Edwin Chota (1962 – 1 September 2014) was a Peruvian environmental activist and a leader of the
Asháninka
The Asháninka or Asháninca are an indigenous people living in the rainforests of Peru and in the State of Acre, Brazil. Their ancestral lands are in the forests of Junín, Pasco, Huánuco and part of Ucayali in Peru.
Population
The Ashá ...
indigenous group and the president of the settlement of
Saweto, Peru.
On 1 September 2014, Chota and three other community leaders, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quinticima, and Francisco Pinedo, were shot and killed by illegal loggers while they were protesting the illegal harvesting of
mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
within the boundaries of Saweto's land claim.
The section of land claimed by Saweto is home to approximately 80 percent of the
illegal logging in Peru. For 13 years, Chota had led the fight for the Peruvian government to recognize their land claims and end the illegal logging.
In response to the murder, the
(AIDESEP) claimed the police and the judiciary had done absolutely nothing to protect the men, despite repeated complaints and reports of death threats against them.
AIDESEP also called on the Peruvian government to do more to protect indigenous people from criminal organizations.
On 30 January 2015, the regional government of
Ucayali and the government of Peru granted the land title to the Saweto community confirming their ownership of the land.
Finally, on April 11, 2024, four businessmen from the timber industry were sentenced to more than 28 years in prison by a Peruvian court for the murder of environmental activists. The verdict is not yet final.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chota, Edwin
1962 births
2014 deaths
Illegal logging
People from Ucayali Region
Peruvian environmentalists