Meeting strengthens alliances for the protection of the Amazonian border of Peru–Brazil

During COP30, in Belém (PA), leaders of the Juruá–Yurúa–Alto Tamaya Transboundary Commission and the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA) met to discuss joint strategies for the protection of territories along the border between Brazil and Peru — one of the regions with the greatest concentration of biological and cultural diversity on the planet.

The meeting took place at a time of increasing pressure on the region, particularly following a recent statement by the Secretary of Planning and Management of the state of Acre regarding the possibility of opening a road link to Peru through the municipality of Marechal Thaumaturgo — a proposal that would affect an area composed almost entirely of protected lands and Indigenous territories.

According to Francisco Piyãko, coordinator of the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Juruá River (OPIRJ) and founding member of the Transboundary Commission, the situation calls for unity. “The forest is being attacked from all sides — by fires, mining, and deforestation. Only by standing together can we confront this crisis and build a shared agenda of defense and hope,” he said.

During the meeting, representatives of the Transboundary Commission presented maps and territorial analyses that demonstrated the scale of uncontrolled predatory activities crossing the borders. The situation caught the attention of the Javari Valley representatives, especially after monitoring databases, such as those used by the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon), identified the region as an area at risk for the first time.

“When our relatives see the maps and understand the extent of the invaders’ actions, they realize that protecting this territory cannot be done solely from the Brazilian side. It is a binational territory, and its defense is the responsibility of all of us,” emphasized Piyãko.

Participants also raised concerns about the presence of criminal organizations, the advance of illegal deforestation, predatory logging and fishing, violence against community leaders, and the absence of permanent public policies. In light of this situation, they stressed the need to strengthen community-based structures for self-governance and territorial monitoring. “If the government doesn’t do it, we must do it. Governments come and go, but we remain in our communities,” said Manoel Chorimpa, a leader from the Javari Valley.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of transboundary alliances as a concrete response to the climate and environmental crisis, proposing pathways rooted in cooperation, ancestral knowledge, and shared responsibility for life in the Amazon — based on a vision of the territory as living and interconnected. “What we are building here is more than political coordination — it is a living alliance among peoples, rivers, and forests,” summarized Beto Marubo, representative of UNIVAJA.

About UNIVAJA

Founded in 2010, the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA) represents the Kanamari, Korubo, Kulina, Marubo, Matís, Mayuruna, and Tsohom Dyapa peoples, as well as isolated groups that inhabit a territory of 8.5 million hectares (larger than the territory of Portugal) — the second-largest Indigenous land in Brazil. The organization stems from a historic struggle dating back to the 1980s for the demarcation and protection of this territory, and today stands as a central force in defending the rights of Indigenous peoples and the forest of the Javari Valley.

About the Juruá–Yurúa–Alto Tamaya Transboundary Commission

Officially established in 2021, the Juruá–Yurúa–Alto Tamaya Transboundary Commission brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, communities, and organizations from both sides of the border, with the goal of protecting the forests, rivers, and ways of life of the region. Its area of operation covers more than 3.5 million hectares of forest between Acre (Brazil) and Ucayali (Peru), where 14 Indigenous peoples live, distributed across 35 Indigenous territories and 8 protected areas.