Peru will create the tropical Pacific Sea (Mar Pacífico Tropical) marine nature reserve on the north coast bordering Ecuador, to preserve the ecosystem and stop the indiscriminate fishing in an area where there is also a potential for oil extraction.
“We are promoting the creation of a reserve, a protected natural area where we have the greatest production of species from our coastline,” said Fabiola Muñoz, the environment minister during a meeting with the Foreign Press Association of Peru, AFP reported, according to information from Andina News Agency.
The creation of this reserve will take place in several stages, the first one to be concluded in the first quarter of 2019 “once the process of informing the local authorities, fishing and oil companies about the benefits of the reserve has been completed in December”, explained the news agency.
The goal is to preserve 116,000 hectares that will include the natural fish banks of Isla Foca and El Ñuro, the underwater mountain range of the Máncora Bank and the Punta Sal reefs.
According to Muñoz, a natural area is not compatible with an economic activity, referring to the media about the possibilities of this reserve affecting oil investment.
Peru is one of the South Pacific countries with more deficit in marine protected natural areas. Only 0.5% of the national marine area is under protection, compared to 6.37% in Colombia and 12.95% in Ecuador. The United Nations has set a goal for Peru to achieve 10% by 2020.
(Source)
(Cover Photo Wikipedia)
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