Organized crime and Amazon debt: Peru's next government faces environmental challenges

Decades of oil exploitation in the Peruvian Amazon have left indigenous communities like the Chapra people facing dire consequences, with leaders describing their lives as "condemned to death." Olivia Bisa Tirko, a leader from the Datem del Marañón region, highlights the accumulated damage, including heavy metals in residents' blood, contaminated land, and widespread health issues among children.

As Peru prepares for a new government, indigenous groups are not seeking further promises but concrete reparations for the environmental and health crises they endure. Tirko questions the focus on economic reactivation, stating, "Where will this recovery come from? Sacrificing indigenous peoples again?" She points to visible suffering, stating, "I don't see development; I see people dying."

The incoming administration faces a daunting environmental agenda. This includes combating illegal mining and logging, addressing hydrocarbon pollution and deforestation, mitigating climate change impacts, and resolving socio-environmental conflicts. Specific demands include reforming the controversial "anti-forest" law (Ley 31973), reviewing another law (Ley 32293) for its potential impact on indigenous land titling, and expediting the cleanup of contaminated sites in Loreto.

While the Fuerza Popular party's government plan proposes initiatives like zero illegal deforestation, a Green Amazon Fund, and enhanced traceability for gold mining, experts express skepticism. Mariano Castro, former vice minister of Environmental Management, argues that environmental policy is often subordinated to economic growth in Peru. He stresses that environmental and climate agendas should be a strategic development pillar in a megadiverse country like Peru, warning that economic acceleration must not compromise environmental standards.