbon storage. That trend is seen across the planet with hundreds of studies showing positive ecological outcomes when Indigenous peoples are involved in land stewardship. Those positive impacts stem from their sovereignty over lands, posing potential threats to state and corporate interests.  Indigenous peoples have struggled to participate in previous COP summits. COPs are often viewed as some of the U.N.’s most democratic processes — signatory countries, regardless of size and power, get one vote each — but they are intergovernmental, so only national delegations get to negotiate, and wording of the final texts produced at the conference is their purview. That means Indigenous peoples are nonstate actors and have no formal role in the negotiations, despite the adoption of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, which determines that states must consult and collaborate on issues that concern Indigenous peoples.  Read Next Here are the 5 issues to watch at COP30 in Brazil Zoya Teirstein, Naveena Sadasivam, & Anita Hofschneider Then there are the labyrinthine power structures and acronyms inside the U.N. system. Nonstate actors at COP must be members of organizations accredited by the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 2015 Paris Agreement established the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform to enable participation in U.N. climate processes, and while the platform can amplify Indigenous perspectives, “it does not and cannot speak for Indigenous peoples, in negotiations,” said Ghazali Ohorella of the Alifuru people from the Maluku Islands and co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change, or IIPFCC, a representative caucus of Indigenous peoples participating in the UNFCCC. “We coordinate. We decide our lines. We push,” said Ohorella. The record for Indigenous participation at a COP was 316 people in 2023 when it was held in Dubai. Earlier this year, Minister Guajajara pledged to facilitate 1,000 UNFCCC credentials for Indigenous peoples, with half those reserved for Brazilians. But Ohorella said those credentials have failed to materialize. Guajajara’s Ministry of Indigenous People confirmed 360 Indigenous peoples had been given credentials but didn’t rule out the possibility of other organizations having arranged more by themselves.  But accreditation isn’t guaranteed to translate to meaningful participation. Opportunities to engage with negotiators are scarce, and the competition is cutthroat. “There are tens of thousands of other participants, many of whom are more experienced and better connected than you,” said Hayley Walker, a professor of international negotiation at the Institute of Scientific Economics and Management and co-researcher on a paper published earlier this year about access and participation of nonstate actors at COPs. Newcomers often struggle to navigate COP politics and end up leaving the process quickly. Even those with experience and know-how must go toe-to-toe with well-resourced fossil fuel, mining and agribusiness lobbyists who have flooded the previous two COPs.  Every five years, signatory states to the Paris Agreement are required to file climate action plans. This year is one of those years. Known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, they are the treaty’s backbone embodying efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. NDCs essentially shape global progress on the Paris Agreement’s long-term goals. Read Next 10 years after the Paris Agreement, countries are still missing climate deadlines Naveena Sadasivam Brazil’s latest NDC is the country’s first to mention Indigenous peoples. “It was an important political signal of the role they hold in the current administration,” says Claudio Angelo, international policy coordinator at the Brazilian climate policy coalition Observatório do Clima. However, he added that Indigenous peoples were not involved in drafting the text.  According to the international land and rights advocacy organization Rights and Resources Initiative, or RRI, that lack of participation tracks across all Latin American NDCs filed so far. A report by the organization published last week found that of the most recent round of NDCs, only Ecuador’s tags Indigenous territories as a climate strategy. The country is 1 of 6 that recognizes its sovereign land rights.  “References to Indigenous people were generic and unsupported by the necessary assurances,” said Carla Cardenas, Latin America program director at RRI. “All around, there was an evident lack of substance.” According to Alana Manchineri of the Manchineri peoples of Brazil and international adviser to the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, or COIAB, Brazil’s NDC fell well short of acknowledging Indigenous climate contributions and of proposing safeguards to continuously threatened territorial rights. Of the numerous studies on Indigenous land demarcation as a leading climate solution, a report released last week by the Environmental Defense Fund projects deforestation and CO2 emissions in the Amazon would be up to 45 percent higher without Indigenous-managed and protected lands. More than 370 million people around the world identify as Indigenous. They are the first line of defense, and targets, of climate change. Over centuries, Indigenous communities have survived and adapted to floods, heat waves, storms, and other climate events, developing strategies to cultivate drought-resilient crops, hurricane-enduring homes, and early warning systems for extreme weather.  “It all points to us and our territories as the solution,” said Juan Carlos Jintiach of the Ecuadorian Shuar people and executive secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities. “We have plenty of recommendations and proposals. In our lands lie our source of life, our stewardship, our future. Through time, we have learned to mitigate and adapt. We want to be part of the conversation.”  This year, COIAB’s Manchineri has been part of a team crafting the first ever Indigenous NDC. The document calls for culturally appropriate climate plans, an end to fossil fuels, direct access to climate finance, and meaningful representation in international negotiations. Above all, it urges land demarcation and territorial protection to be recognized as climate policy.  “We translated demands and proposals from the territories into the language of international conferences,” said Manchinei. She added that being at COP30 only makes sense if people back home, and on the ground, understand its importance. “Our authority as Indigenous leaders is anchored on the territories.” The Indigenous NDC will be hand-delivered to Brazilian national delegates to inform and influence negotiations. Read Next UN climate talks are built on consensus. That’s part of the problem. Joseph Winters Inspired by that, RRI is crafting a template for an open-access civil NDC that will allow other communities to do the same. “It will be a flexible structure that communities can tailor with national data, linking local indicators and strengthening the recognition of their territorial rights,” said RRI’s Carla Cardenas. Since these are not official government documents, they bear no formal weight in the COP framework. What they do, Cardenas said, is act as a catalyst for discussions.  “Inside the venue we do what works. Less podium. More hallways. Bilaterals with delegations. Coffee lines. Hallway chats. Ride the shuttle to the venue with the right person at the right time,” said Ghazali Ohorella of IIPFCC. “Do our demands get reflected? Sometimes yes, sometimes later, sometimes in pieces.” But unfamiliarity with UNFCCC’s intergovernmental nature and the narrative around this being the most Indigenous of COPs may sow frustration and widen the gap between expectations and actual opportunities to have influence over future climate goals.  According to Ghazalli Ohorella, if the goal of COP30 is more photo ops with Indigenous peoples, it will be a success. If it’s tangible impact, “the wiring is not finished.” The true measure, he said, is not who enters the venue, but what leaves in the final texts.  “We are not here for theater.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline ‘We are not here for theater’: Can the ‘most Indigenous COP’ live up to the hype? on Nov 10, 2025.

