The head of the Ministry of the Environment (Minam), Albina Ruíz, assured that the National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments (Senace) will not absorb entities such as the National Water Authority (ANA), the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp) and the National Forest and Wildlife Service (Serfor), as proposed by the National Mining, Oil and Energy Society (SNMPE).
“(Yesterday) in the morning when we launched Climate Week together with the premier (Alberto Otárola), the premier was emphatic in pointing out that PCM is not going to absorb any of these organizations,” he revealed to La República.
The prime minister has already established a position by saying that “In the country, environmental and labor standards will be respected”in a context where it will seek to reduce social conflict while respecting international standards with the participation of localities in the areas of interest of the projects.
However, from the SNMPE they assured that their initiative to unify the permits had received the support of Otárola.
Minister Ruíz highlighted that each entity plays a role, but she said that actions are being worked on to shorten the “permits” times.
“We have already been having permanent meetings with the MEF, Minem, Culture, Agriculture and us,” he commented.
Likewise, he emphasized that ANA, Serfor and Sernanp are “opinion-giving” entities in the environmental impact assessment process.
“If, for example, there is an infrastructure that is going to pass through the buffer zone or within a protected natural area, only in that case does Sernanp have an opinion. Likewise, if it is going to affect bodies of water, ANA has an opinion. If it is going to affect the forest area or forest areas, Serfor has an opinion. And Culture, if in the infrastructure that is going to be implemented it is identified that there are archaeological remains, ”he explained.
Finally, Ruiz mentioned that the approach to reduce time is focused on strengthening the opinion-makers and speeding up their evaluations. Thus, he indicated that more personnel have been assigned to review the studies and adjustments are being made so that opinions on the projects are issued immediately.
The SNMPE proposal
The president of the SNMPE, Víctor Gobitz, previously explained that the annexation does not seek to reduce the rigor with which environmental certifications are issued, but to concentrate guidelines and professionals in a single governing body that expedites investment projects.
However, former Minister of the Environment, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, stated in a column published in this newspaper that the attempt to make environmental requirements more flexible contradicts the global trend of facing the great challenges of humanity, including climate change.
It also adds that the disappearance or merger of Senace with the PCM would increase the incidence of socio-environmental conflicts in the country.
The data
Projects. Between April and August of this year, Senace approved five detailed environmental studies and their modifications for a total of US$6,142 million in sustainable investments at the national level.
The word
Albina Ruiz, Minister of the Environment
“What we do definitely have to do, and we are working on that, is to shorten the times of the permit, and in that we have already been having permanent meetings”.
Source: Larepublica
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