Natural Resources of Peru

The Peruvian territory presents a vast variety of soilswhich together with the different climates, allow the cultivation of a large number of plant species. In particular, the potato and corn cultivation They have a strong presence in Peruvian culture for centuries and there, both crops occur of various sizes and colors. Other crops that occur in Peru are: rice, sweet potato, wheat, beans, tomato, quinoa, coffee and several more. These crops not only serve to supply the Peruvian population, but are exported to a large number of countries.

Here you can read about the importance of soils.

Undoubtedly, forest resources are one of the Main wealth of Peru If we consider the fact that much of the country’s surface is covered by the Amazon jungle. The jungle as a resource provides numerous ecosystem services and, also, forest products.

However, if we talk about the Amazon, we must take into account that it is a large carbon sink, that is, the sink of one of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and that practically 20% of planet Earth’s oxygen is generated there.

Read more on this topic in this article on Flora and Fauna of the Peruvian jungle.

Peru has a great water wealth: More than 1,000 rivers, more than 10,000 lagoons and around 3,000 glaciers. This makes it a privileged country, since it has 1.89% of world fresh water. However, not the entire Peruvian population has access to drinking water and this is mostly due to the contamination of fresh water bodies. It is estimated that 80% of fresh water is used for agricultural activity, 6% for industrial activity, 2% for mining and 12% is for population use.

In this link you can read about the causes and consequences of water pollution.

He Pacific Ocean It has a strong influence in the Peruvian people, in fact 65% of the population lives near the ocean. In itself, the fishing resource It is the main marine resource, although in its funds there are reserves of hydrocarbons and minerals.

Entering the fishing resource, the main exploited species are: sole, crows, anchovy, beautiful pacific, jurel of the South Pacific, among others. However, with the passage of time, the Peruvian government has had to take measures regarding the conservation of the fishing appeal, since the excessive exploitation of the resource has led many species to the edge of extinction.

Within the renewable resources of Peruwe find renewable energies. The main forms of renewable energy are: the Hydraulic energy In the first place, then the thermal, wind, solar, geothermal energy and also biomass energy (obtained from agroforestry waste or special crops).

Peru is one of the main mining producers in the world and the first mining producer in Latin America. Its production is based mostly on minerals such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and tin. It is estimated that mining is one of the pillars of the economy of Peru, but we cannot ignore, that the mining resource is one of the non -renewable resources of Peru and that its exploitation causes a severe environmental impact.

You can read this other post about mineral resources: what are, classification, examples and importance.

Like mining resources, oil is a Non -renewable natural resource. Peru presents 18 basins with potential to be exploited, of which the majority is in the Amazon rainforest region. On the other hand, the exploitation of oil in Peru He has a story of more than 140 years. Therefore, we must consider the environmental consequences caused by the exploitation of this resource and that, as we mentioned above, the Amazon jungle provides valuable ecosystem services.

Here you can read the environmental impact of oil and natural gas.

With a great diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, Peru is the habitat of numerous species of flora and fauna. It is even one of the ten megadiverse countries of the world. We advise you to read this information what is a megadiverse country and examples.

If we talk about numbers, Peru has more than 25,000 plant species (which constitutes 10% world), more than 2,000 fish species, more than 500 species of mammals, 1,800 species of birds and more than 600 species between reptiles and amphibians. Next, we will list some of the most emblematic species of flora and fauna.

Plant species of Peru

• Quina (Cinchona officinalis)
• Cantuta, the National Flower of Peru (Cantua Buxifolia)
• Raimondi titanca (Puya Raimondii)
• Orchid (Phragmipedium kovachii)
• Amancay (Ismene Amancaes)

Animal species of Peru

• GlassesTremarctos ornatus)
• Paiche (Arapaima Gigas)
• Rana del Titicaca (Telmatobius culeus)
• Wonderful hummingbird (Loddigesia Mirabilis)
• Charapa turtle (Podeocnemis expansion)

Learn much more about Peru’s natural resources related to its biodiversity reading our articles:

• Biodiversity in Peru: characteristics and importance.
• +45 native animals of Peru.
• 20 animals in danger of extinction of Peru.
• In danger of extinction in Peru.

If you want to read more articles similar to Natural Resources of Peruwe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.