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Location Peru
  • News A Peruvian farmer is trying to hold energy giant RWE responsible for climate change – the inside story of his groundbreaking court case, theconversation.com (Nov 27, 2023)
  • News Partnering with communities and llama herders in the Andes to improve soil quality and plant productivity as more ice retreats, news.mongabay.com (Nov 27, 2023)
  • News The seed guardians of Peru trying to save the potato, BBC Future (Oct 03, 2023)
  • News How a group of Peruvian coffee farmers are thriving despite the odds, positive.news (Jul 12, 2023)
  • News Indigenous Peoples defend a precious natural resource- empowering them protects us all, ashden.org (Feb 14, 2023)

Read more

Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]

  • Neighbourhood initiatives across Lima

  • Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDES), non-profit Peruvian indigenous organisation that aims to improve the quality of life of Andean indigenous communities by promoting the conservation and sustainable use of their bio-cultural heritage through rights-based conservation-development approaches.

Visions[edit | edit source]

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Amazonía 2041: A Vision From the Future
Authors: Cuencas Sagradas, Nov 5, 2021

Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, added 16:46, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Climate action[edit | edit source]

Mitigation[edit | edit source]

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The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that the economic losses related to climate change could reach over 15% of national gross domestic product (GDP) by 2100. In 2010, Peruvian greenhouse gas emissions represented only 0.4% of global emissions. However, emissions are rising nationwide – particularly in the energy and transport sectors. In an effort to combat this, the Government of Peru approved a law to establish a national greenhouse gas inventory system called INFOCARBONO. INFOCARBONO will enable different ministries to include greenhouse gas management in their work.

Effects of climate change[edit | edit source]

Average annual temperatures rose by 1 °C (1.8 °F) from 1960 until 2016 and are predicted to increase by an additional 2 to 3 °C (3.6 to 5.4 °F) by 2065. Sea level is projected to rise by 50 cm (20 in) by 2100. Extreme weather events, including drought and flood, are anticipated to become more frequent.

The most immediately visible problem of climatic change in Peru is the melting of glaciers in the Andes. Peru is home to 71 percent of the world's tropical glaciers and since 1970 glacial volume has decreased by 40 percent. Many areas of Peru depend upon glacial melt for water for consumption, irrigation, and industry. In the Cordillera Blanca, for example, glacial melt provides 80 percent of water in the rivers during the dry season and 4-8 percent during the rainy season. The consequence of increased glacial melt is floods during the wet season and less water in rivers during the dry season. The desert coast of Peru has 52 percent of Peru's population on 12 percent of its land area and is especially vulnerable to fluctuations in its water supply, nearly all of which comes from rivers originating in the Andes. Accelerated glacial melt and the eventual disappearance of glaciers will severely impact the quantity of water available in the coastal and mountain regions. W

Public perceptions related to water and climate change[edit | edit source]

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According to a 2008 survey of Radio RPP, only 37% of respondents think that water is scarce in Peru. Only 27% of respondents living in Lima—a city in the middle of a desert—believe water to be scarce in Lima. 72% of respondents throughout the country believe that Peru is affected by climate change. However, only 8% of respondents think that water scarcity is a consequence of Climate Change.

Biodiversity[edit | edit source]

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Peru has some of the greatest biodiversity in the world.

Environment quality[edit | edit source]

EcoSwell[edit | edit source]

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Non-profit work on water accessibility without government support is currently occurring, in Northern Peru, in the Talara region. EcoSwell identified a need for sustainable organizing and environmental and economic stability. Their bottom-up approach to community mobilization focuses on "the needs of the base of the pyramid". Ecoswell has chosen the town of Lobitos for its coastal location, its growing population, and its flow of tourism, as well as the threat to this town from climate change. EcoSwell has multiple projects focused on the long-term sustainability of this region's ecology, with a commitment to "no growth" or to a "steady-state economy". Ecoswell's projects are in line with the Peruvian government's commitment and recognized success in achieving the "sustainability sweet spot". One project uses solar-powered distillers to desalinate ocean water; Ecoswell is currently seeking support from the community and more funding to expand this project. Lobitos is located in a dry zone that does not have a lot of access to fresh water, so desalinization (drawing on the ocean nearby) is a smart alternative during drought periods.

