In Peru, IPLC territories can be categorized in three main groups.

First, the Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI, in Spanish) that live in areas of Reserva Indígena or Reserva Territorial. “Although both terms refer to the same territory, Indigenous Reserves are the most recent legal figure (...) and are intended to replace the previous figure of Territorial Reserves. With the new figure of Indigenous Reserves, these territories are provided with a higher level of legal protection and the competent authorities, control measures, and limitations regarding access and development of activities in said areas are clearly established.” (MINCU, 2016b). In 2016, the Supreme Decree N.° 007-2016-MC established the three first indigenous reserves in Peru for the ethnicities of Isconahua, Mashco Piro y Murunahua (MINCU, 2016a). At present, indigenous lands in Peru are mainly regulated by the Law for the protection of indigenous or native peoples in isolation and in initial contact (Law 28736/2006).

Second, native communities that live in areas of comunidades nativas. These communities are usually located in the rural areas of ​​the Amazon and also include indigenous groups that are not in isolation. Native communities have a “relationship with the land to practice agriculture but above all to take advantage of its forests and rivers: each family practices slash-and-burn agriculture to provide themselves with certain foods, but above all they make use of the forests and rivers to obtain their main foods (fruits, game animals and fish) and resources for their use and exchange (wood, fish)” (Peña Jumpa, 2014). Native Communities are mainly regulated by the Law on Native Communities and Agrarian Development of the Jungle (Decree-Law 22175/1978) and are constitutionally recognized in article 89 of Peru’s Constitution (1993).

Third, peasant communities that live in areas of comunidades campesinas. These communities are usually located in the rural areas of ​​the Andes and are also referred to as Andean Communities. These peasant communities also have a close connection to their territories. They “carry out economic activities related to agriculture and livestock and each family usually has a plot of land where they practice subsistence agriculture” (Peña Jumpa, 2014). Peasant Communities are mainly regulated by the General Law on Peasant Communities (Law 24656/1987) and are constitutionally recognized in article 89 of Peru’s Constitution (1993).

Both native and peasant communities have a social and political organization based on family, kinship and local institutions. Their autonomous governance is usually led by the Community’s General Assembly and local norms and agreements are described in the Community’s Statute.

Amongst these IPLC territories in Peru, there are 7940 georeferenced territories in public databases. Of those, 7290 are documented, 15 are held or used under customary tenure, and 635 are held or used with formally submitted land claims. Furthermore, 7290 are acknowledged by the government and 650 are not yet acknowledged by the government. The data available on these areas is retrieved from the Landmark platform (https://landmarkmap.org/map), and is based on the governmental agencies of COFOPRI-SERNANP; COFOPRI; MINCUL; Instituto de Montaña; DRA; SICCAM; GORE; SUNARP; IBC; IBC (via RAISG) (see https://ibcperu.org/).

When sourcing from the IPLC areas of Peru, companies should conduct their due diligence to ensure they are commercializing with the communities that are lawfully entitled to live in these territories; otherwise, companies incur the risk of dealing with unauthorized actors that might be violating land rights in these IPLC areas.

Law 28736 (2006)

Article 4. Rights of members of peoples in isolation or initial contact. The State guarantees the rights of indigenous peoples in isolation or initial contact, assuming the following obligations towards them:

a) Protect their life and health by developing preventive actions and policies as a priority, given their possible vulnerability to communicable diseases;

b) Respect their decision regarding the form and process of their relationship with the rest of national society and with the State;

c) Protect their culture and traditional ways of life, recognizing the particular spiritual relationship of these peoples with their habitat, as a constitutive element of their identity;

d) Recognize their right to possess the lands they occupy, restricting the entry of outsiders to them; the ownership of the populations over the lands they possess is guaranteed when they adopt a sedentary lifestyle;

e) Guarantee free access to and extensive use of their lands and natural resources for their traditional subsistence activities; and,

f) Establish indigenous reserves, which will be determined on the basis of the areas they occupy and to which they have had traditional access, until they decide on their title voluntarily.

