“Shipibo community sues Peruvian government for failure to title traditional lands" -23 October, 2014

The Shipibo indigenous community of Korin Bari today filed a law suit against the Peruvian government for its failure to title its traditional territory resulting in the repeated invasion of community lands by illegal loggers and coca growers threatening the lives of community members who protest. The community has presented formal applications for a land title in the Calleria river basin since 2010 but while the government has recognised the existence of the community its land title remains pending, exposing the community and its lands to continued insecurity. In 2011, community houses were flattened by logging operators who were bulldozing an illegal road through community lands to access the area’s valuable timber. Only last month and in a similar case, Edwin Chota and three other Ashaninka leaders from the nearby  village of Saweto were murdered as a result of their efforts to try and secure legal title to their lands and evict illegal loggers.