NRDC CONGRATULATES PERUVIAN PRESIDENT ON ECOLOGICAL REVIEW
OF CONTROVERSIAL OIL DEVELOPMENT IN NATIONAL PARK.
NRDC and Peruvian environmentalists to cooperate on study.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in a letter delivered
today to President Alberto Fujimori of Peru, applauded the
President's June 25th commitment not to permit an American oil
company to explore for oil in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve if
"it is scientifically proven that petroleum exploitation in the
reserve would damage the environment." There has been growing
controversy in Peru over plans by Houston-based Texas Crude
Exploration, Inc. to drill in the park, which is a flooded rainforest
containing freshwater dolphins, manatees and other endangered
species.
"We are heartened by President Fujimori's willingness to protect
this natural resource of importance not only to Peru, but to the
entire world," said NRDC Senior Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
In a letter signed by Kennedy, NRDC offered to assist the Peruvian
government in undertaking a technical review of Texas Crude's plans.
NRDC will cooperate with the Peruvian Environmental Law Society
(Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental or SPDA) on the study. "We
must assure that President Fujimori has access to complete and
objective scientific data before making his decision on whether or
not to proceed with drilling in Pacaya-Samiria," said Jorge Caillaux,
President of the SPDA. "Furthermore, we continue to maintain that
the Texas Crude contract is illegal under the 1990 Peruvian
Environmental Code."
The Petroperu-Texas Crude contract has encountered considerable
opposition in Peru since April, when the Ministry of Energy and Mines
announced Cabinet approval of the contract with Texas Crude for oil
rights in Lot 61, a tract of rainforest approximately twice the size
of Delaware. Lot 61 is located in Peru's Amazonian region,
approximately 500 miles north of Lima and some 50 miles southwest
of the of Iquitos. Lot 61 covers over one-third of the Pacaya-
Samiria National Reserve.
Both NRDC and SPDA earlier wrote to Texas Crude to express their
opposition to the company's plan to drill in the park. The company has
repeatedly stated its intention to go forward with the contract. "We have
written to and spoken with Texas Crude officials," said Kennedy. "We are
concerned that Texas Crude has not even begun to consider the
environmental impacts of their drilling nor to develop plans to protect the
environment of this fragile region."
"We are very worried about the potentially devastating impacts of oil
development in tropical forests," said S. Jacob Scherr, Director of NRDC's
International Program. Earlier this year NRDC published Amazon Crude, a
134-page book detailing the destruction caused by Texaco and other oil
companies in the rainforests of eastern Ecuador. "There is real danger
that the destruction and pollution we have documented in Ecuador will be
repeated in Peru," said Scherr.
NRDC has been working closely with SPDA in opposition to petroleum
development in Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. NRDC is a U.S.
environmental protection organization with over 170,000 members and a
staff of 160, including lawyers, scientists and resource specialists.
Active internationally for almost twenty years, NRDC is addressing a
variety of critical global environmental problems, including global warming,
ozone depletion, and the environmental impacts of foreign aid, trade and
investment. SPDA is a non-profit group in Lima, Peru dedicated to
environmental advocacy and the development of environmental law and
policy. Its staff of attorneys participated actively in writing the
recently enacted Peruvian Environmental Code and is working closely on a
range of environmental issues.
###
12 de julio de 1991
Se$or Ingeniero
Alberto Fujimori
Presidente de la Rep#blica del Per#
Lima, Per#
Estimado Presidente Fujimori:
Nos es grato dirigirnos a usted en relaci"n a su decisi"n de reconsiderar el
contrato petrolero con Texas Crude Exploration Inc. si se comprueba
cient!ficamente que sus actividades en la Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria
da$ar n el medio ambiente.
El Consejo para la Defensa de los Recursos Naturales (Natural Resources
Defense Council o NRDC), es una organizaci"n sin fines de lucro de los
Estados Unidos de Amrica fundada hace 20 a$os. Nuestro equipo actual de
profesionales incluye a m s de 120 abogados, cient!ficos y expertos de
recoursos naturales especialistas en contaminaci"n de aguas y aire,
sustancias qu!micas y t"xicas, deforestaci"n de bosques, manejo de
tierras, actividades energticas y asuntos ambientales en general. NRDC
ha realizado estudios de impacto ambiental por actividades petroleras en
Alaska y en las reas costeras de EE.UU.
Por muchos a$os el Programa Internacional de NRDC ha mostrado particular
inters por los efectos ambientales que pueden causar las actividades de
las empresas p#blicas y privadas de EE.UU. en los pa!ses extranjeros,
especialmente en aquellos pa!ses en desarrollo. Recientemente nuestra
instituci"n trabaj" muy intensamente en Ecuador, estudiando los impactos
ambientales y socioecon"micos de las actividades petroleras en el Oriente
de ese pa!s. Luego de este estudio de 18 meses se public" el libro Amazon
Crude, copia del cual adjuntamos a la presente.
Felicitamos sinceramente sus declaraciones ante el Colegio de Ingenieros
del Per#, las cuales expresan su voluntad de proteger los valiosos
recursos naturales del Per# y no arriesgarlos innecesariamente sin
realizar estudios previos. En este sentido, nuestra organizaci"n ofrece al
Gobierno Peruano brindar el apoyo tcnico y cient!fico para obtener la
informaci"n objetiva que la situaci"n amerita.
NRDC est en capacidad de realizar un estudio, junto con los especialista
peruanos que usted indique, respecto al valor econ"mico actual y potencial
del rea, as! como de los costos y beneficios de las actividades petroleras
en la Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria. El objetivo principal de este
estudio ser!a proveer a su gobierno con informaci"n tcnica e imparcial,
para que el Per# tome la decisi"n que m s convenga a sus intereses luego
de evaluar objetivamente las variables establecidas. El estudio incluir!a
una evaluaci"n de los da$os ambientales potenciales en el rea a largo
plazo como consecuencia directa del plan de operaciones que Texas Crude va
a aplicar en Pacaya-Samiria.
Para realizar este estudio consideramos necesario contar con la
cooperaci"n de los Ministerios de Energ!a y Minas y Agricultura, as! como
Petroper# y Texas Crude.
Esperamos sinceramente tener la oportunidad de trabajar con Usted para
garantizar que esta importante decisi"n sea la m s conveniente para el
desarrollo del Per# y el futuro de las generaciones venideras.
Cordialmente,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Abogado
S. Jacob Scherr
Abogado
Director,
Programa Internacional
Lynn M. Fischer
Asociada
Programa Internacional