Less than a week after a wildfire destroyed 700 hectares of underbrush in a protected area surrounding Machu Picchu, Peru launched an emergency surveillance plan to prevent any additional fires in the vicinity of Peru’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction.
“The (surveillance) will be carried out by Peru’s National Natural Resources Institute, or Irena, and the National Culture Institute,” said Irena’s Cecilia Cabello in comments to daily Perú21.
Cabello said the government would launch an awareness campaign to persuade local farmers to stop the practcie of burning and ash-fertilization.
“We want to educate children and adults,” Cabello added. “Many understand, but unfortunately, there are always exceptions.”
According to the UNESCO, one-third of the forests and underbrush in the protected area surrounding Machu Picchu have been affected by fire, often set by local farmers attempting to clear chacra of undergrowth. In 1997, a fire destroyed vegetation immediately surrounding the ruins and reached the lowest terraces of the site.
