Living in Peru : your everyday companion

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The 127 sea lions that were found dead in Colan, Piura, were not only poisoned, but also were shot. This is one of the conclusions of the report issued by by the research team of the Scientific Organization for the Conservation of Aquatic Animals (ORCA).

In accordance with the terms specified by that organization, the National Police of Peru made a forensic examination of 127 sea lions to determine the real causes of their deaths: 20% of the animals studied had impacts of guns, caliber 38 and 45.

Also, 11% of the corpses show signs of having undergone the removal of  testicles, and another 11% show bruises, lacerations and bumps due to blunt trauma to the skull.

Furthermore, it should be noted that 100 percent of the cases reported signs of poisoning with detergent substances (organophosphates and organochlorines).

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change Congress, Isaac Mekler, announced that the Peruvian proposal of painting melting Peruvian glaciers white as a way to prevent and reduce global warming around the world has been included among the 26 winners of the "100 ideas to save the planet" contest.

A total of 1,775 proposals were submitted from around the world.

The Peruvian proposal was presented and supported in Washington by the scientist and Director of the Association of Glaciers of Peru, Eduardo Gold.

Mekler recalled that Peru has 77% of the world's glaciers, and added that the original idea is to paint 3,000km of the mountains to reduce global warming by a half degree.

The initiative will start with the painting of the Razuillca peak, with the support of the Regional Government of Ayacucho.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru will reques economic compensation from industrialized countries considering that they have caused serious environmental damage.

The request will take place during the Fourth United Nations Summit on Climate Change (COP 15) to be held in the city of Copenhagen (Denmark) in December, according to the Ministry of Production.

"During this important forum, the Environmental Minister Antonio Brack, will speak not only about having adequate control of the environmental issue, but also will request that countries that have been victims of climate change, such as Peru, can receive a compensation," said Minister of Production, Mercedes Araoz.

"We also will propose the possibility of selling environmental services, and to use this tool as a way of mitigating the effects of climate change," she said

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Inkaterra, a  sustainable tourism organization,  has staged since 2006, the competition "Inkaterra Big Birding Day" which aims to watch and hear as many bird species as possible in each area where Inkaterra operates.

The contest manages a list of registered birds living in these areas; each location presents a team composed by an environmental interpreter, Inkaterra staff and guests.

This year's competition was staged recently, with Lima's location getting first place, having reported 89 species out of 165 to be observed, around 53,9% of the total.

Second place was for Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel registering 109 out of 215 species observed, reporting four species not considered in the original list, making a 48,2% of the total.

Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica team reported 102 species out of 420, with a 24,3% of the total.

The data registered in the field allow for the improvement of the bird watching excursions that Inkaterra offers its customers. It also keeps an actual record for bird-watching in the different ecosystems of the route, monitors birds' behavior, promots inter-action with the environment, and recognizes the natural importance of each area where Inkaterra operates.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

If we can fly over the jungle of Madre de Dios and Puno we will see a depressing panorama; thousands of tonnes of soil removed and missing forests, with all the trees already fallen down or buried under the tailings accumulated after years of intensive and illegal gold mining in the Amazon.

The culprit, according to all the experts, is mercury, which is necessary for gold exploitation; mercury is a poison that goes unnoticed and that accumulates progressively.

According to mining engineers and environmentalists, regulating the marketing of mercury and related chemical inputs would help solve the problem of illegal mining and the destruction of forests.

However, mercury is sold without any control on populations that are located around mining areas of Puno and Madre de Dios. Only during the last four years the imports of mercury has almost doubled in the country, from 75,000 kilos to 132,000 last year.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) argues that this whole import is used primarily by artisanal miners, whose levels of informality reach 90%.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Emissions of lead, cadmium and arsenic coming from La Oroya smelter during its 87 years of productive life have polluted 2.300km2 of soil, an area which equals 83% of Metropolitan Lima-

The the environmental damage involves land of four provinces in Junin region, according to an study conducted by international consultants Ground Water International, Science Integrity and Knight Piesold Consulting.

The study, run at the request of Activos Mineros state company, shows that not only the Yauli province is polluted, but also Tarma, Jauja and Junín.

The most affected area is two kilometers to the south of the smelter, which includes part of the urban area known as Old La Oroya.

The emissions have completely destroyed 2,049 hectares, where the pollution does not allow any agriculture.

Peru does not have minimum permitted standard levels for lead and arsenic pollution in soil, and this study uses Canadian standards, which state that only 400 mg per kilo and 50 mg/kg of arsenic should be allowed.

Only three kilometers however away from the smelter, however, the lead concentration ranges between 3.000 a 16.000 mg/kg in soil, while the arsenic levels oscillate between 500 a 5.710 mg/kg.

This significantly increases the risks for human health, and Activos Mineros Manager, Víctor Carlos Estrella, says that the consultant firms have recommended to invest US$10 million to try to recover the affected zones: however, a more realistic figure might reach US$50 million.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The severe drought in most parts of Bolivia has caused a notorious drop (more than 4m) in the level of Titicaca Lake, the highest navigable lake in the world, which is shared between Peru and Bolivia.

