IRI Peru activated the offices of Congresswomen Karol Paredes and Ruth Luque for a session of the Parliamentary Group for a Healthy Amazon, a group created by IRI Peru. The topic for discussion is illegal activities in the Amazon, growth in deforestation and forest degradation, and increasing threats to forest defenders and indigenous leaders defending their territories. The intention of the meeting is to improve the State’s capacity to prevent and respond to alarming and growing indigenous insecurity, and to address the challenges and opportunities of a legislative agenda for healthy forests. On the first issue, significant progress was made in June with the approval by the Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Environment of a Bill for the Protection of Environmental Defenders. For this new session of the Parliamentary Group for a Sustainable Amazon, IRI Peru has secured the participation and engagement of new members of Congress, including Congresswomen Flor Pablo and Susel Paredes.
