Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Diana P. Olano

Surf-lovers new to Lima take notice. Your favorite pastime is on the verge of becoming just that: the way in which you spent your time in the past. The erosion and disappearance of the Costa Verde's shoreline and waves is bringing heartache to surfing enthusiasts who live and breathe these beaches throughout the year.

With only eight beach circuits left that feature waves suitable for surfing, Lima fans of the Hawaiian sport approach each following summer with heavier hearts as private businesses and indifferent district administrations destroy what's left of the Costa Verde.

Beach erosion, the wearing away of coastal lands, can be caused by natural processes such as waves or winds. It can also occur because of human interference, i.e. the construction of residences, businesses and the like. The latter is having a significant impact on Lima's Costa Verde shores.

Under law N° 26306, "The Master Plan for Development of the Costa Verde", private businesses are being allowed to use unclaimed beach territory to construct marinas, restaurants, etc. The erection of these buildings involves processes which recklessly change the shoreline. For example, in order to obtain an unobstructed view of the ocean a restaurant may prefer for its clients, dune grading might be implemented. This is involves bulldozing the upper portion of the dune to flatten it out. By doing so, the dune's natural capacity to buffer coastal erosion is greatly reduced. And to worsen the situation, if the dune is eventually filled with soil, resulting shoreline erosion will release fine-grained sediments into the ocean which lessens water quality.

http://filer.livinginperu.com/

Ala Moana wave impacted by the construction of Lima Marina Park. Pictures provided by "Acción por las Olas de la Costa Verde" Campaign.

Aside from the threat the Master Plan is to preserving the coast as it is, it also ruins the aesthetic beauty of the Lima coastline, as well as restricts free admission to surfing and beach lovers. These "parques marinos" (marina parks) wouldn't be public domains anymore, where any person could visit when they desired, without having to pay an entrance fee. The owners of said beach land have other, more lucrative plans in mind.

Two building sites in Chorillos and Barranco are not only adding to the decrease in public beach area, but they are also changing the wave currents. The construction of the Club de Regatas Lima and the Lima Marina Club have inadvertently affected the Triángulo and Ala Moana waves. These waves are two of the most popular in all of the Costa Verde, ideal for surfing point-breaks, beach breaks, rights, lefts and perfect for beginners.

Add on to this the fact that district administrations of Lima don't consider the Costa Verde a public space or marina park. This not only allows for actions like the Master Plan of the Costa Verde to take place, but also allows each district to run and maintain the shores as they wish, charging an arm and a leg for vehicular parking or neglecting proper maintenance of the coast.

Is all hope lost for aficionados of Lima's beaches? Maybe not so. Campaigns such as "Acción por las Olas de la Costa Verde" (Action for the Waves of the Costa Verde) are tirelessly spreading the word about the crisis facing the coast. Their website is a fountain of information, with an analysis on why the coastline is disappearing; pictures of how private businesses are affecting the shore and waves; a list of district addresses so citizens can write and voice their opinions; videos from professional surfers Sofía Mulanovich and Jesse Myles-Dyer advocating the importance of waves to the surfing community; and a petition that will be handed to the districts of Lima, Barranco, Chorrillos, Miraflores, San Isidro, San Miguel and Magdalena, as well as those behind the Master Plan of the Costa Verde.

According to law N° 28611, Peruvians have the right to freely protect and enjoy the natural resources the country has to offer. Whether or not you're a fan of surfing or spending a hot summer day seaside, don't take this right for granted. You might not care for the beach, but your kids someday might. Give them the chance to see the beauty of Lima's shores the way they are now.

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If they want to surf, go further south, why Costa Verde.
Surfing does not make money neither do jobs.
It is ludicrous that The International Event will be held in San Isidro, Magdalena, and San Miguel  beaches, the water there is too dirty there.

If you are a kid going out of school on a winter day and want to have fun with your friends surfing, would you have any posibility of going 40 km south?  Surfing si not suposed to make money, it´s suposed to be absolute fun.
And about the water pollution:  we should start clean it!!!
Excelent job Diana!

 
  Its nice that Lima is getting wealthier , that new restaurants are build and more Jobs are offered for Peruvians but i guess that all these staff could be done far from where water sport and artesanal fishery are practiced in our Limean coast .
 Lima habitants reality (not many of them can travel 40 km south) and Peruvians great performance in world surfing , only sport that has achieved two world titles ,are reason to think about making beaches smaller and surf spots fewer.I cant  imagine Australians loosing their surf spots ,In Lima more people will use the beaches for surfing and swimming that for eating on a fancy restaurant or parking their 36 ft + yachts.

Great Job DIana

I think all this people trying to make money regardless the ecosystem and just thinking about money is a shame  for the human being, they don't think in the  future and the consequences of tis kind of  this projects, why dont go and start to make your restaurants in your ownhomes?????? 

