Main environmental problems in Peru

Being one of the countries with the highest forest extension in the world, illegal timber exploitation practices and the appropriation of land for the use of agri -food industry, with precarious and non -sustainable practices, they suppose some Highly deforestation levels.

The development of urban areas, oil and mining farms, the construction of a large amount of roads, illegal plantations and pollutants that are generated in these productions are other factors that cause this deforestation. Deforestation is also the main greenhouse gases issuer in this country.

Know more about the causes of deforestation in this other post.

Much of the current economy of Peru depends on the extraction and export of mineral resources such as silver, copper, lead and gold, among others. Since many of the reserves of these minerals are found in the Andes, there is a high level of illegal exploitation that involves the destruction of natural areas and entire ecosystems.

The extraction of gold in the Amazon areas implies the deforestation of tens of thousands of hectares, with a huge number of illegal farms. This mining contaminates areas with high concentrations of heavy metals, which end in fauna and even in humans.

Here we explain more about how mineral extraction affects the environment.

In 2018, 76% of the population of Peru lived concentrated in large cities. Only Lima, its most populous city, already concentrates almost 30% of the country’s total population, and these huge urban areas have experienced an unplanning or controlling growth that generates a a large amount of pollution.

In the absence of efficient and respectful systems with the environment of collection and removal of waste, they contaminate the atmosphere, waters and soil, causing health problems to its inhabitants and important environmental damages, with, for example, high concentrations of lead in the atmosphere.

This is also due to the obsolete automotive park of these cities, counting more than half of its cars at least 15 years old.

Another of the main environmental problems in Peru is that the waters of the country have also suffered what is known as Overexploitation of natural resourcesand its poor management negatively affects these resources, which are vital for the country. As with mining and logging, there is an excess of activity, a good part of it, which does not respect sustainability measures and produces high pollution rates, in this case from the marine canning industries and fishmeal.

The country’s traditional agriculture has been succeeded by a Industrial Intensive Agriculture of High Media impactwho does not hesitate to abuse agrotoxic products as fertilizers and pesticides, in addition to stealing a large number of hectares to forest and jungle land.

This industry also implies a high demand for fossil fuels in its machinery, and contaminates and degrades soils and waters while contributing to the deforestation of the Amazon. Agriculture is the second production activity of greenhouse gases in the country.

To all these problems, the lack of awareness of a population and a ruling class that is still far from considering the Environmental protection as one of its main priorities.

Peru being one of the countries with megadiversity or greater biodiversity in the world, the problem becomes especially important because of the large number of animal and plant species that are imminently threatened by this growth model.

In 2018, the country had almost 800 plant species in a state of threat, and in the previous year more than 10,000 copies of wildlife were seized by the authorities as a result of illegal traffic. If you want more information about this traffic problem, we recommend this other post of ecology see how to avoid illegal animal trafficking.

If you want to read more articles similar to Main environmental problems in Peruwe recommend that you enter our pollution category.