Lima, 5th august 2025 At the working breakfast “Amazon Without Oil”, held this morning at the Congress of the Republic in Lima, legislators from Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia — members of the Parliamentarians for a Fossil Fuel-Free Future network — together with Indigenous leaders, presented legislative agendas and shared demands aimed at halting the expansion of oil activity in the Amazon. Central points included the urgency of environmental remediation, the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights, and the need to initiate a just energy transition in the region.
The meeting took place in a context marked by figures that reveal the deterioration of the Peruvian Amazon caused by the oil industry, according to official data from the Peruvian State: between 1997 and 2023, there were 1,460 oil spills in the country, 831 of which occurred in the Amazon. So far in 2025, Block 192 (formerly Block 1AB) alone has reported 15 new spills, and its abandonment plan has remained unimplemented since 2015. Indigenous communities are the ones bearing the social and environmental costs, with no sufficient funds allocated for response or remediation.
Rising oil spills and failure to carry out environmental remediation in the Amazon
Congresswoman Ruth Luque stated that the initiatives seek to prohibit new oil activities and to remediate the accumulated damage in historic blocks such as 192 and 8. Luque emphasized that the budget allocated by the Executive Branch for remediation is insufficient to address the magnitude of the problem and called for the fulfillment of commitments made with communities through working groups and prior consultation processes. She warned about the advancing depletion of natural resources and criticized the extractivist vision that conditions the development of Amazonian peoples.
For his part, Colombian parliamentarian Juan Carlos Losada described the complexity his country has faced in debating the prohibition of hydrocarbons in the Amazon. Losada stressed the need for a regional stance, recalling President Gustavo Petro’s call at the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) to move in a unified manner toward ending new oil exploitation in the Amazon. The legislator also criticized the ambiguity of regional leaders such as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and called for upcoming regional summits to produce a common Amazon defense position ahead of COP30 and other international forums.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian parliamentarian Rosa Cecilia Baltazar reported on the introduction of a bill —currently under review by the Legislative Administration Council— that seeks to ban oil exploitation in Ecuadorian territory. She emphasized that, despite pressure and inquiries from business sectors and government officials concerned about funding for the transition, the initiative has the support of Amazonian nationalities and Indigenous peoples from Ecuador’s highlands and rainforest. Baltazar called for ensuring pre-legislative consultation and the active participation of Indigenous peoples in the legislative process.
In a joint statement, the participating parliamentarians declared:
“Protecting the Amazon is a matter of climate justice and historical responsibility. As parliamentarians from Amazonian countries, we are committed to leading the energy transition away from fossil fuels, starting with the place where they cause the most harm: the heart of our continent. Our legislative initiatives aim to ensure that the Amazon remains a territory of life, cultures, and biodiversity — not a sacrifice zone for short-term extractive interests.”
Organizaciones indígenas advierten sobre el impacto sanitario y cultural del petróleo
The testimonies of Indigenous leaders highlighted the direct consequences of oil activity. Robinson Sandi, president of the Organization of the Kichwa Indigenous Peoples of the Amazonian Border of Peru and Ecuador (OPIKAFPE), denounced that the supposed benefits of hydrocarbon exploitation “do not reflect reality” in the communities, where the impacts have been lethal for health, the environment, and culture. Sandi recalled the existence of toxicological studies showing heavy metal contamination among the population, the lack of state attention, and the criminalization of leaders for demanding their rights. He further stressed that most of the oil spills in recent years are due to structural corrosion problems in the NorPeruvian Pipeline and lack of maintenance, rather than sabotage, as some entities claim.
Elmer Kunchim, president of the Federation of the Achuar Nationality of Peru (FENAP), reaffirmed the refusal of the Achuar, Chapra, and Wampis peoples to the reactivation of wells in Block 64 and other areas. He emphasized that historical exploitation has left a legacy of contamination and damage to water sources, food, and territory. As a response, Kunchim shared the creation of cooperatives and self-managed productive projects aimed at economic development without environmental impacts. He presented the Shakaim Cooperative of the Achuar Nation as an example of an alternative to the extractive economy.
For his part, Eduardo Pichilingue Ramos, Coordinator of the Sacred Headwaters Alliance and representing the Hydrocarbons Impact Working Group of the National Human Rights Coordinator of Peru (CNDDHH), of which he is a member, stressed that Amazonian territories continue to be treated as “sacrifice zones” for external interests. He emphasized the need for extraction megaprojects to give way to alternatives aligned with the reality and rights of Indigenous peoples. Finally, Felipe Tapia, advisor to the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), underscored the lack of empathy and concrete action by the State in the face of emergency situations such as oil spills. Tapia highlighted the repeated non-compliance with agreements reached through prior consultation processes and the need to prioritize Indigenous self-determination over extractive interests.
This important event was organized by the Parliamentarians for a Fossil Fuel-Free Future, AIDESEP, the office of Congresswoman Ruth Luque, and the Hydrocarbons Impact Working Group of the National Human Rights Coordinator of Peru (CNDDHH), with the support of 19 civil society organizations.