Indigenous Blockade of Major River Ends in Peru, New info on I-69, more

About 4,000 indigenous people ended their blockade of the Marañon river of the Peruvian Amazon today after meeting with representatives of the regional government and the company they are protesting against, Argentina’s Pluspetrol. After an oil spill in June, the Peruvian government had been distributing food and goods to the people most affected in the region; however, with Pluspetrol declaring the pollution problem resolved, the government has cut off aid, in spite of indigenous complains that problems continue to occur. The agreement reached maintains peace on both sides—the oil corporation and the indigenous peoples—until the government’s water authority can test the waters of the Marañon for pollution. To read more, click here.

In the US, the Huffington Post reports that inDOT is planning even further environmental damage in their proposed new route for the NAFTA Super Highway (AKA I-69): “Pressed for funds to cover the cost of building the controversial Interstate 69 extension through southern Indiana, the Indiana Department of Transportation wants to cut corners by running a causeway across the floodplain of the East Fork of the White River. That would essentially dam the wide floodplain and increase flooding upstream after heavy rains, filling the cornfields that grow along the river.” for more info, click here.

In other news, the Dam-free designation of Turkey’s İkizdere Valley is threatened by new laws presented by corporate interests. Click here for more.