Yesterday, Amazon Watch visited Saramurillo, a town along the banks of the mighty Marañon River, where hundreds of indigenous water protectors are demanding an end to the contamination of the Amazon. Seven oil spills have been reported this year alone in the Peruvian Amazon, adding to dozens from prior years. The spills have leaked thousands of barrels of oil and directly affected indigenous communities like the Awajún and the Wampis. These are the kinds of spills that the Standing Rock Sioux are fighting to prevent their North Dakota territory.

After the third spill of this year the pipeline was shut down, yet spills continue. Fed up by continued spills and government inaction in the face of over 40 years of oil contamination, many affected communities rose up on September 1st, blocking traffic up and down the river demanding that the government take adequate action to stop further spills. We were able to visit them at their camp near Station 1, the beginning of the pipeline, to show our support.

Because the government strategy thus far has been to try to pacify the mobilization without actually taking substantive actions, the communities need international support for their demands.

Please send Peru’s new president an email today, encouraging a high-level delegation to travel to the Marañon River and dialogue in good faith with the affected communities.