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From the Andes to the Amazon, Indigenous Leaders Bring Their Demands to COP30

By Karen Toro, Alexander Villegas and Valerie VolcoviciBELEM, Brazil (Reuters) -After journeying for weeks from a glacier in the Andes to Brazil’s...

By Karen Toro, Alexander Villegas and Valerie VolcoviciBELEM, Brazil (Reuters) -After journeying for weeks from a glacier in the Andes to Brazil’s tropical coast, a boat carrying dozens of Indigenous leaders landed in Belem a day ahead of the start of the United Nations' COP30 climate summit.Their main goal was demanding a greater say in how their territories are managed, as climate change escalates and industries including mining, oil drilling and logging press deeper into the forests."We want to achieve more than just guaranteeing money or financing,” said Lucia Ixchiu, an Indigenous K'iche from Guatemala who was among the 60 or so passengers. “We want to reach a consensus where Indigenous territories are no longer sacrificed.”"It's a dream and a goal, but we know there are many interests at play,” she told Reuters from aboard the boat as it was midway through the Brazilian part of the Amazon.A report last week by Earth Insight and the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities said that, in the one-third of the Amazon rainforest occupied by Indigenous or local communities, about 17% of those spaces now faced encroachment by oil and gas drilling, mining and logging concessions.Meanwhile, more than 1,690 environmental defenders were killed or disappeared between 2012 and 2024 in the nations that share the Amazon rainforest, Congo, Indonesia, Mexico and Central America, according to Global Witness."Not everything has to revolve around money, Mother Earth isn't a business,” Ixchiu said. "There are other ways of relating with biodiversity and life on the planet that Indigenous populations have been practicing for over 12,000 years."When Ixchiu joined the expedition, she was bundled in jackets and woolen chullo against the chill of Andean glacier ice. That look transformed with the warming weather to the airy purple-and-black short-sleeved blouse she wore upon landing to a scene of celebration on the banks of Belem. The group delivered an offering: candles, chants, sweets, seeds, coca leaves and a llama fetus. It was part of a ceremony to ask for permission while honoring deities and Mother Earth before setting off on the journey. The flotilla passengers - who had swapped boats along the way - celebrated with a banquet and caipirinhas.Ixchiu said they chose to start the journey from the headwaters of rivers feeding into the Amazon to highlight the dangers mountain glaciers are suffering from climate change and extraction.The Andes mountain range is the world's longest and holds over 99% of the world's tropical glaciers. Nearly half of the Amazon River's water comes from the Andes, which have lost between 30% and 50% of their glacier ice since the 1980s, according to the 2025 UN World Water Development Report.The group stopped along the way in Peru, Colombia and Brazil to highlight challenges facing different Amazonian communities.  In Coca, Ecuador, they held a funeral for fossil fuels. In Manaus, Brazil, they held a screening for short movies and workshops for communities.They also held a number of political discussions, and delayed the journey periodically due to logistical challenges and the river's changing conditions while observing the debris and pollution.While the group switched vessels periodically, they arrived in a three-story wooden boat that they nicknamed Yaku Mama, or Water Mother.Despite tensions in global geopolitics and the slow-moving pace of COP negotiations, Ixchiu said Indigenous youth who she traveled with for the 30-day journey left her feeling optimistic for the future. "I see the commitment they have for the defense of their territories," she said upon arrival in Belem. "This is the COP of the Amazon because we are here, demanding and taking the places that we deserve."(Reporting by Karen Toro with the expedition, Alexander Villegas in Santiago, Chile, and Valerie Volcovici in Belem, Brazil; Editing by Katy Daigle and Diane Craft)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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A Decade After Brazil’s Deadly Dam Collapse, Indigenous Peoples Demand Justice on the Eve of COP30

