OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 24, 2006

Press Contacts:
In Peru: FECONACO office (Spanish only): 51.65.26.72.87
In the US: AMAZON WATCH: Maria Ramos: 202.785.3962; Simeon Tegel:
415.487.9600

Achuar Nation Wins Landmark Agreement to Stop Toxic Contamination of
Rainforest Homelands After 14-day Blockade

Tropical Rainforest and Native Communities May Never Fully Heal
From Three Decades of Carcinogenic Dumping

Online Interview with Achuar Leaders

Washington D.C. :  The Achuar nation today celebrated a historic
indigenous triumph over the oil industry after blockading Peru's
largest oil facility in protest over the devastating toxic
contamination of their Amazon rainforest homelands.

More than 800 determined Achuar elders, women and children joined the
peaceful blockade, which lasted nearly two weeks, shutting down power
to most of the region's oil production facilities and blocking airport,
river and road access to the region. The protest came after two years
of failed talks with Peruvian government officials over the daily
discharge of more than one million barrels of 'formation waters'�, an
untreated toxic by-product of the oil drilling process, directly into
the rainforest.

The dumping has been going on for three decades and the Achuar have
unsafe and illegal levels of a range of toxins in their bodies,
including lead and cadmium, as a result. It has also poisoned local
waterways to the point where the fish and game populations on which the
Achuar depend for survival are no longer fit for human consumption.

Initially, the Peruvian government sent in more than 200 members of the
national police with orders to disperse the peaceful demonstrators and
restore oil production. However, the Achuar convinced the police to
refrain from using force and to respect their picket. After a weekend
of intense negotiations, both the government and the oil company
currently running the concession, Argentina-based Pluspetrol, gave in
to nearly all the Achuar demands. The written agreement they signed
yesterday includes promises to:

* Re-inject 100 percent of the 'formation waters' back into the ground
within 12 months in concession�. Pluspetrol had originally
committed to re-injecting 15 percent by 2010;
* 50 percent re-injection of formation waters in the neighboring
block by December 2007 and the rest by July 2008;
* Construction of a new hospital and a multi-million dollar health
budget for the Achuar;
* Five percent of all oil royalties to the Peruvian state of Loreto
to be dedicated to Achuar community development, including food
production, health and education;
* One year of emergency food supply for affected communities given
the river fish and game are highly contaminated; and
* The acknowledgement of a unilateral declaration by the Achuar that
they oppose new oil concessions in their territories and request
cancellation of contracts for blocks 104 and 106.

"We have achieved 98% of our demands, and won recognition of our
rights"� said Andres Sandi, President of FECONACO, the representative
organization of the Achuar people of the Corrientes River. "This
victory is the result of the strength of our people who came together
and pressured hard and would not abandon our demands."�

The Achuar have now called off the blockade, which had closed down the
rainforest oil facility and shut down 50 percent of Peru's oil
production. However, Achuar communities continue to be threatened by
the oil industry. There are vast areas of the rainforest that require
major clean up from 35 years of negligent oil extraction. Additionally,
in neighboring areas, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), and
Petrolifera currently own drilling rights to a vast, intact area of
tropical rainforest also inhabited by the Achuar, who adamantly oppose
any drilling on their territories. Unless both ConocoPhillips and Oxy
commit to respect the Achuar's stated desires, there are likely to be
more confrontations.

"This is a major victory and a glorious day for indigenous peoples'
rights, not only in Peru but around the world,"� said Lily la Torre
Lopez, of the Lima-based Racimos de Ugurahui and who acts as attorney
to the Achuar, speaking to Amazon Watch from a satellite phone from the
Achuar territory. "This victory represents the work of a proud and
determined people who decided to risk all to rescue the future of their
children."

Atossa Soltani, of Amazon Watch, added: "The Achuar had to take
high-stakes measures to force both Pluspetrol and the Peruvian state to
end the archaic practice of dumping of oil waste into the rainforest
where thousands live, fish, and bath in local waters. The oil
industry's days of 'pollute and run' are numbered."�

In the U.S. and other industrialized countries, the standard industry
procedure for more than half-a-century has been to re-inject all
formation waters deep back into the ground precisely to prevent the
kind of environmental and public health crisis currently taking place
among the Achuar communities. Oil companies operating in the Amazon and
other areas of developing nations have, however, often chosen to save
money by dumping the formation waters.

In the Achuar lands, the dumping began in the 1970s when the concession
was designed, constructed and run by Oxy, which eventually handed its
facilities to Pluspetrol which continues to operate in the same out
dated manner. The agreement does not fully address the clean up needed
of historic contamination since the 1970's. However it is a giant step
forward in preventing future contamination.

For background on the Achuar's struggle to protect their lands and
communities, visit www.amazonwatch.org.