The amendment of the Criminal Code in accordance with Decree No 1237 has established a new legal framework that defines illegal logging as an aggravated offence if carried out in indigenous inland areas.
According to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers—PCM, the amendment includes more severe sentences and imprisonment for cutting timber illegally.
Announcement was made by Cesar Fourment, High Commissioner for the Fight Against Illegal Logging, as he met with leaders of Paoyhan —a native community in the Loreto region— and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve in the Madre de Dios region.
The Criminal Code reflects the government’s policy to protect indigenous reserves and peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact, “because they cannot be affected by illegal logging if titles are gone or in process,” he affirmed.
The Article 59 on Regulations for Forestry and Wildlife Management in Indigenous and Rural Communities authorizes indigenous and peasant peoples to use timber for survival, personal use and direct use.
Only those who settled in protected natural areas before they were designed as such can extract timber for survival according to an Act on Natural Protected Areas.
(END) NDP/MAO/RMB
Published: 1/28/2016