Ten years after Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, the Indigenous Krenak people are still mourning what they call “the death of the river.”

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A week before what the Indigenous Krenak people now call “the death of the river,” they say they could feel it coming. The birds stopped singing, the air grew heavy, and an unusual silence settled over their village in Minas Gerais, a southeastern Brazilian state where forested hills give way to the winding Doce River.Then, on Nov. 5, 2015, the mud came.A mining dam owned by Samarco — a joint venture between Brazilian company Vale and Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton — burst upstream near the town of Mariana, unleashing a torrent of toxic iron ore waste. It buried the nearby community of Bento Rodrigues and swept down the Doce River valley, killing 19 people and contaminating waterways for nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.For the Krenak people, who once relied on the river for food, rituals, and daily life, the damage was not just environmental but spiritual. “It was the saddest day for my people,” said Shirley Djukurnã Krenak, an Indigenous leader whose community has lived for generations along the Doce River. “We felt the death of the river before it arrived.”The Mariana disaster poured an estimated 40 million tons of mining waste into the Doce basin, devastating one of Brazil’s most ancient river systems, whose valley has shaped the landscape of Minas Gerais for millions of years. Ten years later, reconstruction and reparations have dragged on through legal disputes, and the river remains contaminated by heavy metals. Local communities say little has changed, even as Brazil strives to define itself as a leader of global climate policy while hosting the United Nation’s COP30 climate summit — an event some are skeptical will bring change.“For us, the fight isn’t about speeches at COP,” Krenak said. “It’s about survival.” A test for Brazil’s climate credibility Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva now hopes to cement his reputation as a global environmental leader at COP30 in Belem, at the heart of the Amazon. Yet the unresolved legacy of Mariana and other recent policy moves reveal the distance between Brazil’s climate discourse and reality, according to Maurício Guetta, legal policy director at the advocacy group Avaaz.“It’s contradictory for a country that wants to lead on climate to keep approving laws that reduce protection for nature and Indigenous rights,” he said, adding that Indigenous territories are among the world’s most effective barriers against deforestation.Indigenous congresswoman Célia Xakriabá, who represents Minas Gerais, said the tragedy remains “a crime still in progress.”“The Doce River is still sick. The fish are contaminated, the people are ill, and children still ask when the river will be healed,” she said. “You can’t bring back 19 lives, and you can’t bring back a healthy river.”Xakriabá said the lack of justice for Mariana victims undermines Brazil’s credibility ahead of the summit.“It’s hard to talk about climate leadership when the state where this crime happened hasn’t even recovered,” she said. “True environmental policy starts with justice for those living the consequences.”After the 2015 collapse, the state of Minas Gerais weakened its environmental licensing laws — a move Guetta said directly contributed to the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019, which killed 270 people.In October 2024, Brazil’s government and the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo signed a 132 billion-reais ($23 billion) settlement with Samarco, the mine’s operator, and its owners, Vale and BHP, to fund social and environmental repairs. The record deal which will bring the total payment to 170 billion-reais ($30 billion) includes aid for affected communities, but critics say deeper flaws in Brazil’s environmental governance remain.“The Mariana disaster showed how fragile Brazil’s system of environmental control really is,” Guetta said. “Instead of learning from it, we’ve seen a process of deregulation.”Brazil’s Congress approved a law in 2023, which restricts Indigenous land claims, and this year passed what activists call the “devastation bill,” which would relax environmental licensing nationwide. Environmentalists warn both threaten to undermine the country’s own climate goals under the Paris Agreement, the 2015 global pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. Now, Brazil’s Congress is also considering a national bill that would further loosen oversight of mining and industrial projects and “practically dismantle Brazil’s environmental licensing system,” Guetta said.He added that Brazil’s environmental agencies remain underfunded and understaffed, even as mining and agribusiness expand deeper into fragile ecosystems. Brazil's environment ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Skepticism over ‘Indigenous COP’ Krenak told The Associated Press that her community will not be attending COP30. She sees the climate summit as distant from the realities faced by Indigenous peoples and full of “greenwashing” and false promises. “If all the previous COPs had worked, we wouldn’t still be talking about crimes like this,” she said.Instead, she said, true climate action begins with protecting rivers and forests — and recognizing Indigenous territories. Anthropologist Ana Magdalena Hurtado, who has spent decades working with Indigenous communities in South America, said she shares that concern.“My worry is, this all looks very pretty, but the people who will walk away feeling wonderful are the urban academics and policymakers — not those living in remote territories,” said Hurtado, a professor of anthropology and global health at Arizona State University.She said dedicating space to Indigenous voices at COP30 is a welcome step, but warned that inclusion without follow-up can do more harm than good.As COP30 kicks off, many Indigenous leaders share that skepticism but remain hopeful.“I still believe change is possible," Krenak said. "That one day, our children will be able to drink a glass of water without fear of dying.”Associated Press writer Melina Walling contributed to this report from Chicago. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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Study Finds High Levels of Mercury in Hair Samples From Indigenous Women in Peru and Nicaragua

