At the doors of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the deforestation of forests in Peru is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and our Amazon is on the verge of reaching a point of no return (MINAM, 2023). This year, the Peruvian economy has been sharply affected by political and social factors and multiple weather shocks in the first quarter of the year, which have made public investment and spending on Peruvian climate action difficult.
The MEF recently approved the 2024 national budget proposal, allocating 11,715 million soles to the transportation and communications sector for roads in the national road network, departmental and neighborhood roads, among others.
In the department of Loreto, 12.1% of the annual budget has been assigned to the transportation function (S/ 688,739,990), prioritizing the expansion of the land road network with projects such as Bellavista – Mazán – Salvador – El Estrecho” and “ Puerto Arica – Flor de Agosto”, which seek to connect the Napo and Putumayo river basins by land, and which have been promoted since the 1980s to boost the cross-border regional economy with Colombia, expand the agricultural and livestock frontier, as well as the development of agroindustry. These proposals overlap with territories of indigenous peoples, protected natural areas and areas of high biological diversity.
In the case of the “Bellavista – Mazán – Salvador – El Estrecho” road proposal, in charge of PROVÍAS Nacional with an updated budget of S/. 1,542,915,177.80 soles, which would impact, among others, territories of the Maijuna and Kichwa indigenous peoples, as well as the Maijuna Kichwa and Ampiyacu Apayacu regional conservation areas. This road proposal was modified to be implemented in four sections within the framework of Legislative Decree No. 1553, which allows the beginning of the physical execution of investment projects within the framework of the National System of Multiannual Programming and Investment Management, so parallel to the partial preparation of their approved technical files or basic engineering level, by sections, stages, components or sectors of work.
This execution modality weakens the socio-environmental management instruments, by excluding the cumulative and synergistic impacts of the set of sections, focusing on the analysis section by section, as if they were independent and unrelated interventions. A clear example is category I, assigned within the framework of the SEIA to projects that do not cause significant negative environmental impacts, and which has been approved for the first section of the project, requiring only an Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) for its implementation.
On the other hand, the construction of the Puerto Arica – Flor de Agosto highway was paralyzed in the late 1980s due to technical difficulties in completing its construction in an area of Amazonian floodplain forests. According to local residents, this road has been used for illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and forest clearing. However, the execution of the project has been announced: “Periodic maintenance of the unpaved departmental road network 102, section Puerto Arica – Flor de Agosto”, with a budget greater than one million soles to complete the 13 km pending and a bridge over the Cotton River.
The implementation of both land routes would not only generate duplication in the use of the public budget but also greater GHG emissions, loss of forests, biodiversity, significant impacts on protected natural areas and would violate the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. The competent entities of the National Multiannual Programming and Investment Management System and the National Strategic Planning System (national and regional) must guarantee the implementation of the principles of budget efficiency and transparency.
These examples show us that we continue to make the same mistakes, forgetting that it is urgent and necessary that, from the project planning stage, sustainable connectivity alternatives are proposed that go hand in hand with the needs of local populations and their development plans. life, and that they are accompanied by processes of prior, free and informed consultation.
Finally, we believe that it is urgent to apply climate analysis in socio-environmental management instruments to prevent the risks of imminent danger or disasters in road infrastructure projects in the Amazon, avoiding projects that contravene the country’s climate commitments.
[PUBLIRREPORTAJE]
Source: Larepublica
Alia is a professional author and journalist, working at 247 news agency. She writes on various topics from economy news to general interest pieces, providing readers with relevant and informative content. With years of experience, she brings a unique perspective and in-depth analysis to her work.
