Lima, August 25, 2023.- This August 29, in Houston Texas, Perupetro -the Peruvian agency in charge of promoting investment in the hydrocarbons sector- will make a presentation to offer international investors opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration in the country, within the framework of their participation in The International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy.
However, among the 31 areas called (1) there is the promotional area on offer MD-XP-001, which overlaps the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve and the buffer zone of the Manu and Bahuaja Sonene National Parks. Due to this, Peruvian civil organizations such as Law, Environment and Natural Resources (DAR) have warned about the risks involved in exploring and exploiting hydrocarbons there, since these areas are home to endemic species, so they are internationally recognized for their contribution to the conservation of the planet’s biodiversity and the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples who depend on them.
Along these lines, it is worrisome that on August 21, various Peruvian authorities, gathered in the district of Villa Salvación, province of Manu, have agreed to “support the project for the exploration and exploitation of the Madre de Dios gas basin, which includes the Manu district and the necessary areas of Manu National Park and the Amarakaeri National Reserve”(2)
In this regard, Vanessa Cueto, Coordinator of the Sustainability Program of Law, Environment and Natural Resources (DAR), warns that “currently the Peruvian Government has been insisting on a series of technical proposals that would weaken environmental and social sustainability in the territories, and that start from both the authorities and private entities, as is the case of the current proposal of Perupetro that seeks to modify the Law of Natural Protected Areas (ANP) “
By this he means that on May 23, the Ministry of Energy and Mines sent to the Ministry of the Environment for evaluation, a draft bill, prepared by Perupetro, which seeks to modify the Law on Natural Protected Areas (Official Letter No. 0776-2023/MINEM-DGH) to boost the oil and natural gas industry.
“It should be exploited where it is already allowed and not where it is not. For this, it is key to have strengthened, efficient authorities that give security to the State, the investor and the local population; this implies, for example, strengthening environmental authorities such as SENACE and technical experts with budget and technical capacity,” says Cueto.
If this regulatory amendment is approved, the protection of PNAs would be weakened, by allowing the commercial use of renewable and non-renewable resources in PNAs for indirect use. (3) (such as national parks) that were declared of national interest and public necessity by supreme decree, exceptionally; and in areas of direct use (4) without exception (Article No. 21 of the proposal), among other risks previously noted by DAR.
In this regard, César Ipenza, environmental lawyer, points out that “the promotion of investment must be carried out respecting the legal framework. Even more so when the Peruvian State is obliged to conserve the Protected Natural Areas according to the Constitution. In the past, the Ministry of Energy and Mines and PERUPETRO failed to comply with the legal framework, and the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic identified breaches by the authorities. It is time for the control bodies to assume a role in a preventive manner.”
For her part, Vanessa Cueto emphasizes “This alert is the most recent of a worrying line of political proposals in Peru that have as their center the collapse of environmental institutions. This discourse was already used years ago when the expansion of Lot 88 took place, however, this has not translated into benefits for the quality of life of the local indigenous population.
“Peru needs development and energy without affecting environmental and climate commitments, such as those of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, with the European Union, or those of the Paris Agreement,” Cueto concludes.
The data
The
Amarakaeri Communal Reserve
was created in 2002 with an area of 402,335.62 hectares on part of the ancestral territory of the Harakbut indigenous people to protect the headwaters of the Eori/Madre de Dios and Karene/Colorado rivers, ensuring the stability of lands and forests, and maintaining the quality and quantity of their waters and ecological balance. This PNA guarantees the right environment for the life of the indigenous communities of the Harakbut, Yine and Matsiguenka peoples, among others. In 2018 it was included in the
Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas
, international standard of the Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
*Photo: Oarranzli
Notes
1. The
Map of promotional areas of Perupetro
which is on the web, only some protected natural areas are visible. You can see all the protected natural areas in Peru and the promotional areas in this map generated by DAR.
2. Verbatim quote from the pronouncement of the meeting cited
, the correct category is Amarakaeri communal reserve.
3. In this type of ANP, the extraction of natural resources or transformations of the natural environment are not allowed, but scientific research, recreation and tourism are allowed, according to SERNANP.
4. ANP where the use or extraction of natural resources is allowed, primarily by local populations, according to the management plan of the area, according to SERNANP.