Perupetro suspend Amazon auction till October

12/08/09

Peru's state energy firm, Perupetro, has pushed back the auction of Amazon slabs rich in oil and gas.

The auction was meant to take place in July, but has now been pushed back to October according to Daniel Saba, president of the company.

Bloody clashes in June between police and protestors (mainly indigenous people) left 34 people dead and Survival International (and other environmental and human rights groups) are urging Perupetro not to include land inhabited by uncontacted tribes in the auction.

The indigenous people of Peru are naturally upset that the government wants to open their ancestral lands to foreign exploration companies, although Perupetro claim the reasons to delay the auction were economic and not related to the clashes.

The Peruvian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse landscapes on Earth and it is estimated 11 per cent of Peru's population live within the forest.