Small-scale gold mining in the area releases mercury into the environment, where it can make its way into fish and, in turn, humans

Study Finds High Levels of Mercury in Hair Samples From Indigenous Women in Peru and Nicaragua Small-scale gold mining in the area releases mercury into the environment, where it can make its way into fish and, in turn, humans Sara Hashemi - Daily Correspondent October 14, 2025 1:05 p.m. A gold mining operation in Peru IPEN Women in Indigenous communities living near artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations in Peru and Nicaragua have high levels of mercury in their hair, a new analysis suggests. Researchers say the finding illustrates the dangers of small-scale mining worldwide. A new report published October 14 by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)—a coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to eliminating toxic chemicals—analyzed hair samples from 105 women of child-bearing age (18-44) in four Indigenous communities in Peru and two in Nicaragua. All lived along rivers close to gold mining operations, and fish was part of their diets. An analysis performed at the Biodiversity Research Institute in Maine found 88 percent of these women had mercury levels above the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 1 ppm threshold for adverse effects from mercury in a developing fetus. All but one had levels above 0.58 ppm, a stronger threshold proposed by a variety of environmental organizations based on research linking low levels of mercury exposure to brain damage to fetuses. The researchers attribute the high mercury levels in the women’s hair to small-scale gold mining. Pollution caused by the practice is a growing problem globally, and Indigenous communities face the brunt of its impact. These mining operations use mercury to extract gold: Miners dredge gold from soil or river sediment and mix in mercury to form a hard coating around the metal. This mercury-gold amalgam is then burned, leaving behind the coveted gold, while mercury is released into the environment. Key concept: Mercury in fish Though nutrition experts tout fish as a healthy food, chowing down could get you sick due to high mercury levels in some fish. The EPA advises people to eat primarily from a list of healthier seafood including anchovy, herring, lobster and salmon and avoid the fishes with the highest mercury levels: king mackerel, swordfish, shark, bigeye tuna, orange roughy, marlin and tilefish. “The rivers are becoming contaminated as a result of the mercury use and gold extraction,” Lee Bell, the lead author of the study and IPEN’s mercury and persistent organic pollutants policy advisor, tells Smithsonian magazine. “You’ve got food chain contamination, and Indigenous people are heavily reliant on fish from the rivers in the Amazon basin as their main dietary protein source,” he adds. “They have very little say in the impacts that are occurring, and there’s very little redress for them under the current arrangements, both at national and international level, to preserve their human rights.” Though it’s naturally occurring in the environment, mercury acts as a neurotoxin in the human body. According to the World Health Organization, the element “is toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life.” Its impacts include nervous system damage, developmental and behavioral disorders, and kidney problems. The amount of mercury in hair is considered a reflection of a person’s blood concentration of mercury at the moment of hair growth. Hair samples are collected in Puerto Arturo, Peru. IPEN “The results from this sampling project clearly indicate that women of childbearing age in Peru and Nicaragua are being impacted by mercury contamination of their environments,” the researchers write in the report. The local effects of the contamination—and its associated impacts on child development within the community—“far outweigh the economic gain for the few miners who succeed in extracting significant amounts of gold,” they conclude. William Pan, a researcher at the Duke Global Health Institute who studies mercury contamination but was not involved in the new report, tells Smithsonian magazine that while the study further confirms that mercury pollution is a problem in Indigenous communities in South America, it has a serious limitation: the fact that the sampling was not randomized. Instead, the women were selected based on different criteria, including their willingness to participate. The 105 women in the study represented about 25 percent of the women in their communities. “Normally, you would say a 25 percent sample is pretty good. But since it wasn’t randomized, you can’t say it’s representative of those women,” Pan explains. “That’s not to say the mercury levels aren’t high, but I don’t know why they did not randomize.” Bell notes that because the Indigenous communities that participated in the study are small, randomizing their sample would have been difficult. But given that the community members shared similar diets on the same rivers, “it is unlikely that randomization would have produced much different results,” he adds. If governments were to conduct larger studies in the future, he agrees that randomization would play a role there. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty adopted in 2013 that aims to protect human health and the environment against the impact of mercury. Currently, it does not prohibit the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations. “Minamata is just not doing enough to address that problem,” Pan tells Smithsonian magazine. “I think you really need to tackle the main problem. Let’s just stop mercury. Let’s figure out how to stop that.”  Marcos Orellana, an environmental lawyer and the United Nations special rapporteur on toxics and human rights who wrote the foreword to the report, also says the convention needs strengthening. “This may be a very good moment to think about ways to do that, now that the evidence keeps on mounting in regard to the gaps that hinder the Minamata Convention’s effectiveness when it comes to small-scale gold mining,” he tells Smithsonian magazine. The treaty’s governing body will meet in early November, and Bell says he hopes it bans the use of mercury in these mining operations, as well as the mercury trade. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

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Another rich town stares down the CA housing department

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Indigenous Peoples’ Day off and will return to your inboxes Tuesday. When the town council of Los Altos Hills approved construction of new apartment buildings two years ago, it was a big deal for the affluent Santa Clara County community, writes CalMatters’ Ben Christopher. For decades the mansion-studded town permitted […]

