Environmentalists Begin National Water March

Environmentalists and civil society groups in three Peruvian regions began on Wednesday a national water march, aimed mainly at rejecting Newmont Mining’s Minas Conga project.  The marchers plan to converge in Lima by next week.

In Cajamarca region, where Conga is located, about 500 people began the march at the Cortada lake, Ideeleradio reported.

Supporters of the march also participated in Peru’s southern Arequipa region, which has also seen a number of conflicts over plans by mining companies to use Read more…

Peru Declares Emergency In Ica Following Quake

Peru’s government on Thursday declared an emergency in the country’s southern Ica region due to the extensive damage caused by an earthquake earlier in the week, according to daily El Comercio.

Cabinet Chief Oscar Valdes said that the government will provide 2 million soles (approximately $750,000) for works in the area affected by the quake.

Valdes said the quake caused the collapse of Ica’s sewage system, and announced Read more…

Survival International Releases Photos Of Uncontacted Tribe

Survival International, the London-based indigenous rights group, has released up-close pictures of a family of the uncontacted Mashco-Piro tribe, known to live in the Manu National Park in in the Amazonian basin in south-east Peru.

The Mashco-Piro are one of about 100 uncontacted tribes in the world, according to Survival.

“Today’s photos are the most detailed sightings of uncontacted Indians ever recorded on camera,” Survival says.

Survival says sightings of the Mashco-Piro have increased in recent months. “Many Read more…

Back from Europe, Humala Visits Quake-Hit Ica

President Ollanta Humala, back from a trip to Europe, visited the city of Ica on Tuesday to inspect damage from a recent earthquake.

Early Monday morning, Ica was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. The quake didn’t cause any major damage, but more than 100 people were injured, according to the government.

In August 2007,, the department of Ica was the site of a magnitude 8 earthquake that rocked the region, resulting in Read more…

Activities Return To Normal In Ica Following 6.3 Quake

Activity returned to normal on Monday following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that rattled Peru’s south coast Ica region, daily El Comercio reported.

The earthquake occurred at 12:10 a.m. on Monday and its epicenter was 47 kilometers southwest of the city of Ica. Many of the residents spent the night in the street following the quake.

The quake was felt in Lima, Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Junin regions, the Read more…

Report: Environment Minister Held Talks For Job With Gold Miner

Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal held talks with gold miner Minera Yanacocha about a job offer in mid-2011, only months before his appointment to the Cabinet, according to a report by IDL-Reporteros.

Pulgar-Vidal took over the ministry in early December, after protests against Yanacocha’s $4.8 billion Minas Conga project led President Ollanta Humala to reshuffle his cabinet. The cabinet change came only five months into Humala’s term, and is seen by many analysts as a sign the President Read more…

Analysts Question Humala’s Possible Change in Resolving Conflicts

Expectations that President Ollanta Humala’s new cabinet will take a strong stand against protesters of mining and energy projects could backfire on the government, said political analyst Santiago Pedraglio.

Humala, a 49-year-old former army officer, replaced more than half of his 19-member cabinet on Sunday in what many analysts say was largely due to disagreements on how to resolve protests against Newmont Mining’s $4.8 billion Minas Conga project.

The shuffle included the resignation of Humala’s cabinet chief and close ally since 2004, businessman Read more…

Cajamarca State of Emegency criticized by Mine Protest Leader

The regional president of Cajamarca, Gregorio Santos, criticized President Ollanta Humala’s announcement Sunday evening of a 60-day state of emergency in four of Cajamarca’s provinces in order to bring under control protests against a multi-billion dollar gold and copper project.

During an interview with Ideeleradio on Monday, Santos said that Peru’s new government “is lying to the country, [when they say] that they are resolving conflicts. What they are doing is only drawing them out, cooling them and later it is going to cost the country a lot.”

Santos, who was elected to office late last year and who supported Humala’s Read more…

Lerner Ghitis Calls for Further Dialogue to Resolve Protests

President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet chief, Salomon Lerner Ghitis, called on organizers of anti-mining protests in northern Peru’s Cajamarca region to participate in talks to resolve the dispute, state news agency Andina reported.

Speaking to the press at the business conference CADE 2011 in Cusco, Lerner said that the central government has been holding talks with protesters, which are being led by Cajamarca’s regional president, Gregorio Santos, among others.

“This is the call that I want to make to the region of Cajamarca, its mayors, its Read more…

President Humala calls for “good sense” as Cajamarca rejects Conga gold project

President Ollanta Humala yesterday evening called for common sense and guaranteed water for the farmers of Cajamarca, while regional leaders in the northern highland department were deciding to continue the protest strike that aims to halt the development of the Conga gold mine.

In the past week, Cajamarca leaders have been in Lima and the ministers of Energy and Mines, Environment, and Agriculture have held meetings in Cajamarca but no agreement was reached.

“Dialogue is the only democratic way to solve social conflicts,” Humala said in Read more…

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