Peru: Dozens Of New Oil Spills Devastate Northern Peruvian Amazon Report reveals new PlusPetrol spills as government green-lights new oil development http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9214:peru-dozens-of-new-oil-spills-devastate-northern-peruvian-amazon&catid=53:south-america-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=75

Independent monitoring of Oil Blocks 1-AB and 8 in the Northern Peruvian Amazon has revealed devastating ongoing impacts of oil drilling, according to a recent report by the Federation of Indigenous Communities of the Corrientes River (FECONACO). A team of monitors from the indigenous Achuar and Urarina communities on the Corrientes River documented 18 major crude oil spills in 2010 and over 90 spills over the last three years, directly affecting dozens of miles of rivers and streams and vast stretches of forest. Blocks 1-AB and 8 are currently operated by Argentine company Pluspetrol.

Block 1-AB was operated by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) from 1971 to 2000 and is the subject of ongoing litigation by communities alleging the company severely contaminated the environment for nearly 30 years."A week after the landmark ruling against Chevron in Ecuador for $9bn of damage from operations in the 1970's and 80's, this new report highlights the ongoing devastation caused by the oil industry on the fragile Amazon ecosystem and the people that live there," said Atossa Soltani, Executive Director at Amazon Watch.