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UNCLAS LIMA 001740 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID EMIN ETRD SENV PE
SUBJECT: Peru Environment Minister Lists Priority Concerns and Hopes 
for Collaboration 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  On November 2, Post's ESTH bilateral and regional 
teams met Environment Minister Antonio Brack, to formally introduce 
the new ESTH Officer for Peru and the ESTH Hub Officer for South 
America, as well as to discuss priority environmental issues for 
Peru and the Region.  We engaged in a friendly and candid 
discussion with this minister who this summer survived a major 
cabinet change.  He provided us with his views on environmental 
concerns, his goals for improving environmental policy in Peru, and 
a more precise viewpoint on genetically modified organisms than he 
usually articulates in the press.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The Ministry of Environment (MINAM) officials included 
Antonio Brack Egg, Minister of Environment, Patricia Fernandez 
Davila, Head of Advisors of the Ministry of Environment and Julio 
Oca????a, Advisor of the Ministry of Environment. 
 
Peru's Key Environmental Issues 
 
¶3. (U) Brack was asked to identify the key environmental issues 
facing Peru.  He replied with the following: 
 
¶A.      Liquid waste management, which he described as the main 
cause of contamination in Peru. 
 
¶B.      Solid waste management was of approximately equal concern. 
Brack noted that only 17% of solid waste is currently being 
processed. 
 
¶C.      Air contamination in large cities such as Lima.  Brack 
mentioned that beginning Jan 2010, sulfur content in diesel will be 
reduced from the current 5,000 parts per million (PPM) to 50 PPM 
for the Lima and Callao areas.  (COMMENT - Diesel fuel containing 
5,000 PPM of sulfur will still be permitted in other Peruvian 
regions.  This will probably result in Lima and Callao air quality 
not reducing to desired levels, given the significant 
transportation links between Lima and other parts of Peru.  A 
progressive timeline for sulfur reduction for the remainder of the 
regions in Peru must still be developed by the Ministry of Energy 
and Mines (MEM) - END COMMENT. )  He added that in 2010, the GOP 
would establish a program to  purchase and destroy old cars that 
pollute excessively; seeking to replace them with new natural gas 
units.  He noted that 192 million Nuevo soles (US$66 million) has 
already been assigned for implementation of the program. 
 
¶D.     Mining and its profound environmental impact. 
 
¶E.      Protect the Amazon and combatting illegal logging.  Brack 
mentioned the commencement of Peru's National Forestry Program, 
begun last year to conserve Peru's 67 million hectares (258,000 
square miles) of virgin forests, with technical support from 
Germany as well as an initial loan from Japan for $90 million for 
implementation.  Brack expressed hope that the United Nations 
Collaborative Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and 
Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) may also be 
utilized to reduce poverty and increase development for the Amazon 
indigenous communities through forest conservation activities. 
 
REDD and Adaptation Fund  - Priorities for the Copenhagen Climate 
Change Conference 
 
¶4. (U) On the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference 
scheduled to take place December 7-15, Brack said that the 
priorities for MINAM are REDD and the adaptation fund.  Brack added 
that if these can not be resolved in Copenhagen, Peru  would 
support the Global Environment Fund (GEF) in the next relevant 
meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay in May 2010. 
 
Desires Replication of National Park Service Modalities 
 
¶5. (U) Brack mentioned that he is particularly interested in 
training programs that may be available from the USG, and 
emphasized his esteem of our well organized system of national park 
rangers. He expressed interest in establishing similar the same 
organizational principles that rule the US park ranger system to 
management of Peru's 16 million hectares (62,000 square miles) of 
forests within Natural Protected Areas.  He looks forward to any 
capacity training opportunities available from the National Park 
Service and the US Forestry Service that would serve in attaining 
the goals of protecting forests and managing protected areas. 
 
Ecological Police - Budgetary Constraints and Combating Urban Crime 
Prevent Development of Specialization 
 
¶6. (U) Minister Brack spoke about Peru's National Police Direction 
of Ecology and Tourism (their "Ecological Police").  One of the 
 
principal weaknesses in Peru's current Ecological Police program, 
Brack noted, is its frequent rotation of officers.  Any training 
provided on environmental issues to this group is lost as they are 
assigned to other positions/tasks.  Brack said that the GOP is 
seeking to create an environmental specialty within the police 
force.  But budgetary constraints currently prevent this 
improvement. 
 
¶7. (U) Minister Brack noted that Peru staffs only 250 ecological 
police positions.  For a country with 66 million hectares (258,000 
square miles) of forests, he believes this number is far too small. 
He added that the Government of Peru is considering increasing this 
group to 3,000. Yet again, budgetary constraints are a concern. 
The US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) is still viewed as a 
means of increasing priority for expanding this force to combat 
illegal logging.  (Comment:  Econoff spoke with a current 
environmental police member, and learned that the number of 
environmental police has declined recently, as the GOP has placed 
more emphasis on urban security.  End Comment.) 
 
Recruit the Navy for Forestry Enforcement; Number of Environmental 
Prosecutors Rising 
 
¶8.  (U) Brack noted that the Navy plays a key role in combating 
illegal logging, as the Navy is responsible for navigable waters 
within Peru. 
 
¶9. (U) Brack commended the work of Peru's 46 environmental 
prosecutors. He noted in particular the work performed by the 
environmental prosecutor of the Loreto Region pertaining to illegal 
logging. 
 
Regional Environmental Collaboration 
 
¶10. (U) In terms of regional integration, Minister Brack said that 
Peru has excellent relationships with Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil. 
Brack described Inambari (the $4 billion hydro dam project to be 
developed in the Peruvian Amazon), as "clean energy" with the added 
benefit of possibly creating energy exports for Peru.  Brack noted 
that the area of impact that was originally more than 40,000 
hectares has been reduced to 20,000 hectares and that the area 
flooded will promote the creation of new aquifers and biodiversity. 
(Comment:  This was an interesting change of opinion for Minister 
Brack on Inambari, as he expressed opposition to this project 
several months ago when pushing for the creation of a green fund on 
taxes imposed on this project to provide for environmental 
remediation work on the areas of impact of the project, including 
the displacement of some communities in the area. However, he may 
be taking a pragmatic stance on this project, since he added that 
the project was going to move forward regardless of his views as it 
was promoted directly by the President.  End Comment.) 
 
Not universally opposed to importation of some Genetically Modified 
Organisms (GMOs) 
 
¶11. (U) Minister Brack, who generally is viewed as an opponent of 
GMOs in Peru, provided a more detailed explanation, including how 
he does not oppose GMO use in certain crops.  He noted Peru's 
biodiversity and described his country as the "cradle" of 
particular crops that must be protected from invasion.  In 
particular, he objected to the introduction of GMOs in potatoes, 
corn and cotton, citing as an example that Peru has 2321 varieties 
of potatoes.  He added that Peru's growing organic market (over $1 
billion in exports) must also be protected from incursion of GMOs. 
However, he did not oppose importation of certain crops not native 
to Peru, citing mangoes in particular.  He expressed his support 
for the decision of Peru's president to form a high level 
technical/scientific team to review and develop biosecurity 
regulations pertaining to GMOs. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Brack, who is regularly welcoming in public 
events, continued to conduct himself in a private meeting with the 
same upbeat attitude.  It was clear that he seeks to engage with 
those who can provide assistance to meet Peru's daunting 
environmental challenges in the face of climate change, increased 
demand for mining and ever increasing illegal logging in the 
Amazon. 
MCKINLEY