Proposed plan for Peruvian Ecological Protection Zones
will threaten indigenous territories and open up the
rainforest to further destruction. According to an
article in El Comercio, a leading Peruvian newspaper,
February 2, 1996: (Amazon Coalition summary and
translation of article)
Title: Almost 60% of Peruvian Rainforest Can be
Privately Owned
Approximately 60% of the Peruvian rainforests will be
converted in private property and 40% will form the
Peruvian Ecological Protection Zones (ZPE) that will be
open to concessions according to a plan prepared by the
National Institute of Natural Resources (Inrena).
Fulfilling article 12 of the "Law of the Lands", Ley de las
Tierras, the Ministry of Agriculture, through Inrena,
developed this project to determine which would be the
ZPE lands and how private investment in them would be
regulated.
This proposal, pre-published in El Peruano, the official
government newspaper, in order to open it up to debate,
establishes that the areas considered ZPE are: protected
natural areas (national parks and reserves) and areas such
as those that are near rivers.
To develop economic activities in the ZPE areas a
concession from the government must be obtained. It will
be preferably used for investigation, education,
recreation, tourism and the management of wild flora and
fauna, as well as the extraction of forest products with
the exception of wood.
The 46 million hectares of the Peruvian Amazon not
considered as a protected zone will be regulated by the
Ley de Tierras that provides for its sale to private
investors through public auction.
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============= === In another article in El Comercio:
(Summary and translation by the Amazon Coalition)
Representatives from several environmental
organizations expressed their concern about certain parts
of the Irena proposal such as the inclusion of natural
areas that are already protected in the ZPE areas as well
as the situation that the native peoples, who do not yet
have private titles to their land, will face.
Gustavo Suarez , Executive Director of the Foundation for
the Conservation of Nature said, "The ZPEs do not have
conservation as their fundamental objective. They are
destined to avoid becoming private property and to be
open to use through concessions. This is the only legal
distinction, they will not be untouchable." He also
states, "Currently private property does not exist, but
peoples that use the land for their houses and agricultural
production do exist. It could happen that a company
requests a concession of these lands and later it charges
the indigenous communities for its use. The proposal
does not make any restrictions."