Survival International

Write to the FSC: their certified timber is threatening the lives of uncontacted Mashco Piro

Uncontacted Mashco Piro people on a riverbank near the Manú National Park, Peru. 2011. © Jean-Paul Van Belle

The Peruvian rainforest near the border with Brazil is home to the largest known uncontacted tribe in the world: the Mashco Piro.

But their territory is now under threat as never before.

A logging company called Canales Tahuamanu has been extracting timber from their land for years. It has built more than 200km of new roads since 2016, putting the Mashco Piro’s survival at serious risk: the destruction of their forest, chance encounters with the loggers, and the spread of disease could all wipe them out.

Incredibly, Canales Tahuamanu has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This stamp of approval is supposed to guarantee that the company’s operation is both sustainable and ethical, but that clearly isn’t the case here.

Please ask the FSC to cancel its certification of Canales Tahuamanu. The company, which uses the certification as a stamp of approval for its operations, is already under pressure from Indigenous organizations in Peru to withdraw from the Mashco Piro territory. Losing the certification will be a powerful signal - to the company and the government - that logging in this area must stop, before it’s too late for the Mashco Piro.

Your email will be sent to the Director General and relevant staff of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC):
Kim Carstensen, Director General, FSC 
Zandra Martinez, President of the Board of Directors, FSC
Bruno Rath, Director Regional for Latin America, FSC
Selina Baños Velásquez, Manager of Indigenous Engagement, FSC Indigenous Foundation

Don't miss out on your next chance to stand with Indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide.

We take your privacy seriously. We will never sell or swap your details. You can unsubscribe at any time from the footer of our emails or change how you hear from us by calling our team on +44(0)207 687 8700 (International headquarters) / 510 858 3950 (US office) or emailing us at [email protected] (International headquarters) / [email protected] (US office). Find out how we protect and use your personal data in our Privacy Policy.