The Canadian oil company Pacific E&P cancelled has pulled out of the territory of an Amazon tribe in Peru, cancelling its contract to explore for oil, in the face of stiff opposition from the Matsés Indians. The Matsés’ resistance has prevented the oil company from starting its first phase of oil exploration.

Oil exploration is devastating for tribal peoples. The process uses thousands of underground explosions along hundreds of tracks cut into the forest to determine the location of oil deposits. The explosions scare away animals, leaving little food to hunt, and the whole process causes enormous disruption.

"Oil will destroy the place where our rivers are born. What will happen to the fish? What will the animals drink?" a Matsés woman said to Survival. However, Pacific E&P still plans to press ahead with exploration nearby in an area where uncontacted Matsés Indians are known to live.

 

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