The recent amendments to Peru's Forestry and Wildlife Law have provoked fierce opposition from environmental groups and indigenous communities, who warn that these changes risk accelerating deforestation in the Amazon rainforest under the guise of economic development.

This reform has eliminated the previous requirement for landowners and businesses to obtain state authorization before converting forest areas to other uses, a change critics contend could legitimize years of illicit deforestation.

「私たちにとって、これはとても深刻な問題です」と、ペルーの法務防衛研究所の先住民族プログラムで働く弁護士、アルバロ・マスケス・サルバドールさんは言いました。

Maskes further asserted that this reform establishes a worrying precedent by "effectively privatizing" land defined as national heritage in the Peruvian constitution. He stated, "Forests are not private property; they belong to the state."

Proponents of this amendment, implemented in March, contend it will stabilize Peru's agricultural sector and offer farmers enhanced legal certainty.

AP通信はペルーの農業ビジネス関係者や、この法律を強く支持する国会議員マリア・ゼタ・チュンガ氏にコメントを求めましたが、農業ビジネス関係者からは一人だけが「コメントしたくない」と答えました。

According to the non-profit organisation Rainforest Trust, Peru possesses the second-largest portion of the Amazon rainforest after Brazil, encompassing over 70 million hectares, which constitutes approximately 60% of Peruvian territory. This area is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and serves as home to over 50 Indigenous groups, some of whom remain in voluntary isolation. These communities function as vital custodians of the ecosystem, and the rainforests they safeguard play a crucial role in stabilising the Earth's climate by absorbing substantial quantities of carbon dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas.

The original Forest Wild Animal Protection Act from 2011 required government permission and environmental studies before changing how forest land was used. But recent changes have made these protections weaker over time. The newest changes now let landowners and companies avoid getting permission and even make past tree cutting legal.

The Constitutional Tribunal in Peru supported the changes after a group of lawyers challenged them based on the constitution. The court said some parts of the changes were not valid, but it kept the last part of the law. This last part makes past illegal changes to how land is used legal. Experts in law say this is the most dangerous part.

In its ruling, the court acknowledged that the indigenous community should have been consulted on the legislative amendments, while upholding the Ministry of the Environment's role in forest zoning.

Environmental lawyer César Ipenza succinctly summarized: "The court acknowledges that this law infringes upon indigenous rights and that the tribes should have been consulted, yet it still upholds the most detrimental aspects."

今回の改革を進める動きは、以前ブラジルのボルソナロ大統領の下で見られた状況と似ています。そこでは、政治と経済の力が一緒になって環境保護を弱め、農業ビジネスにとって有利な状況を作りました。ブラジルでは非常に組織化された大きな農業ビジネスの団体が中心でしたが、ペルーではそれほど組織的ではないものの、力のあるグループが関わっています。

The movement is backed by agribusiness stakeholders, land grabbers, and those involved in illegal mining and drug trafficking in Peru, but it also involves small- and medium-sized farmers who are concerned about preserving their land.

What we are witnessing is the convergence of legitimate and illicit gains, stated Vladimir Pinto, the Peru field coordinator for the environmental advocacy organization Amazon Watch.

Julia Urrunaga, the Peru Director for the non-profit organization Environmental Investigation Agency, cautioned that the Peruvian government is currently making "false claims," specifically stating that legislative amendments are necessary to comply with European Union regulations requiring companies importing products like soy, beef, and palm oil to prove these were not sourced from illegally deforested land.

According to her, if products linked to illegal logging are subsequently legalized and released onto the market, the effectiveness of demand-side regulations, such as those in the EU, would be diminished.

Ulu Runaaga said, "This sends a wrong message to the world market and hurts efforts to stop cutting down forests by limiting trade."

Olivier Cuprou, head of the EU economic and trade department in Peru, refutes claims linking recent legal changes to the EU's zero-deforestation regulation.

In an interview with Peruvian media, KUPULU articulated that this regulation aims to deter the procurement of products linked to deforestation and advocates for enhanced traceability and sustainability in commodities such as coffee, cocoa, and wood, rather than demanding legislative changes.

国内での裁判の道がなくなったので、市民団体は国際的な裁判所に訴える準備をしています。彼らは、この判決が、改革という名目で環境のルールを守らないようにする他の国にとって、危険な例になると警告しています。

For many Indigenous leaders, this legislation poses a direct threat to their territories, communities, and way of life.

Giulio Cursoli, who is the director of the Cross-Ethnic Union Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, said that this action would make it easier for people to take land illegally and would make it harder to check on the environment in areas that are already in a difficult situation.

クスリチは、「我々の共同体は、歴史的に自らの土地はもとより、地球全体をも保護してきた」と述べた。