The Chambira River is a major tributary of the Marañón River, and has been the traditional territory of the Urarina peoples for at least the past 350 years.[1] Located in the Amazon jungle of Peru, otherwise known as the Selva, the Chambira is a tropical waterway with many purposes. There is a huge diversity of plants and animals in this region, which creates a unique ecosystem around the river. Made up of "palm-swamps", the region takes its name from the Chambira palm.
Until relatively recently, the Chambira Basin was not a major focus of mapping, either by the Spanish Empire or the Peruvian nation. No major geographical surveys of the Chambira Basin were mounted during the 19th century heyday of exploration, and as a result it remained largely uncharted until the discovery of hydrocarbons in the region in the 1970s. With the subsequent mobilization of indigenous peoples and government-backed neo-liberal legislation, the lands of the Chambira Basin have now been fully mapped.