Peru weakens environmental protections, encourages investment in extractive industry.
| Autor | Jana, Elsa Chanduvi |
Peru's Congress on July 11 passed a packet of laws to promote investment and reactivate the economy despite numerous national and international criticisms that labeled the proposal a blow to the country's environmental structure, control, and management.
President Ollanta Humala had proposed the bills three weeks earlier, the Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas drew them up, and Congress adopted the bill as Law No. 3627-2014, the "Law that establishes tax measures and simplifies procedures and permits to promote and stimulate investment."
Article 19 of the new regulation states that for the next three years the Organismo de Evaluacion y Fiscalizacion Ambiental (OEFA) will "favor actions geared toward preventing and correcting infringing behavior in environmental matters" and will apply sanctions only in exceptional cases. Instead of sanctions with fines, it calls for corrective measures. Should an offender of environmental regulations not take recommended corrective measures, the OEFA could impose fines of up to 50% of the maximum fine. Humala and his minister of finance had asked for a 35% fine limit.
Provisions of this article, however, would not apply in the case of serious infractions "that generate actual damage putting peoples' lives and health at risk."
Ivan Lanegra, former intercultural vice minister, told the newspaper La Republica, "Clearly, reducing fines implies less environmental protection and, worse yet, dismantling environmental protection is done with a law called "Investment Promotion," which increases the risk that it could be interpreted to mean environmental policy is being used to attract investment, which is precisely what should not be done."
In late June, the Defensoria del Pueblo sent an official letter to Congress lobbying against paralyzing environmental inspection, and among the recommendations was a plea "not to approve Article 19 of the proposed law, which allows for suspending administrative proceedings involving OEFA sanctions and reducing the fines because it would weaken institutions for monitoring and enforcement."
Meanwhile, on July 13, the Central General de Trabajadores del Peru (CGTP) publically said, "By aiming to reduce labor fines by up to 50% during a three-year period, and thus lowering fines issued by the Superintendencia Nacional de Fiscalizacion Laboral, just like those issued by the OEFA ... what remains to be seen is whether cheaper sanctions would encourage greater violations of labor rights...
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