Forest conservation versus indigenous forest territory rights in the Peruvian Amazon: the case of the Kechwa-Lamas village Alto Huaja and the roles of external actors

Abstract

The current competition for land in the Peruvian Amazon is a challenge to indigenous communities without legal ownership of their customary lands. This study analyses the strategies of Alto Huaja, a Kechwa-Lamas village in the region of San Martin, to gain possession over a forest area which they consider their ancestral territory. It explores how this struggle is influenced by external actors and ideas of how indigenous territories should be governed. Through a governmentality lens, we explore two tenure arrangements under discussion in San Martin - conservation concession and title - their rationales and their possible consequences for Alto Huaja. Data were collected through observation in Alto Huaja and interviews with nine organisations (governmental, non-governmental and indigenous), connected to Alto Huaja. Findings suggest that Kechwa-Lamas' control over their ancestral lands is becoming more tied to doing conservation than gaining rights as indigenous peoples. This could turn them from farmers to conservationists.