An aerial photo near Los Altos Hills in 2014. Photo by Jewel Samad, AFP via Getty Images Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Indigenous Peoples’ Day off and will return to your inboxes Tuesday. When the town council of Los Altos Hills approved construction of new apartment buildings two years ago, it was a big deal for the affluent Santa Clara County community, writes CalMatters’ Ben Christopher. For decades the mansion-studded town permitted the construction of only one type of building, single-family homes, and no more than one per acre. But now Los Altos Hills — where the average home price is $5.5 million — is having second thoughts, and the events that are unfolding underscore how local governments continue to push back against state requirements to develop more affordable housing. Due to state mandates, town officials begrudgingly approved the development of Los Altos Hills’ first-ever affordable housing units since its incorporation in 1956. They chose an area along Interstate 280, known as Twin Oaks Court, and California housing regulators signed off on this plan in the spring of 2023.  But earlier this summer, the town council voted to cut the number of planned new homes by nearly two-thirds. Officials and residents say the proposed changes still meet state requirements, and that the original plan would obstruct emergency access areas, worsen traffic and disrupt local wildlife. State regulators are expected to respond to the town’s proposals by today, but pro-housing advocates have denounced the potential changes. The California Housing Defense Fund, in a September letter to the California Department of Housing and Community Development: “It is grossly inappropriate for the Town to carve back its most important low-income site. … Local agencies should not be allowed to amend their housing elements the moment that they are confronted with a real housing development project.” The dispute is being closely watched by other well-to-do cities that are proposing — or have proposed, to varying degrees of success — altering their own state-approved development plans, including Carmel and South Pasadena. Read more here. For the record: A story included in the Oct. 3 issue of WhatMatters contained a number of erroneous characterizations and conclusions based on an incorrect interpretation of campaign finance data. Read the full correction. 🗓️ CalMatters Events in your community Sacramento: Should Californians support mid-decade redistricting? Join us for a debate on Oct. 14 presented by CalMatters, Capitol Weekly and the UC Student and Policy Center. Register. San Jose: Join CalMatters and Alianza News on Oct. 17 for a screening of Operation: Return to Sender, a short documentary uncovering what happened during a Border Patrol raid in Bakersfield. After the film, CalMatters’ Sergio Olmos and others will discuss what the team uncovered. Register. Other Stories You Should Know Service members brace for missed checks U.S. Marine Corps recruits during a final drill evaluation at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego on Sept. 19, 2025. Photo by Corporal Sarah M. Grawcock, U.S. Marine Corps More than a week into the federal government shutdown, thousands of residents in San Diego County — which has the highest military population in the state — are bracing for missed paychecks, writes CalMatters’ Deborah Brennan.  In a region that already has one of the highest cost of living rates, some service members could miss out on their next paycheck on Oct. 15, while others who are paid monthly could see their wages frozen on Nov. 1.  Having enough money for food is a top priority for some families: Local food banks plan to add pop-up food banks near the county’s five military installations to help combat food insecurity. Maggie Meza, executive director for the San Diego chapter of Blue Star Families: “Rent still needs to be paid, food needs to be put on the table, cars need to be paid for, and our military families are now in the stress of uncertainty.” Read more here. More on Southern California: San Diego County is plagued by hydrogen sulfide emissions from pollution from the Tijuana River. The Salton Sea also emits this gas, which smells like rotten eggs and is linked to health risks. Deborah and CalMatters’ video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on this issue affecting California’s largest lake as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here. SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal. Cooling down those mobile homes 🧊 Las Casitas mobile home park in American Canyon on Oct. 30, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters From CalMatters’ environmental justice reporter Alejandra Reyes-Velarde: Californians who live in mobile homes will soon have the right to install cooling devices, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 806 into law on Tuesday.  Advocates for residents say lease provisions and park rules have sometimes banned air conditioning units. Tenant advocates at Legal Aid of Sonoma County, a sponsor of the legislation, said they were surprised such restrictions were legal. The bill was carried by Assemblymember Damon Connolly, a San Rafael Democrat. Caitlin Vejby, a housing policy analyst with the organization, said the law will save lives. Many mobile home residents in Californians are low-income, elderly or have health conditions that make them vulnerable to extreme heat, and three-quarters of mobile home parks are located in inland areas, some of the hottest regions of the state, she added.  Starting Jan. 1, tenants whose landlords don’t follow the rules can sue for damages and attorney fees. Landlords could also pay a $2,000 civil penalty.  And lastly: Test scores going up Students at a classroom at St. Hope’s Public School 7 Elementary in Sacramento on May 11, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters Investments in mental health, access to transitional kindergarten and expanded after-school programs are some of the reasons behind the most significant improvements in state test scores in years, experts say. But some disparities among K-12 students still persist. Read more from CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones. California Voices CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: A dispute over an increase in hotel taxes in San Diego is the latest skirmish in the saga over voting requirements for local tax increase proposals. A conviction record can hinder one’s ability to find jobs, housing and education, but a state law making many old conviction records eligible for expungement can help some of the 8 million Californians living with a record, writes Joanna Hernandez, director of strategic partnerships at the San Francisco Pre-Trial Diversion Project. Other things worth your time: Some stories may require a subscription to read. Edison’s Eaton Fire compensation plan isn’t enough, residents say // CalMatters SF appeals court appears reluctant to block Trump’s National Guard Deployment to Portland // KQED Katie Porter’s viral videos plunge campaign into ‘disaster’ // Politico CA makes Diwali an official statewide holiday // AP News West Coast faults could trigger catastrophic back-to-back earthquakes, study finds // The Guardian  House Republicans launch investigation into distribution of LA fire charity funds // Los Angeles Times LA County considers declaring state of emergency to fight back against ICE raids // Los Angeles Times SoCal Edison sued for 2019 Saddleridge Fire damage by federal government // Los Angeles Daily News

