Eco-Colonialism and the Asháninka of Peru

By: Ismahan Salat
Ismahan Salat is a college student interested in environmental issues and social justice. She enjoys learning about how different communities are affected by climate change and conservation efforts.

When people talk about saving the environment, it usually sounds like a good thing. But for many Indigenous communities in Latin America, these so-called green efforts are actually harming the people who have protected nature the longest. This is what is known as eco-colonialism, when governments, corporations, or even environmental groups push out Indigenous people in the name of conservation. One example of this is happening to the Asháninka people in Peru.

The Asháninka live in the Peruvian Amazon and have always taken care of their land in sustainable ways. But when the government created Otishi National Park, it overlapped with Asháninka territory. The park is meant to protect biodiversity, but now the Asháninka face restrictions on things like farming, hunting, and fishing, even though they have done those things for generations without harming the forest. Tourists and researchers can go into the park, but the Indigenous people who live there are not allowed to use it freely anymore. That is just not right.
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This is a clear example of eco-colonialism. These conservation projects might look good on paper, but they ignore the rights and voices of Indigenous people. It is like their knowledge does not count. The Asháninka do not see the forest as a place to be preserved by outsiders. It is their home, their culture, their way of life. They do not need anyone to tell them how to take care of it.

Still, the Asháninka are speaking up. One leader, Ruth Buendía, helped organize against a huge dam project that would have destroyed their land. She worked through an Indigenous-led organization called CARE and got international support to stop it. She even won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2014. Her story shows the power of Indigenous resistance and how they are not just protecting their rights, they are also protecting the planet.

This situation makes us question how we define sustainability. A lot of people think it means planting trees or keeping humans out of wild spaces. But real sustainability has to include justice for Indigenous communities. If we are not centering the people who already live in balance with nature, then what are we really protecting. 

Sources

• “Ruth Buendía.” 2022. Goldman Environmental Prize. March 18, 2022. https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/ruth-buendia/ 
• “Forest Peoples Programme.” 2025. Forestpeoples.org. 2025. https://www.forestpeoples.org/partners-countries/countries/country/peru/

 
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