Our Big Idea is to support and train indigenous Ash√°ninka communities in the Peruvian Amazon to defend their lands and to implement a campaign against the construction of a hydroelectric dam, which is threatening to flood 100,000 ha of rainforest, affecting 10,000 people depended on the land.
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The Selva Central in Peru, a biodiversity hotspot, is threatened by the Pakitzapango dam, which will have substantial environmental, social, health and economic impacts as the ecosystem floods and communities will lose their homes, farms and sacred lands. The local Ashaninka communities depend on the river for fishing, trade and farming. However, the Peruvian Government has approved to build the dam without informing them, even though these lands are legally protected for the Ash√°ninka.
All Asháninka communities potentially affected by the development have unequivocally decided to make a stance against the dam. This project will support and train Asháninka communities in the Ene Valley to implement an effective campaign against the construction of the Pakitzapango hydroelectric dam project. Through capacity building and legal and campaign training we seek to strengthen our local partners and Asháninka communities’ role in protecting their forest and lands against destruction