Article 5. Territorial reserves and indigenous reserves in Peru are intangible territories delimited by the State in favor of the PIACI. As a legal figure, indigenous reserves are incorporated into the PIACI Law, giving them a higher level of legal protection. This means that:

a) Population settlements other than those of the indigenous peoples who live there may not be established;

b) The carrying out of any activity other than that of the ancestral uses and customs of the indigenous inhabitants is prohibited;

c) Rights that imply the use of natural resources will not be granted, except for those that are carried out for subsistence purposes by the peoples who inhabit the lands and those that allow their use by methods that do not affect the rights of indigenous peoples in isolation or in initial contact, and provided that the corresponding environmental study allows it. In the event that a natural resource susceptible to use is located, whose exploitation is of public necessity for the State, it will be carried out in accordance with the law; and,

d) The indigenous peoples who inhabit the lands are the sole and joint beneficiaries of the same.

If the farm plot is located within a territory of Indigenous Peoples (Reservas Indígenas or Reservas Territoriais, in the original language), this means that you are sourcing from an IPLC territory in Peru. These territories belong to Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI, in Spanish) and are protected by indigenous jurisdiction. They are mainly regulated by the Law for the protection of indigenous or native peoples in isolation and in initial contact (Law 28736/2006). The legislation in Peru is quite stringent in regulating these territories, as can be exemplified by article 5.b. “ The carrying out of any activity other than that of the ancestral uses and customs of the indigenous inhabitants is prohibited”. To adequately carry out your due diligence, make sure your company has commercial relations with the Indigenous Peoples that lawfully occupy this area. Ensure that your company is trading with the collective entity that represents that community and ensure that the activity you are engaging with is aligned with the ancestral uses and customs of that land. Avoid commercializing with unauthorized intermediaries or third parties that might be violating the land rights of Indigenous peoples.

Peru’s Constitution (1993)

Article 89. Peasant and Native Communities have legal existence and are legal entities. They are autonomous in their organization, in communal work and in the use and free disposal of their lands, as well as in economic and administrative matters, within the framework established by law. The ownership of their lands is imprescriptible, except in the case of abandonment provided for in the previous article. The State respects the cultural identity of Peasant and Native Communities.

Article 149. The authorities of the Peasant and Native Communities, with the support of the Peasant Patrols, may exercise jurisdictional functions within their territorial scope in accordance with customary law, provided that they do not violate the fundamental rights of the person. The law establishes the forms of coordination of said special jurisdiction with the Justice of the Peace Courts and with the other instances of the Judicial Power.

Law on Native Communities and Agrarian Development of the Jungle (Decree-Law 22175/1978)

(Later complemented by D. Ley 20653, D. Ley 21175, Ley 25891, Ley 26505, Ley 26570, Ley 27887)

Article 7. The State recognizes the legal existence and juridical personality of Native Communities.

Article 8. Native Communities have their origin in the tribal groups of the Jungle and Ceja de Selva and are made up of groups of families linked by the following main elements: language or dialect, cultural and social characteristics, common and permanent tenure and usufruct of the same territory, with a nucleated or dispersed settlement.

Article 9. Members of Native Communities are those born within the same and those whom they incorporate, provided they meet the requirements set forth in the Native Community Statute. The status of community member is lost by residing outside the communal territory for more than twelve consecutive months, unless the absence is motivated by duly accredited reasons of study or health, by transfer to the territory of another Native Community in accordance with the uses and customs and by the fulfillment of Military Service.

Article 10. The State guarantees the integrity of the territorial property of the Native Communities, will draw up the corresponding cadastre and will grant them property titles. For the demarcation of the territory of the Native Communities, the following will be taken into account: a. When they have acquired a sedentary character, the surface that they currently occupy to develop their agricultural, gathering, hunting and fishing activities; and b. When they undertake seasonal migrations, the entire surface where they settle when they do so. When they possess an insufficient amount of land, they will be awarded the area that they require to satisfy the needs of their population.

Article 11. The part of the territory of the Native Communities that correspond to lands with forestry aptitude will be ceded to them, for use and its use will be governed by the legislation on the matter.

Article 13. The territorial property of the Native Communities is inalienable, imprescriptible and unseizable.

Article 14. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will register the Native Communities in the National Registry of Native Communities that it will maintain for this purpose.

Article 17. Precarious occupants and land-owners located on lands of a Native Community may join the Community unless the members of the Community, meeting in General Assembly, within 6 months following the delimitation of the communal territory, decide not to admit them as community members, in which case they will be compensated in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of this Law.

Article 18. Native Communities located within the boundaries of National Parks, whose activities do not violate the principles that justify the establishment of said conservation units, may remain there without title of ownership.

