New law protects Bay of Ancon from port project

Congress enacted a law this week that protects Ancon, the bay north of Lima, against any commercial, port or other activities that would affect the environmental and social conditions of the area. The law effectively scotches a $320 million project by the Romero Group’s Santa Sofia Puertos to build a port for grains, oils and [...]

Clinton meets with Garcia, applauds Peru’s “growing economic inclusion”

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton applauded Peru’s growing economic inclusion and reduction of poverty following a meeting with President Alan Garcia on Monday at the 40th general assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Lima, state news agency Andina reported. Clinton said the U.S. and Peru are working on a variety of [...]

Peru’s Tia Maria copper mine on hold to assess environmental and regional concerns

The Tia Maria copper project in southern Arequipa has been put on hold for 90 days, while a government-appointed technical commission evaluates the environmental impact study and the concerns of the farming communities in the area. The decision, one of several points agreed on after six hours of negotiations by government and regional authorities together [...]

Peru Ombudsman: Social conflicts total 252 in February

The Public Ombudsman’s Office registered and monitored 252 social conflicts in the country last month, down slightly from 260 in January, according to a report they released this week. The ombudsmen’s office said 160 of the conflicts, about 63 percent, are active, while 92 are inactive. Discussions to resolve the conflicts are currently taking place [...]

Peru and Ecuador sign unprecedented environmental cooperation agreement

Peru Environment Minister Antonio Brack Egg and his Ecuadorian counterpart Marcela Aguiñaga signed an unprecedented environmental cooperation agreement on Wednesday, to favor the joint monitoring and conservation of protected areas and the responsible and sustainable use of natural resources.

Peru ranks 28th on New Economics Foundation’s “Happy Planet Index”

The New Economics Foundation’s second global ranking of the ecological efficiency with which nations deliver long and happy lives for their citizens – the “Happy Planet Index” – has ranked Peru as the world’s 28th “greenest and happiest” country. The index, which is based on improved data for 143 countries around the world, shows that [...]

Peru elected to board of U.N. Sustainable Development Commission

Peru was elected to the board of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Commission, or UNSDC, as of 2010 and through 2013, daily El Comercio reported Tuesday. The 53 ECOSOC members, gathered for a management session in New York on May 18, also elected seventeen other UNSDC members to the board, including Algeria, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, [...]

Environment Ministry to take emergency measures to reduce heavy-metal and mining contamination in Amazon region

Emergency measures to reduce heavy-metal contamination in Peru’s Mantaro River basin and pollution caused by informal mining in the Amazon’s Madre de Dios region are soon to be implemented, said Environment Minister Antonio Brack Egg on Sunday.

Illegal and unrestrained algae extraction may lead to oxygen depletion of air in Peru’s southern coast

In spite of a recently extended ban on the extraction, processing and commercialization of sea algae in Peru, the beaches of Paracas, Ica and Marcona along the southern Pacific coast continue to be stripped bare of these marine plants, harming the eco system and removing a primary source oxygen. The story was broken in an [...]

Agriculture Ministry opens public debate on use of genetically modified seeds

The Ministry of Agriculture is calling for a public debate on the use in Peru of genetically modified seeds and crops. It has posted a draft on its website on regulations governing biotechnology and security. The document covers the procedures for importing, trading, producing and research of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs. Carlos Leyton, the minister [...]