Graduation Year
2023
Date of Submission
4-2023
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Reader 1
William Ascher
Abstract
The Peruvian Amazon has been a site of environmental degradation, illegal activity, and disregard for Indigenous communities who have resided there for generations. Due to a reliance on the hydrocarbon mining industry, the Peruvian government has historically exploited the Amazon for export-driven profit. As a result, local issues like land titling and mining concessions are not met with effective policies, which materialize into an accumulation of deforestation and mercury poisoning in the Amazon. Artisanal and small-scale mining play a significant role in the economic sector of Madre De Dios, but also contribute to harmful mining practices in the region. To best combat the deterioration of the Amazon, there must be efforts to make formalization more accessible to foster more sustainable mining. The ultimate goal, however, would be to resist and restructure the current political, economic, and social sphere capitalizing off of Indigenous exploitation.
Recommended Citation
Ruelas, Jocelyn, "Indigenous Land Rights in the Peruvian Amazon: The Effects of Weak Governance and its Reliance on an Extraction-based Economy" (2023). CMC Senior Theses. 3287.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3287
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
