Environment of Peru
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The principal environmental issues in Peru are
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
,
soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...
,
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
and
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
. Although these issues are problematic and equally destructive, the Peruvian Environmental ministry has been developing regulation and laws to decrease the amount of pollution created in major cities and have been making policies in order to decrease the present deforestation rate in Peru.


Emissions

The
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...
(ECLAC) estimates that the economic losses related to
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
could reach over 15% of national gross domestic product (GDP) by 2100. In 2010, Peruvian
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
represented only 0.4% of global emissions. However,
emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...
are rising nationwide – particularly in the energy and transport sectors. In an effort to combat this, the
Government of Peru , border = Central , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Peru , date = 1990 , state = Peru , address = Government Palace , leader_title = President of PeruWhile there is ...
approved a law to establish a national greenhouse gas inventory system called INFOCARBONO. INFOCARBONO will enable different ministries to include greenhouse gas management in their work.


Deforestation

Deforestation is a growing problem in the world today, especially concerning the
amazonian rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
. In recent years deforestation has increased and deforestation now causes about 18% of green house emissions.
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
has the fourth largest area of
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
in the world, which covers nearly 60% of its territory (70 million hectares). Unfortunately, the deforestation rate in Peru is .35%-.5%, which is approximately 250,000 hectares cut down annually. Deforestation in Peru is largely a result of
subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
resulting from migrant farmers exploiting the
squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
's law which allows citizens to get public land if they can prove that they have lived there for 5 years. More deforestation though, is caused by both legal and
illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...
,
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
,
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
drilling and road development.
Antonio Brack Egg Antonio José Brack Egg (3 June 1940 – 30 December 2014) was an agronomist engineer, an ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers o ...
, the Environmental minister in Peru, has said that deforestation is mostly caused by
Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
farmers migrating to the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, by new roads and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
mining, he plays down the contribution to deforestation caused by
oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...
companies. The Peruvian government has said that 80% of Peru's
primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
can be saved or protected. Mr. Brack has said that his ministry has calculated that Peru needs about $25 million a year for the next 10 years to be able to conserve at least 54 million hectares. That the Peruvian government has committed $5 million a year and is looking for $20 million a year from the international community. He continues that 52 million hectares will be divided into 4 parts, 17 million hectares of
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s which are already in existence, 12 million hectares for 42 indigenous groups, 12 million hectares for sustainable forestry development, and 5 million for
Eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
. Germany has already committed $5 million for the national Parks, Holland is interested in funding for indigenous groups and Mr. Brack is hoping for funds from Britain, Japan and Finland. The Environmental minister is also asking for 3,000 environmental police to try and stop deforestation in remote areas. Peru had a 2018
Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 8.86/10, ranking it 14th globally out of 172 countries.


Peru forest figures

• Total forest area: 68,742,000 ha • percentage of land area: 53.7% • Primary
forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...
: 61,065,000 ha • percentage of land area: 47.7% • percentage total forest area: 88.8% Deforestation Rates, 2000–2005 • Annual change in forest cover:-94,200 ha • Annual deforestation rate:-0.1% • Change in deforestation rate since '90s: 1.3% • Total forest loss since 1990:-1,414,000 ha • Total forest loss since 1990:-2.0% Primary or "Old-growth" forests • Annual loss of
primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
s:-224600 ha • Annual deforestation rate:-0.4% • Change in deforestation rate since '90s: 214.7% • Primary forest loss since 1990:-1,123,000 ha • Primary forest loss since 1990:-2.9% Forest Classification • Public: 83.1% • Private: 15.2% • Other: 1.7% • Use • Production: 36.7% • Protection: 0.5% •
Conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
: 26.9% •
Social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
: n.s.% • Multiple purpose: 26% • None or unknown: 9.9 Forest Area Breakdown • Total area: 68,742,000 ha • Primary: 61,065,000 ha • Modified natural: 6,923,000 ha • Semi-natural: n/a • Production plantation: 754,000 ha • Production plantation: n/a Plantations •
Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s, 2005: 754,000 ha • percentage of total forest cover: 1.1% • Annual change rate (00-05): 7,800,000 ha •
Carbon storage Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up o ...
• Above-ground
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
: n/a M t • Below-ground biomass: n/a M t Area annually affected by •
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
: 35,000 ha •
Insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s: n/a •
Disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
s: n/a Number of tree species in
IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
• Number of native tree species: 2,500 • Critically endangered: 33 • Endangered: 14 • Vulnerable: 54 Wood removal 2005 • Industrial
roundwood Roundwood, historically known as Tóchar ( ga, an Tóchar , meaning 'the causeway'), is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It was listed as having a population of 948 in the 2016 census. Geography Roundwood is located where the R755 road ...
: 1,891,000 m3 o.b. •
Wood fuel Wood fuel (or fuelwood) is a fuel such as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most easily availabl ...
: 8,898,000 m3 o.b. Value of forest products, 2005 • Industrial roundwood: $4,409,000 • Wood fuel: n/a • Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a • Total Value: $4,409,000