Indigenous
Education
Government

Suggested Viewing

Shaba

In the mountains of northern Kenya, a Samburu community is doing something that has never been done before. They’ve built a sanctuary for orphaned elephants to try to rehabilitate them back to the wild. The project is not just changing local attitudes about elephants, it's changing attitudes about women too because the secret to Reteti’s success is all because of the special bond between a group of local women keepers and one special elephant named Shaba. Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is the first-ever indigenous community-owned and run sanctuary in all of Africa, where rescued orphaned elephants are looked after by local keepers from the Samburu community. They are rehabilitated and raised and then reintroduced back into the wild. The sanctuary is empowering young Samburu women to be the first-ever indigenous women elephant keepers in all of Africa. At first, the community didn’t think there was a place for women in the workplace. Now, the success of these women elephant keepers is unlocking new possibilities and setting a powerful example for young girls, hoping to pursue their dreams. What’s happening there, without fanfare, is nothing less than the beginnings of a transformation in the way the Samburu people relate to wild animals. This oasis where orphans grow up, learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds, is as much about people as it is about elephants. This is a personal story about a group of women and an elephant named Shaba who changed each other's lives. This film is a powerful reminder that we are a part of a complex world created over millions of years, and the survival of all species is intertwined with our own. Reteti began in partnership with Conservation International who provided critical operational support and work to scale the Reteti community-centered model to create lasting impacts worldwide.

Animals
Conservation
Indigenous

Wiigiwaam

"Wiigiwaam" is a visual project that follows an Indigenous artist and her family as they construct a wigwam using non-traditional materials. The installation serves as a powerful statement, inspiring a larger series that explores the artist's identity as a woman, an Indigenous person, and a creative individual.

Indigenous
Culture
Youth

The Custodians of the Andean Gold

In the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, more than 3 800 meters above sea level, live alpaca and vicunia breeders. Quechua and Aymara families protect their animals live off of the sale of the animals’ fiber. Gold mining is another activity that predates the Conquest and is widespread among families living in the border area between Peru and Bolivia. The difficult compatibility on the same territory of these two production activities increases the need for environmental protection and workers' rights. It has become indispensable to support producers so that this activity does not disappear with the migration of native peoples, abandoning traditions and animals.

Animals
Indigenous
Business

In the Land of Palm Oil

IN THE LAND OF PALM OIL focuses on the casualties, both human and environmental, of palm oil exploitation in Indonesia. The film fuses first hand accounts of villagers -- victims of land-grabbing by large global corporations who pay off local and national officials -- and vérité observations of young Dayak activists who are trying to expose the brutal human rights violations. The narrative thread of the film centers on Emmanuela Shinta, a rising Dayak activist who sees video and social media exposure as the key to holding her government to account. Acting as an eyewitness to both the civil rights abuses and the environmental degradation, Shinta and her team visit Dayak villagers to record their experiences and ride along with firefighting teams during the dry seasons to expose the tragic consequences of the modern day palm oil empire in her home province of Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Through a close collaboration with local people, the film develops and threads this narrative into the reality of the situation there. The film weaves together the many personal narratives of loss with broader observations on current political and social conditions within the Dayak community. In tandem with a quest for answers and accountability, the film constructs a stark portrait of the lasting effects of crony capitalism, now over two decades into the Post-Suharto Reformation.

Land Use
Indigenous
Activism

Still River, Silent Jungle

When a novel dam proposal threatens indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon, an Uchupiamona woman named Ruth Alipaz Cuqui must step into the unknown and become a spokesperson for her people. To the Uchupiamona people, the river has its own life and personality, just as a woman does. Returning to her land for guidance, Ruth and her people explore an alternative future for their rivers based on adventure tourism and whitewater rafting. While opposing powers much bigger than her, she must come to terms with how much she is willing to risk to protect her river and her people.

Water
Indigenous
Activism

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