Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Andina

With a week to go before the people of the planet switch off for Earth Hour, Peru’s First Lady Pilar Nores de Garcia -along with other prominent women across the globe- is leading the way to encourage the people of the world to show what can be done to fight climate change.

Leading female identities include former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, First Lady of Peru, Pilar Nores de Garcia, and Princess Sita Norodom of Cambodia, who have all given their support to the world’s largest action on climate change.

At Peru’s Earth Hour 2010 launch, the First Lady of Peru, Pilar Nores made an emphatic request for women to lead the initiative this time.

“I am certain that this will achieve a larger participation”, she emphasized.

“Earth Hour is an excellent opportunity for our country to reflect on this issue, but above all to begin a change of attitude towards reducing our energy consumption, and by doing so, contributing towards making a stand against climate change in the long term”, said the First Lady.

"Climate change is a truly global challenge. Scientists tell us that we have about ten years left in which to prevent a rise in greenhouse gas emissions which could cause catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the world's climate,” said Mrs Clark, who has been a supporter of Earth Hour since 2008.

As the official Ambassador for Earth Hour in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Princess Sita Norodom will host a candle-lit cocktail party at Le Royal Restaurant, the fine dining table of the Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh.

“I truly believe that Earth Hour provides an opportunity as well to communicate what efforts are done or planned to actively protect the environment in Cambodia,” she said.

Other leading ladies and Earth Hour supporters from around the globe include the First Lady of Belize, Mrs Kim Barrow; supermodel Gisele Bundchen; World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader 2010, Dr Eva Dichand of Austria; Chinese actress Li Bingbing; singer Leona Lewis and; Panda Ambassador in Chengdu, Mei Lan.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The March edition of the National Geographic Magazine, dedicated to wildlife and nature conservation, features this time an impressive photo gallery on the Nasca lines and their surroundings.

These images, that were taken by the famous photographer Robert Clark, are very moving due to their beauty and originality, especially the aerial photos, which contribute to increase the debate: who made Nasca lines?

See the complete gallery here.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The Peruvian government should halt all activities related to exploration and exploitation of natural resources affecting indigenous peoples in the country, said today the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a press release.

The recommendation, made by ILO Committee of Experts, says that this suspension should be in effect until Peru can ensure "the participation and consultation of affected people through their representative institutions in a climate of respect and trust."

This recommendation is to include farmer communities and indigenous communities as well, and also non-contacted tribes.

Exploitation works usually generate concerns and reject among local communities, who are afraid of the collateral effects in the environment and demand a bigger slice of profits.

The mining sector is one of the pillars of the Peruvian economy, since this country is the second largest producer of copper, first producer of silver sixth producer of gold.

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Andina

Peruvian cities of Cusco, Arequipa, Piura and Tacna will join this year's Earth Hour campaign scheduled for March 27 in which million people on every continent turn off the lights for 60 minutes in order to increase awareness about saving energy and protecting the environment.

According to Lizet Contreras -head of Environmental Education at the provincial municipality of Cusco- a series of activities to raise public awareness are under way by environmental groups consisting of students from different schools.

"We will coordinate with teachers and those in charge of environmental groups so that students can go into the streets in their neighborhoods and promote a culture of saving and rational use of energy in order to help minimize the impacts of climate change," she said.

In Arequipa different activities are being planned for Earth Hour through the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Management," said Dante Pinto.

In Piura, people will reduce the greenhouse gases by planting trees among the activities prior to this global campaign.

Tacna will launch a cardboard, paper and plastics recycling campaign on March 27 from :8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Navy has just informed that the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued any tsunami watch nor warning after the strong 7.1 Richter aftershocks that rattled Santiago this morning.

“That earthquake happened very near the coast, and according to the information we have received from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, it has not generated a tsunami,” said Jorge Paz, from Peruvian Navy, to Radioprogramas del Perú.

“Chile is currently in permanent alert, and we can tell that there is absolutely no risk for Peruvian coasts right now,” remarked Paz.

As news reports showed earlier today, three strong aftershocks in less that 20 minutes had shaken Santiago de Chile, during the ceremony where Sebastián Pinera was taking office as the new President of Chile, which generated some fears about the possibility of a tsunami.

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Chronicle.com

In the latest round in the tug of war over Inca-era artifacts from Machu Picchu, the government of Peru has voluntarily withdrawn six of the 17 elements of its lawsuit against Yale University.

The artifacts under dispute were gathered by a Yale-affiliated scholar during the 1910s and have been stored in New Haven, Conn., for nearly a century.

The Associated Press reported today that Peru had withdrawn its claims that Yale has committed fraud and conspiracy, but it will still pursue the other, milder accusations in the lawsuit, including breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Ambassador to Chile, Carlos Pareja, reported that some 230 Peruvian citizens are returning to their home country after the 8.8 earthquake that hit Chile last week.

He told RadioProgramas del Peru that some of these Peruvians have decided to come back with their families, others have lost wives or children, and others are finding too difficult to stay in Chile under current circumstances.

Pareja also explained that there is a significant number of Peruvians that do not want to return, despite the damages in their homes, because they have family and a job in Chile.

Santiago's Major, Pablo Zalaquett, has promised to provide lodges for these Peruvian citizens who do not want to leave Chile, while they find a solution to their problem.

"They are going to stay at a school's gym, where we will provide beds for 200 people,” said Zalaquett.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The field hospital that Peru's government sent to Chile to help the people affected by the 8.8 earthquake is equipped to perform between 15 and 20 surgeries per day, said Health Minister Oscar Ugarte.

He said that it will also provided specialized, high-complexity health care, since it has two operating rooms, one intensive care unit, a recovery room and a sterilization room, among other facilities.

Ugarte also said that this field hospital will be installed in the town of Penco, in Concepcion, about 500 kilometers from the Chilean capital of Santiago.

The Peruvian Minister said that the earthquake has put eleven hospitals out of order, and remarked that he will monitor the performance of this field hospital.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

As many as 150,000 Peruvian citizens in Chile may be affected by recent earthquake, 80,000 of which live in Santiago, according to the International Police figures, as reported by Raul Paiva, head of a Peruvian refugee group.

Paiva told RPP radio that this committee is already running a campaign to register these affected Peruvian citizens, in coordination with the Peruvian Consulate in Chile, since people are confused due to the current disorganization.

He added that no more than 2,000 Peruvians reside in Concepcion, one of the most affected Chilean areas, but that it has not been possible up to now to communicate with them since there is no telephonic service or Internet connection.

To get in touch with the Committee for Peruvian Refugees in Santiago, the telephone number is 56-9984-00054 (cell phone)

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

French anthropologist and musicologist Xavier Bellenger gave a conference about Peruvian music and Andean cosmology on Feb. 25, in Paris, France, which not only gathered a large audience interested in Peru's culture, but also professionals in the tourism field.

The event was sponsored by Escurcia Travel Agengy and the tourism service of the Peruvian Consulate in Paris, according to TNews.

Maria Elena Corvest, from the Peruvian Consulate, explained that the main purpose of this activity was “to diversify the tourism offer and raising the interest about Peru among potential tourists, so that they know Peru in an original way; in this case, through Peruvian festivities and customs.”

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