No NO NO !!!!!   We must save the beaches!!
When I visit Peru, the beaches are one of the most beautiful places, all over Peru's coast.   Don't Americanize your coast!  Maybe the city's around the coast but not your pretty beaches!.  In America there are not any untouched beaches, it is sad.  You have to pay for parking, walk blocks to a crowded public beaches or you have to own an over priced house on the beach. 
 Peru has the most beauitful, peaceful beaches!  Change is not always the answer!  My husband is from Lima, and one of the first things he does when he returns is go surfing at one of Lima's surf spots.
  Once you construct there is no going back!  Stop the greed along the coast!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save Peru's beaches!!!!!!   Support your local SURFERS!!!!!!!!!!  And don't take away what god and mother nature have created for all to enjoy, rich or poor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carl, are you serious? The question is why not Costa Verde? For a start how about Lima having a proper sewage treatment plant instead of pumping everything straight into the ocean. I've been to the place where they do it, and it's truly disgusting. Water is going to be a very precious commodity in the near future so let's recycle it and clean up the Bay of Lima in the process.

Anyone going into the ocean in Lima won't live long enough lives to complain for very long anyway. With the amount of lead they must swallow, I doubt they'd remember what the costa verde looked like last month, let alone last year.

I went to Lima with my family on April last year, It was very sad to see La Herradura beach distroyed, I have wonderful memories of my childhood on that beach.  I hope they understand how beautiful the coast of Lima is, please save our beaches; surfing is fun and we should preserved the beaches and let our children have fun on it.

The damage is irreversible. We should keep the waves. They are a gift. I live in Melbourne now and must travel to surf. I wish I could just go to La Costa Verde to surf on weekends!. Plus if Peru is going to be better off in the next few years we should look to the future and protect the waves for everyone in Lima to enjoy.

I regularly surf in both the south of Lima and the Costa Verde. Here's a sad story that I had to deal with last year (the trash took over 2 months to clean up):
http://www.olasperu.com/noticias

It's really sad to hear about the changes to Herradura and now even most waves are being changed. There are so many people living in Lima and they had such a nice place to practice surfing and to get some sun, but it's being destroyed. It would be a tragedy to have the Costa Verde only available with expensive fees and to private 'members only'. It's not always easy to go all the way to Punta Hermosa or something to surf. Sometimes you just want to take a 5-15 minute trip over to the beach for a quick surf session. For many Peruvians, getting all the way to Punta Hermosa is just too hard or too expensive.
Not only do we need to protect the waves, but we need to keep the beaches and the water clean. Companies continue to dump waste into the waters where thousands of people go to enjoy the sun and surf.

Were not there comments or article at this website about the area and beaches around the Costa Verde being very dangerous for personal safety with robberies and assaults? Is it at nighttime after surfers leave? If stores, restaurants, and shops with their attendants and lights make the Costa Verde area less dangerous more hours of the day and night allowing family and children a place to visit with less concern about being harmed, should not development be considered an option?

 Tourists are one, if not the most powerful economic engines in the world, they spend and make more money for society than even illegal narcotic trafficking, so sooner or later governments, large and small, wealthy or not, accomodate them-us. The question is which district of the Costa Verde and which arm of regional and federal government (anyone in favor of the proposal in Congress for a Ministery of Ecology and Natual Resources?) is going to respond and be enlightened enough to lead the Lima Metro Area in its social and physical ecology and public health if no one or thing else can close the infamous sewage collecter at San Miguel, fix the water treatment plants like at San Bartolo, and open the collector at Ventanilla that´s been in LMA´s future for the last 30 years?

A plug of sorts for Ventanilla, Callao, the district has announced its new malecon and playa reconstruction at Costa Azul. Do Sofia, Jesse, Peru´s other surf champions, and surfers in general have opinion about the wave quality along that coast which though further away than south Lima beaches, it is closer than northern beaches like Mancora? 

Costa Verde isn't as dangerous as you make it out to be.  Yes there are robberies, mostly when people leave their stuff unattended or aren't paying attention.  But the surfing areas are pretty well watched by other surfers or some of the vendors there who hold on to personal belongings.  Just like anywhere else in Peru, if you're walking around alone at night, it's possible you could be mugged.

I'm not aware of any surfable breaks in Ventanilla or Callao.  I've been up to Ancon and there's nothing to surf there.  It's all just flat and the beaches are muddy.  Mostly it's not facing the right direction to catch the good SW swells.  I don't know the entire coast of Callao or Ventanilla though, maybe people don't surf there just because of the pollution?

The original article is full of false data and exagerations only to promote the "Acción pòr la Olas de la Costa Verde" campaign and an inmediate reaction of the public towards it. There is no proof or study that the mentioned waves have been damaged. The "parque marino" mentioned never has been used by anyone. People deserve to be well informed. Stop using this marina as a promotion platform for your own benefits.

  I agree with Simon Walter's comments.  Lima should have a proper sewage treatment plant.  This will save our precious water that is in such shortage.  It is terrible the way it is today: the sewage is being pumped into our ocean.  I know the mayor of San Miguel is trying to clean up our side of the beach, and sedapal should do something to fix this serious problem.  Sedapal is the problem.  I applaud the mayor of San Miguel for the work he is doing in the district.  Thank you for beautyfying our district.  Please clean our waters Peru.  The authorities should do somehting about it, it is a priority.  Regards Marita