If the farm plot is located within a territory of Native Community (Comunidad Nativa, in the original language), this means that you are sourcing from an IPLC territory in Peru. These territories are mainly regulated by the Law on Native Communities and Agrarian Development of the Jungle (Decree-Law 22175/1978) and are constitutionally recognized in article 89 of Peru’s Constitution (1993). To adequately carry out your due diligence, make sure your company has commercial relations with the Native Communities that lawfully occupy this area. Ensure that your company is trading with the collective entity that represents the members of that community, such as the Native Community’s General Assembly or authorized associations, cooperatives, individual members or external partners. Also, make sure that the commercial relations you have are aligned with the land-uses specified and authorized in the Native Community’s Statute. Avoid commercializing with unauthorized intermediaries or third parties that might be violating the land rights of native communities.

Peru’s Constitution (1993)

Article 89. Peasant and Native Communities have legal existence and are legal entities. They are autonomous in their organization, in communal work and in the use and free disposal of their lands, as well as in economic and administrative matters, within the framework established by law. The ownership of their lands is imprescriptible, except in the case of abandonment provided for in the previous article. The State respects the cultural identity of Peasant and Native Communities.

Article 149. The authorities of the Peasant and Native Communities, with the support of the Peasant Patrols, may exercise jurisdictional functions within their territorial scope in accordance with customary law, provided that they do not violate the fundamental rights of the person. The law establishes the forms of coordination of said special jurisdiction with the Justice of the Peace Courts and with the other instances of the Judicial Power.

General Law on Peasant Communities (24656/1987)

(Later complemented by Ley 24657, Ley 25891, Ley 26505, Ley 26570, Ley 27887. D.S. 37-70-AG)

Article 1. The integral development of Peasant Communities is hereby declared to be of national necessity and of social and cultural interest. The State recognizes them as fundamental democratic institutions, autonomous in their organization, communal work and use of the land, as well as in economic and administrative matters, within the framework of the Constitution, this law and related provisions.

Accordingly, the State: a) Guarantees the integrity of the right of ownership of the territory of the Peasant Communities; b) Respects and protects communal work as a form of participation of the community members, aimed at establishing and preserving goods and services of communal interest, regulated by indigenous customary law; c) Promotes the organization and operation of communal companies, multinationals and other forms of association freely established by the Community; and, d) Respects and protects the uses, customs and traditions of the Community. It encourages the development of its cultural identity.

Article 2. Peasant Communities are organizations of public interest, with legal existence and legal status, made up of families who inhabit and control certain territories, linked by ancestral, social, economic and cultural ties, expressed in communal ownership of the land, communal work, mutual aid, democratic government and the development of multi-sector activities, whose purposes are oriented to the full realization of its members and of the country.

The permanent human settlements located in communal territory and recognized by the General Assembly of the Community constitute Annexes of the Community.

Article 4. Peasant Communities are competent to:

a) Formulate and execute their comprehensive development plans: agricultural, handicraft and industrial, promoting the participation of the community members;

b) Regulate access to the use of land and other resources by their members;

c) Prepare the communal cadastre and delimit the areas of populated centers and those intended for agricultural, livestock, forestry, protection and other uses;

d) Promote forestation and reforestation on land suitable for forestry;

e) Organize the work regime of their members for communal and family activities that contribute to the best use of their assets;

f) Centralize and arrange with public and private organizations, the services of support to production and others, that their members require;

g) Establish communal, multi-communal and other associative forms of enterprises;

h) Promote, coordinate and support the development of civic, cultural, religious, social and other activities and festivities that respond to values, uses, customs and traditions that are their own and,

i) Any others indicated in the Community Statute.

If the farm plot is located within a territory of a Peasant Community (Comunidad Campesina, in the original language), this means that you are sourcing from an IPLC territory in Peru. These territories are mainly regulated by the General Law on Peasant Communities (Law 24656/1987) and are constitutionally recognized in article 89 of Peru’s Constitution (1993). To adequately carry out your due diligence, make sure your company has commercial relations with the Peasant Community that lawfully occupies this area. Ensure that your company is trading with the collective entity that represents the members of that community, such as the Peasant Community’s General Assembly or authorized associations, cooperatives, individual members or external partners. Also, make sure that the commercial relations you have are aligned with the land-uses specified and authorized in the Peasant Community’s Statute. Avoid commercializing with unauthorized intermediaries or third parties that might be violating the land rights of native communities.