According to Bolivian official reports, published by the newspaper "La Prensa" (and quoted by DPA agency), the level has dropped in 4.5m.

Located at 3,800 meters above sea level, Lake Titicaca covers an area of over 8,500 square kilometers (4,772 belong to Peru and 3,790 to Bolivia) and serves as a natural border between Bolivia and Peru.

Bolivia's Civil Defense Minister, Hernán Tuco, says that the lack of rain, as well as the intense heat recently registered in the nearby areas, are threatening aquatic biodiversity, especially species like suche, carachi and trout, not to mention local vegetation.

A sudden drop in water level can cause imbalances in the flora and fauna of the region and affect fisheries, which is a major source of income for coastal communities.

The Bolivian government announced that it will activate the Emergency Operations Center to coordinate actions with national ministries, prefectures, municipalities and international cooperation, in order to provide care in areas affected by drought.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The Autonomic Authority for the Colca Valley (Autocolca) has issued a warning; according to recent local reports, there may only be 28 condors living in the Colca Valley at present.

Jose Luis Talavera, General Manager of Autocolca, says that “there are several factors that make the condors change the areas they use to fly over. In addition, since they live in an open natural area, they are exposed to climatic changes.”

Autocolca and the National Service of Protected Natural Areas (SERNANP) will sign an agreement to study the condors during 13 months, which will allow for the development of strategies to repopulate the Colca Valley with condors, since they are one of the main tourist attractions in the region.

On the other hand, Jorge Cueva Tejada, Mayor of Caylloma (where the Colca Valley is located) says that after a census of condors done recently, the number of specimens in Caylloma is 47.

Cueva Tejada blames this decrease in the condor population on the chaotic urban growth of the valley, which has increased the presence of businesses and the pollution that might be disturbing the birds.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

An expedition sent from the Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Dircetur) discovered a waterfall of 100 meters near the new Ashaninka Community Nuevo Paraíso (New Paradise) in the district of Tahuanía, in Atalaya province (Ucayali region).

The site, which has been called Hongu Falls, will be included in a new tourist circuit to be promoted in the area, according to Oscar Vasquez, regional director of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

"This fall has three steps and the spectacle is impressive. We arrived on the scene after receiving information from the people of wanting to promote their attractions," he told Andina news agency.

The expedition was organized also with the goal of identifying more places that might be attractive to tourists around Shawaya river, responding to a request from the Ashaninka community, who reportedly wants to boost nature tourism in order to impact the local economy.

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Mother Nature Network
Katherine Butler

The huarango is a celebrated Peruvian tree that can live for over a thousand years. It has survived Pre-Hispanic civilizations and arrival of the Spanish explorers. But it looks like it may not survive modern man.

And a new study shows that the loss of the huarango could prove catastrophic for Peru. A team of British archaeologists recently revealed how the Nazca,  indigenous peoples who lived a thousand years before the Spanish arrived in Peru, created an environmental catastrophe by clearing the huarango to plant their crops. This exposed the landscape to devastating desert winds, erosion and floods. And now, it is happening again.

David Beresford-Jones is an archaeologist at Cambridge University who co-authored the Nazca study. He emphasized the extreme importance of the huarango to the Peruvian ecosystem. As he told The New York Times, “With Peru’s glaciers predicted to disappear by 2050, the Andes need trees to capture the moisture coming from Amazonia, which is also the source of water going down to the coast.”

The area home to the huarango trees is an extremely arid ecosystem of the Atacama-Sechura Desert, between the Andes and the Pacific. Few trees are as well suited to this climate. And so, vast forests of huarango used to exist. Remnants remain, but villagers are cutting them down for charcoal and firewood. The huarango is a hardwood that outlasts other forms of charcoal. Regional authorities have prohibited cutting the trees, but protective laws are being ignored.

Reina Juarez is a maize farmer in San Pedro, a village of 24 people near a grove of huarango just outside the western city of Ica. As Jauresz says, “The woodcutters come at night, using handsaws instead of chainsaws to avoid detection…They remove the wood on donkies and then sell it.” Apparently, a charcoal seller can sell a kilogram of huarango charcoal for about 50 cents, while a bushel of huarango as firewood goes for about $1. As sources point out, this is a bargain in a place where a gallon of natural gas costs more than $10.

A major program of reforestation is needed in both the Andes and the Peruvian coast. Luckily, reforestation projects are underway. One project has planted about 20,000 huarangos in Ica and other areas. This project also focuses on teaching schoolchildren “about the history of the huarango in Peruvian culture and its significance as a keystone species for the desert, its roots fixing nitrogen in poor soil and its leaves and pods providing organic material as forage.”

Still, protecting the huarango groves is going to be an uphill struggle in this impoverished desert climate. As Mr. Beresford-Jones pointed out, “It takes centuries for the huarango to be of substantial size, and only a few hours to fell it with a chainsaw…The tragedy is that this remnant is being chain-sawed by charcoal burners as we speak.”

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.