Peru: A Cleaner Forest

In a post before this one, I wrote about the Peruvian night monkey and the destruction of its habitat, due in part to human activity.

Peru has now indicated a “state of emergency” in parts of its northern rainforests where oil fields are located and operated by Pluspetrol, an Argentinian corporation. A new law was implemented this Monday requiring suitable standards for pollution in surrounding soils, and “officials” agree this will make a difference (Collyns).

 

Acquired At: https://www.theengineroom.org/mining-companies-are-contaminating-your-water-supply-what-do-you-do/

 

According to the Peruvian government, since 2001, when Pluspetrol started operating, contaminates released into the surroundings were never cleaned. In the Pastaza river basin, where the borders of Peru and Ecuador link, the indigenous Anchuar and Kichwa people have lived in poor conditions for too long. The environmental ministry of Peru has stated, from tests performed in February and March, that “[…] high levels of barium, lead, chrome and petroleum-related compounds […]” were found in Pastaza (Collyns).

 

The environmental ministry of Peru has given Pluspetrol 90 days to clean and reduce contaminates that were exposed to the surrounding public.  Fortunately, the government has finally decided to solve the issue involving the north, for for some time the government “[…] lacked the required environmental quality standards” (Collyns).

Andrew Miller (a Peru campaigner for Amazon Watch) states that thanks to the indigenous people and Congress, proper action was taken in time.

 

Works Citied

Collyns, Dan. "Peru Declares Environmental State of Emergency in Its Rainforest." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/26/peru-declares-environmental-emergency-rainforest>.

The Peruvian Night Monkey

It seems that the Peruvian night monkey is in danger of losing its home due to disappearing forests. “The FAO estimates that [Peru] loses somewhere between 224,000 and 300,000 hectares of forest per year […]”. Unfortunately, illegal logging is also a leading cause of deforestation, accounting for 95% of logging. Why is illegal logging so high in Peru? Well, it is mainly due to the valuable mahogany located in its forests (Peru).

Acquired At: http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/index.php/Tarantula-Habitats/Rainforest-deforestation-Peru

Due to the greed for valuable wood, the Peruvian night monkey is suffering the possible loss of its home. As stated by Jeremy Hance, the Peruvian night monkeys are not well known in the world, but recent research has allowed the world to understand the monkey’s natural behaviors. For example, these monkeys tend to not stay in a single location rather they travel from one location to another (Hance).According to Jeremy Hance, Peruvian night monkeys are “[…] capable of surviving in highly-fragmented forests”. Furthermore, researchers found that a family of 6 monkeys were capable of sustaining themselves in smaller territories, 3.4 acres (Hance).

Although this may be true, can this justify the destruction of the Peruvian night monkey’s habitat? Sooner or later these monkeys will lose their food supply and habitat, which will lead them to the point of extinction. 

Works Cited

Hance, Jeremy. "Peruvian Night Monkey Threatened by Vanishing Forests, Lost Corridors." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/peruvian-night-monkey-threatened>.

"Peru: Environmental Profile." Peru: Environmental Profile. Mogabay.com, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20peru.htm>.

The Coral Reefs

Did you know Coral reefs are currently endangered? Accounting for only about 1% of the marine environment, coral reefs provide a home to 25% of marine life. “Coral reefs are mostly found in clear, shallow, warm waters where sunlight can penetrate and provide nutrients to the algae that sustains coral” (Earthjustice…).Coral reefs provide humans with many benefits such as barriers to coastal communities, and chemical compounds extracted from corals provide medicine for cancer, AIDS, and other ailments, but we are not protecting them like we should (Earthjustice…).

Acquired At: http://reimaginingdisney.blogspot.com/2012/12/animal-kingdom-part-3-south-america-and.html

Humans have caused major damage to coral reefs, which may be irreversible due to pollution, climate change, and trash. Unfortunately, one fifth of the corals have been wiped-out and recovering them will be difficult. Some predications indicate that the remaining coral reefs will disappear by 2050(Endangered Corals). Coral Reefs are important to marine ecosystems and losing them will be a disaster that we will hopefully not witness.

As the human population grows so will our negative impact on coral reefs. However, if we act now we will be able to save the reefs and the organisms that depend on them.

 

Works Citied

"Earthjustice: Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer." Earthjustice. Earthjustice, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://earthjustice.org/irreplaceable/coral_reef?gclid=CMSyw7_V4bUCFY6e4AodiEwAeA>.

"Endangered Corals." TakePart. Disneynatureoceans, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://www.takepart.com/oceans/coral>.