Air pollution

Air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
is a big problem in Peru, especially in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, the capital city, which is caused by industrial activity and vehicle emissions. In August 2006, air pollution in Lima surpassed the international standard by 122.1% The average concentration of PTS reached 166.57 micrograms per cubic meter, the international standard is 77 micrograms per cubic meter. In 2009, 1.5 tons of lead and 810 tons of
sulphur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
, were emitted daily, which is four times the maximum allowed under Peruvian
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
. The Peruvian government has created an alert system for high levels of pollution. There are three levels: watch, danger and emergency. During an emergency, children, pregnant women, the elderly and the ailing may be asked to stay indoors. Those who are healthy enough to continue with their lives outside are advised to cover their mouths and noses with scarves or handkerchiefs—but not facemasks, because according to government spokesperson Carlos Rojas "people don't want images that further dramatize the situation." Also Peru is using "super tree' technology, created by Tierra Nuestra to try and fight the air pollution in the major cities. The super tree acts like 1200 real trees, purifying the air. It sucks the outside air, and under thermodynamic pressure it combines the toxic particles in the air with water, and then pumps out clean air. Unfortunately, there are byproduct to the process, which include mud and non potable water. The Super Tree cleans approximately 200,000 cubic meters of air per day, eliminating air pollutions like
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
.


Water pollution

Water pollution sources in Peru include
industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...
,
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
and oil related waste. Peru has 1746 cu km of renewable water resources and 86% of this water is used for
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and 7% for industrial activity. In urban areas only 87% and in rural areas 62% of the population have access to clean water. In major cities 3.0 million tons of waste per year is created. President
Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru The president of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Perú), officially called the president of the Republic of ...
campaigned for a "water for all" strategic program, which proposed investment in 185 water supply and
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
projects. The objective of this program is to expand potable water services from 76%-88% of households; Sanitation from 57%-77%; and sewage from 22%-100% by 2015.
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, ...
is a specific concern to Puno in southeastern Peru because of its spiritual and historical significance. Contamination and pollution of the lake seriously affects the health of those that depend on it because current monitoring and testing of the lake is primitive and underfunded. Because of violence in and around the area the government is only now addressing the problem. According to the
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
report, more than half of Peru's rivers are extremely polluted in the North the Chillón, Yauli and Mantaro in the central region; and the Chili River in the South.


Soil erosion

Peru's topography makes it susceptible to
soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...
. The coast of Peru is subject to
wind erosion Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets). Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials ...
and
water erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
is dominant in Sierra. Erosion also occurs in the High Selva when vegetation is cleared and in Low Selva where they get much rain on areas under
slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...
practises. The use of contoured lines, cover crops and mulching can control erosion to some extent depending on the climate and the slope. In addition, traditional methods can be used to prevent erosion like terracing and
agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...
.


References

{{South America in topic, Environmental issues in Environment of Peru
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...