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Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a tiny glade far in the of Peru Amazon when he noticed footsteps drawing near through the lush woodland.

It dawned on him that he stood hemmed in, and stood still.

“A single individual stood, aiming with an arrow,” he states. “Unexpectedly he became aware of my presence and I started to flee.”

He found himself confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—residing in the modest settlement of Nueva Oceania—was almost a local to these wandering tribe, who reject contact with outsiders.

A new study from a human rights organization indicates exist no fewer than 196 termed “uncontacted groups” in existence globally. The group is considered to be the biggest. It says a significant portion of these groups may be decimated in the next decade unless authorities fail to take more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the biggest risks come from logging, mining or operations for crude. Remote communities are highly vulnerable to basic disease—therefore, the study says a danger is caused by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities in pursuit of engagement.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been appearing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, based on accounts from locals.

This settlement is a fishermen's community of seven or eight families, located high on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, 10 hours from the most accessible town by boat.

The area is not designated as a safeguarded zone for uncontacted groups, and timber firms function here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the noise of heavy equipment can be noticed day and night, and the community are seeing their woodland damaged and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, people state they are torn. They are afraid of the tribal weapons but they hold profound regard for their “brothers” residing in the jungle and wish to safeguard them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we must not change their culture. For this reason we keep our space,” states Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the destruction to the community's way of life, the danger of violence and the chance that timber workers might introduce the tribe to sicknesses they have no immunity to.

While we were in the settlement, the group made themselves known again. Letitia, a young mother with a toddler daughter, was in the woodland picking food when she noticed them.

“We detected shouting, sounds from people, numerous of them. As though there were a whole group yelling,” she shared with us.

This marked the first instance she had met the group and she fled. An hour later, her head was still throbbing from terror.

“Since there are timber workers and operations clearing the jungle they are fleeing, possibly because of dread and they end up in proximity to us,” she stated. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. That's what frightens me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were assaulted by the Mashco Piro while fishing. One man was wounded by an arrow to the stomach. He survived, but the other man was found dead days later with nine puncture marks in his frame.

Authorities in Peru maintains a policy of avoiding interaction with remote tribes, establishing it as prohibited to start contact with them.

This approach was first adopted in Brazil after decades of lobbying by tribal advocacy organizations, who noted that first contact with isolated people lead to whole populations being eliminated by sickness, hardship and malnutrition.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau people in Peru came into contact with the world outside, half of their population perished within a few years. A decade later, the Muruhanua community experienced the same fate.

“Remote tribes are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any exposure could spread illnesses, and including the most common illnesses may wipe them out,” states an advocate from a local advocacy organization. “From a societal perspective, any interaction or intrusion can be very harmful to their way of life and well-being as a society.”

For those living nearby of {