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Countries Appendix PERU (52.8%) Peru has some of the richest rainforests on the planet, which contain tremendous biological diversity. Although these forests are threatened, losing more than 716,000 acres (290,000 ha) a year, their future looks better than that of other Latin American forests. One of the largest threats to the forest is unsustainable development by colonists and indigenous peoples who have been "civilized." After centuries of sustainably using the forest, these people are being encouraged to bring forest products, harvested in an unsustainable manner, to market. Most rainforest loss in Peru can be attributed to the migration of farmers from the highlands. They take advantage of Peru's land tenure law which allows people to own land by occupying it for five years. 42% of Peru's deforestation occurs in its rainforest . In recent years the Peruvian government have initiated a national and international investment campaign in the country's natural resources, though to date their has been relatively little foreign involvement in the timber industry. More foreign attention has been directed to the oil deposits that lie in Peru's forests. In the past five years, Peru has been invaded by foreign oil companies, including Mobil, Occidental, and Shell, seeking to cash in on the president's offer to open all oil blocks in the country. Already damage has occurred as a March 1995 rupture in an pipeline spilled a minimum of 20,000 barrels into the Marañon River. Environmentalists claim that oil companies move in without regard for the environment and local peoples and carry out operations often without every paying for the environmental damage they inflict. Considerable areas in Peru have been deforested for coca plantations, some 284,800 acres (115,300 hectares) in 1995, though the area under cultivation is steadily declining due to a fall in coca leaf prices and anti-drug measures. By 1996, the areas under cultivation had decreased to 240,000 acres (97,150 ha), while by 1997 the area had fallen to 175,000 acres (71,850 ha). Scientists warn that the deforestation of the foothills where coca is grown has resulted in greater extremes between the flood season and dry season downstream. Environmentalists in Peru have has some success in creating parks, although these are threatened by encroaching development. Peru has several national parks, including one of the world's largest, Manu National Park. Eco-tourism is growing, although visitors should be wary of those operations which are not ecologically friendly. A unique research center, the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) has been established to increase local environmental awareness through the establishment of local schools, provide a base for forest research, and attract tourists to fund the whole venture. A canopy walkway, the most extensive in the world, is part of the reserve. |
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