Bolivia: Half of the indigenous peoples are threatened with extinction

The Bolivian government has warned that 18 of the country’s 36 recognized tribal peoples are in a critically vulnerable situation and at risk of disappearance, most of them in the east of the country.

Indigenous peoples at risk include the Uru Murato, Yaracarés, Esse Ejja, Chácobo, Toromona, Tacanas, Whenayek, Yukis and Maropa, as well as 18 of the 36 indigenous peoples recognized in the state’s political constitution.

Deputy Minister for Decolonization, Pelagio Condori, explained that the goal after the diagnosis is to recover, promote and enhance the ancestral knowledge and wisdom of the original indigenous peasant peoples. To this end, projects to strengthen their culture should be proposed.

Condori has specifically pointed to the Uru Murato, who lost their livelihoods as Lake Poopó shrank due to climate change and environmental impacts.

However, the Deputy Minister emphasized that the Uru Murato people are culturally strengthened as many of their customs are still alive, such as their clothing, the knowledge of their ancestors, ritual ceremonies and traditional medicine.

To the east, the Yuracarés of the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) are at risk because of the loss of their culture and language. Young people and adults practically do not use their language and their cultural and ancestral knowledge is declining.

In the case of the Esse Ejja, their livelihood, the water of the rivers, is contaminated, which puts them in a critical situation for their health and livelihood.

Faced with this situation, the government has set up the General Directorate for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples and Nations (Digepio), “which takes care of peoples who are particularly vulnerable and threatened with extinction,” Condori said.

With information from latinpress