32. The petitioners argue that, for the indigenous communities, the importance of the land lies in the fact that it is an essential feature of their identity, as well as being an indispensable resource for their communities. According to the petitioners, since the distant past the lands covered by fiscal lots 14 and 55 have been used as hunting and gathering grounds by these people, and they are vital to their survival, for it is in these traditionally demarcated hunting lands that they find the animals and fruits on which they depend for food. The petitioners point out that their territory no longer has the wealth of soil and the abundance of natural resources that it once had. The reason for this, they claim, is the intrusion of nonindigenous people (criollos), who have engaged primarily in cattle ranching since 1902. The problem lies in the fact that the economic activities of the two groups -- indigenous people and criollos -- are incompatible. The petitioners allege that the government of Salta is responsible for the conflict because it has not taken the necessary steps to demarcate the territories of each group. Events giving rise to the present petition 33. The petitioners indicate that since 1995 the Province of Salta, with the backing of the national government, has undertaken a series of public works as part of the project for integrating Argentina into MERCOSUR (the common market formed by Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay, with the participation of Chile), and that an international bridge has already been built. Moreover, plans have been laid to build roads to complete the Atlantic-Pacific corridor, and a vast urbanization plan has been adopted for the region, including a border control center, police (gendarmerie) barracks, housing for police officers and staff, a customs and immigration post, a health center, a school, housing, businesses, a service station, restaurants, and exchange bureaus. 34. The petitioners maintain that they are not opposed to the planned works, provided those works do not affect their legitimate rights to the territory, and their right to their culture. Yet they insist that the works and construction be undertaken only after an analysis of the social and environmental impact that those works would have on their communities, and that the views and interests of the people who have historically occupied these lands must be taken into account. Moreover, the petitioners indicate that, if all the planned projects were to be completed, the indigenous people who live in the region would see themselves displaced from their lands, and the very basis of their subsistence would be threatened, because their hunting and gathering