Climate change in Peru: the Yanesha indigenous people’s case from a justice perspective

The presentation revolves around the main findings of the research project I have conducted in Peru in November 2018, in collaboration with the Peruvian indigenous NGO Chirapaq. The research involved the collection of relevant qualitative data on the perceived effects of climate change in Yanesha native communities living in the Peruvian amazon, region of Pasco. During my onsite fieldwork I have interviewed a total of 12 Yanesha representatives who witnessed not only the devastating effects of climate change in their ancestral territories, but also relevant implications for their livelihoods and food availability. Climate change is indeed strongly felt by the Yanesha people. These changes, such as temperatures increase, modification of rainfall patterns and sudden changes in temperature, were reported by all leaders interviewed. They affirmed that these phenomena have been occurring especially in the last ten years. The consequences vary from the impossibility to work in fields after 11am – which provokes a reduction of the food produced – to diseases outbreak both in Yanesha people, livestock and cultivations. The interviews provided some insights on the adaptation efforts put in practice in the native communities, such as control of plants and restoring of traditional aquaculture. The presentation of the case study will then lead to the argumentation based on the climate justice framework. Indigenous peoples are victims of climate injustice for many reasons: they have been traditionally marginalized in international negotiations; they suffer the most from the impacts of climate change without having significantly contributed to global GHGs emissions; they rely on the regularity of seasons and preservation of biodiversity for their survival; they are impacted by conservation and adaptation projects that prevent them from accessing their own ancestral lands. The presentation will conclude by arguing about the centrality of the participatory justice discourse in the climate change context. Recognition of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and rights to territories and resources is the central issue to address the climate injustice problem. Allowing participation of indigenous peoples by creating a collaborative framework among communities, states and private entities, not only means mitigating the impacts of climate change. It also means recognizing the importance of the role of customary law and traditional knowledge for the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, creating a new governance system where rights of nature and indigenous cosmovisions are promoted and respected.