Ecoswell Peru is a non profit organization founded by four lifelong friends with the mission of developing the coastal town Lobitos. Upon meeting up in Lobitos for a surfing trip, these four friends pondered upon a grave realization. This realization was that lobitos was severely underdeveloped; there was a lack of clean water; the sewage system was defective; and the dry forest ecosystem was degrading rapidly. In an effort to restore the ecosystem of their favorite vacation spot, these lifelong companions collaborated together and created the non profit organization EcoSwell. EcoSwell was founded in 2013 and is composed of city locals as well as volunteer interns from around the world. Together the members of EcoSwell work on different projects and tasks to resolve the main objective which is to essentially develop the degraded coastal town of Lobitos.

Trees, woodland and forest[edit | edit source]

Peru has the fourth-most tropical forests of any country and the ninth-most forest area. W

Wetlands[edit | edit source]

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There are 12,201 lakes and lagoons in Peru, 3,896 of which are located in the Pacific basin; 7,441 in the Atlantic basin, 841 in the Titicaca basin, and 23 in the Huarmicocha system. Peru contains approximately 50,000 km2 of swamps and 45 km2 of mangroves.Peru's wetlands play an important role for rural communities. These wetlands are the source for animal protein and for totora, a plant used in the artisan production of boats and floating devices. Estuaries are also fundamental for the reproduction of several marine species that are basic for the fishing industry. Other uses such as industrial production of algae and bird-watching tourism are not yet fully discovered. In 1996 the Government adopted a National Wetlands Conservation Strategy aimed at increasing the area of mangroves, moors, estuaries, and lagoons considered to be protected areas. Uncertainties about land ownership, industrial pollution, urban sprawl, and deforestation continue to threaten wetland integrity in Peru. The complete Pucchun Lagoon in Arequipa, 50 km2, has been dried out for agricultural purposes. The Villa Swamp, located south of Lima, was reduced from its original 50 to 3 km2 in 1989 due to urban sprawl.

Community energy[edit | edit source]

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It has been estimated that Peru has favorable conditions for the development of solar energy projects. However, the country's solar potential has not been exploited yet. In the mountain ranges located in the South, solar energy reaches average levels above 6 kWh/m2/day, which are among the highest worldwide.

Sustainable transport[edit | edit source]

There are river boat service from Yurimaguas and Pucallpa to Iquitos, and from there to the Brazilian border in the Amazon river.W

Environmental issues in Peru[edit | edit source]

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The principal environmental issues in Peru are water pollution, soil erosion, pollution and deforestation. Although these issues are problematic and equally destructive, the Peruvian Environmental ministry has been developing regulation and laws to decrease the amount of pollution created in major cities and have been making policies in order to decrease the present deforestation rate in Peru.

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Water access[edit | edit source]

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Parts of Peru are located in vast deserts, limiting water accessibility. While there has been an emphasis within the country on improving infrastructure to increase water access and restore watersheds, much of Peru still remains under-served, with over 1.5 million people estimated to have no running water in their homes. A 2015 UN Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water report stated that Peru has made significant improvements within the last fifteen years to promote sanitation and improve access to water. Water access, however, is still unequal; some Peruvians pay 1.3 sols (.40 USD) for one cubic meter of running water, while poorer citizens who rely on water delivery trucks to bring them their resources pay around 20 sols ($6 USD) for one cubic meter of running water, an over 1500% increase. Water delivered in Peru tends to be unsanitary and non-potable. However, wealthier citizens are more easily able to treat water in their homes, while poorer citizens often lack the resources to properly treat their water.

About Peru[edit | edit source]

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Peru ( pə-ROO; Spanish: Perú [peˈɾu]; Quechua: Piruw [pɪɾʊw]; Aymara: Piruw [pɪɾʊw]), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: ), is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi), Peru is the 19th largest country in the world, and the third largest in South America.

Peruvian territory was home to several cultures during the ancient and medieval periods, and has one of the longest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th millennium BCE. Notable pre-colonial cultures and civilizations include the Caral-Supe civilization (the earliest civilization in the Americas and considered one of the cradles of civilization), the Nazca culture, the Wari and Tiwanaku empires, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Inca Empire, the largest known state in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and Charles V established a viceroyalty with the official name of the Kingdom of Peru that encompassed most of its South American territories, with its capital in Lima. Higher education started in the Americas with the official establishment of the National University of San Marcos in Lima in 1551.

Near you[edit | edit source]

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FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Keywords countries
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 4 pages link here
Aliases Peru
Impact 966 page views
Created February 6, 2011 by Lonny Grafman
Modified January 6, 2024 by Phil Green
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