Bill to extract gas within protected areas is debated again in the Peruvian Congress

This summary is generated by artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.

A bill that once again seeks to open the doors for the exploitation of hydrocarbons in protected natural areas has been presented in the Peruvian Congress. This is the Law that declares the development of the Madre de Dios gas basin of national strategic interest and priority to strengthen the energy security of Peru and the development of the Amazon. proposed by congressman Eduardo Salhuana Cavides, of the Alliance for Progress partyalong with six other parliamentarians from the same group: Nelcy Heidinger, Idelso Garcia, Lady Camones, Gustavo Cordero, Roberto Chiabra, Jorge Luis Flores Ancachi.

However, This is not the first time that an initiative has reached Congress to carry out hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation work in highly biodiverse ecosystems.such as protected areas. In the last five years, two legislative initiatives – in 2023 and 2025 – have been proposed in order to allow extractive activities in them. The latter occurred when Congressman Jorge Luis Flores Ancachi—who also supports the current proposal—presented a project to modify the Law of Protected Natural Areas and open the possibility of carrying out extractive activities in these ecosystems. On that occasion the proposal was archived.

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The standard presented now is specific for the so-called Madre de Dios gas basinwhich includes areas of the departments of Madre de Dios, Cusco and Puno, places in which exploration, exploitation and use of natural gas activities will be promoted, according to the project. This initiative is in the Energy and Mines and Economy, Banking, Finance and Financial Intelligence commissions of Congress.

The proposal also specifies that These activities will be “exceptionally authorized” within three protected natural areas: Manu National Park, Bahuaja Sonene National Park and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve.

The initiative arose on March 20, after an energy crisis occurred in Peru due to a leak in the pipeline of the Camisea gas field, in the Cusco jungle, which caused a shortage of natural gas throughout the national territory.

According to the text of the bill, What is sought is to promote the development of the Madre de Dios Gas Basin, to reduce the country’s vulnerability to possible restrictions. or shortages in international fuel markets.

“The bill is based exclusively on the context of the energy crisis that we have had very recently”says Katherine Sánchez, legal coordinator of the Biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples Program of the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA).

Juan Luis Dammert, consultant at the Development Analysis Group (Grade), points out that this is a temporary response to the problem of gas shortages. “It seems like an inappropriate project to me”Dammert questions and points out that this initiative is not attacking the problem that generated the energy crisis “which is the vulnerability of the country, because Camisea has only one pipeline and does not have a replacement.”

Read more | Peru: “This energy crisis is a good time to discuss alternatives for the future and in the face of gas dependence” | INTERVIEW

“We have done an analysis that shows that The lots mentioned in this bill overlap strict protection zones of these protected natural areas. [Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene y Reserva Comunal Amarakaeri]”says Sánchez, from the SPDA.

The analysis prepared by this NGO offers maps that demonstrate how the area called the Candamo area (XCII) overlaps with the strict protection zone of the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, while the MD-XP-001 area (former Lot 76) overlaps with the direct use, historical-cultural, strict protection, recovery, wild, and tourist and recreational use zones of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve. A third zone, area XCIII, has not been evaluated in this report.

Sánchez specifies that the bill mentions three areas of gas prospecting but The impact of each of these on the protected natural areas that have been mentioned is not detailed.. “Important information is omitted from citizens and other congressmen,” he says.

“The initiative seeks to generate an exception for hydrocarbon activity to be carried out in three protected natural areas: two national parks and the Amarakaeri communal reserve. This exception is a key point of controversy“says Sánchez and adds that The areas where gas exploitation would take place “are considered the ‘heart’ of the protected natural areaswhere no type of extractive activity is allowed due to its high biodiversity.”

The report prepared by SPDA explains that in the case of national parks they are the categories with the highest level of protection within protected natural areas due to their high biodiversity value. “These categories of areas do not allow the extraction of natural resources, nor modifications or transformations of the natural environment.” In this case, it is the Manu and Bahuaja Sonene national parks that would be threatened. “In national parks, current legislation and international treaties prohibit any type of extractive activity.. The bill, by proposing an exception for parks such as El Manu and Bahuaja Sonene, would go against these regulations.”

Sánchez also explains that within the protected areas there is zoning that ranges from total restrictions to allowing various uses of resources. The most restrictive zoning is strict protection zoning. “A space where nothing can be done because there is the greatest example of biodiversity in the protected natural area.” In the case of the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, he adds, the overlap occurs precisely with the strict protection zone.. “The entry of activities into strict protection zones is a situation that has not happened before in our country, so we could not magnify the environmental impacts and that is worrying”.

Juan Luis Dammert mentions that the hydrocarbon industry is in decline in Peru and that to recover ground, “One of their strategies is to enter protected natural areas, such as Bahuaja Sonene, where it is known that there is a site”.

Mongabay Latam consulted the National Service of State Protected Areas (Sernanp) to find out its position on the issue, but until the closing of this edition we did not receive a response.

In relation to the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, the SPDA study indicates that The gas exploration area overlaps with two monuments declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation by the State. “Such zoning must be respected and uses established in accordance with its special nature,” Sánchez clarifies.

The SPDA expert points out that although this type of protected natural area allows certain types of extraction of natural resources, the bill omits that within the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve There are two sacred places that are cultural heritage: the Harakbut Face and the House of the Inca.

Bill to extract gas within protected areas is debated again in the Peruvian Congress

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