The road will reach Diamante Native Community this year and is likely to be extended to meet the Interoceanic Highway in 2021. Photo courtesy of Bethan John<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPeru has declared road building in this Amazon region a priority, a move that is also welcomed by the Indigenous Yine community at the heart of your film. What\u2019s at stake for the people and their forest?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Yine people from Diamante Native Community have been tirelessly campaigning for the road over many years, but they\u2019re also extremely worried about what it will bring. There\u2019s no doubt that it\u2019ll increase illegal logging within their territory and land grabbing by \u2018colonists\u2019 from the Andes, who have moved to Manu to exploit the reserve\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n
Community members already feel threatened by the presence of narco-traffickers on their doorstep and the violence of police crackdowns, which they claim leads to the persecution of innocent people. Then there\u2019s the erosion of their cultural identity and the fact that their language is already on the brink of being lost. There\u2019s nothing being done to protect the forest or the community from these impacts. Yet the road is being offered as the only solution to the challenges they face.<\/p>\n
You spent 40 days filming in the community: of all the things you learned and heard, what most surprised you?<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a team of environmentalists who have all worked in Manu for many years, we\u2019ve come to really know the forest and its wild creatures. So the desire to see Manu properly protected is a deeply emotional feeling. We went into the expedition with preconceptions about loggers for the widespread destruction they\u2019re causing, knowing that 90% of logging in the region is illegal.<\/p>\n
After interviewing over 50 people from Indigenous communities, many of whom are illegal loggers, the change in our own attitude took us by surprise. We began to understand the level of systematic discrimination and disempowerment faced by communities that traps them in a cycle of destruction and poverty. There\u2019s very little way of escaping the black market economy.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the film:<\/em><\/p>\n
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