Giving Compass' Take:

• Land invaders have targeted the Chaparrí ecological reserve, one of Peru’s most biodiverse forests. As the Guardian reports, more than 1,000 hectares of this area have been deforested, burned and illegally cultivated, while villagers must deal with the constant specter of violence.

• How can we stop this threat to an ecosystem and an indigenous community? What are the best ways to protect land from being exploited around the world?

• Here's how indigenous groups are fighting against corporations in Latin America.

Shortly after sunset, along an isolated stretch of highway leading out of a dusty hamlet in northern Peru, a band of five weary farmers clad in reflective neon vests and armed with traditional whips made of bull penises set out on a solemn march.

The Ronderos — self-governing peasant patrols — are resuming their nightly rounds five months after the brutal killing of their lieutenant governor, Napoléon Tarrillo Astonitas.

“During all the years I’ve lived here, the situation has never been this threatening. The murder of the lieutenant governor in this hamlet made us organise in order to protect ourselves,” says Humberto Gonzales Núñez, head of Rondas Campesinas of El Mirador.

El Mirador and the surrounding hamlets remain deeply shaken by the murder last December, living in terror as invaders continue to seize their land within the Chaparrí ecological reserve, one of Peru’s most biodiverse forests.

Read the full article about land invaders in Peru by Rajmonda Rexhi and Matthew Weaver at The Guardian