Amazon Region Conservation Thwarted as Peru Rejects Proposed Indigenous Reserve
The proposed Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve in Peru's Amazon basin, spanning an area larger than Connecticut, has been rejected by a multi-sector commission overseeing the Yavarí Mirim proposal. This decision, made on September 5, 2025, was led by Congressman Jorge Montoya in the majority committee of the Commission.
The proposed reserve would have protected Indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation, including the Matsés, Matis, Korubo, Kulina-Pano, and Flecheiro (also known as Tavakina). Experts believe there are scores of such Indigenous groups living across the Amazon, with the densest collection straddling the borders of Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia.
Peru's Ministry of Culture estimates that about 7,000 such people live in the country's Amazon region. These Indigenous groups live with little or no interaction with the outside world and have no immunity to many common viruses. The rejection of the reserve was denounced by four Amazonian Indigenous groups as a setback for human and environmental rights.
Oil and logging companies have sought to expand their operations into proposed or existing Indigenous reserves in Peru. The Yavarí Mirim Reserve sits over an oil and gas basin that a state-owned company has advertised to potential investors as "under-explored." The Indigenous groups denounced the Peruvian government for choosing economic and criminal interests over the rights of people living in isolation.
Nicholas Kusnetz, a reporter for a renowned news organization, has been covering this story. Before joining his current organisation, Kusnetz worked at the Center for Public Integrity and ProPublica. His work has won numerous awards and has appeared in more than a dozen publications.
The Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve was first proposed 20 years ago and was officially recognized the presence of five Indigenous groups in 2018. The rejection of the reserve was a decision by the multi-sector commission overseeing the Yavarí Mirim proposal. The Commission is scheduled to vote again on September 15, 2025.
The groups stated that the rejection of the Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve is a historic setback for human rights and an attack on the Amazon and its Indigenous peoples. They urge the Peruvian government to reconsider their decision and prioritize the protection of these vulnerable communities.
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