The Peruvian government has created a new reserve in the Amazon
rainforest, protecting the lands of the isolated Isconahua Indians and
several other indigenous tribes.
The reserve, named Zona Reservada Sierra del Divisor, is on the border
with the Brazilian state of Acre. Two reserves on the Brazilian side of
the border, also home to several uncontacted Indian groups, are already
protected by the Brazilian government and a third is due to be
demarcated this year.
Both governments are discussing how to tackle the problem of illegal
logging in the area. Earlier this month, Brazilian police arrested
eight Peruvian loggers with 134 cubic metres of mahogany in the
Brazilian side of the park. Local indigenous organisations in both
countries fear that isolated Indians in the region are being killed by
loggers, and that many are being forced to flee from their homes as
their forest is cut down.
