IRI-Colombia met with a delegation of leaders—representatives of five major indigenous organizations in Peru—and House Representatives Miguel Ángel Rubio and Víctor Armero on September 2. The meeting sought to explore avenues for advocacy and coordination between Peru and Colombia, with the aim of preventing the environmental and territorial impact of the Bellavista-Mazán-Salvador-El Estrecho highway—a road project spanning approximately 214 kilometers in the Loreto region of the Lower Putumayo in Peru.
During the meeting, organized by One Planet Peru, the IRI-Colombia team and the congressmen were able to learn about the threats that the construction of this highway poses to the environment and territorial security, as well as to indigenous peoples and the general population of Peru and Colombia.
They also explored some possible advocacy actions, such as coordinating with legislators and allies from both countries and including this issue on the agenda of the Ad Hoc Commission for the Protection of the Amazon.
The meeting was attended by House Representatives Miguel Angel Rubio and Víctor Armero, and IRI-Colombia Senior Advisor Carlos Augusto Lozano, who spoke with José Murayari Córdova, political coordinator of the Platform of Indigenous Organizations for Sustainable Infrastructure in Loreto, ACR Ampiyacu Apayacu; Adme Aspajo Chistama, president of the Federation of Native Communities of the Middle Napo (FECONAM) and technical coordinator of the Platform of Indigenous Organizations for Sustainable Infrastructure in Loreto, ACR Maijuna Kichwa; Rusber Tangoa Ríos, member of the Federation of Maijuna Native Communities (FECONAMAI), ACR Maijuna Kichwa; Rubiela Ríos Bunaijima, vice president of the Federation of Indigenous Border Communities of the Putumayo River (FECONAFROPU), ACR Medio Putumayo; Mayra Collantes Lligio, leader of the Federation of Indigenous Communities of Ampiyacu (FECONA), ACR Ampiyacu Payacu.
Additionally, participants included Julio Blanca, president of One Planet Peru; Iván Brehaut, director of Strategic Development at AFRONTA; and Yenay Farfán and Ricardo Soberón, from One Planet Peru.
Representatives to the Chamber of Deputies Víctor Armero and Miguel Angel Rubio.
