Loreto environmentalists urge action against illegal mining

Environmental experts and activists in Loreto, Peru, are calling for more robust measures to combat illegal mining in the Amazon, particularly within the Nanay River basin. Gustavo Suárez de Freitas, regional director for the Earth Innovation Institute, emphasized that the state must target the financing sources behind illicit extraction rather than focusing solely on territorial control.

Suárez de Freitas also highlighted the importance of the 'productive conservation' model used in Regional Conservation Areas (ACR), which allows local communities to utilize resources sustainably while protecting ecosystems from third-party invasions.

Simultaneously, environmental activist José Manuyama has urged Senator Mirtha Vásquez to extend the suspension of new mining concessions in the Nanay River basin, noting that current protections are set to expire in November. Manuyama also criticized the government's recent 60-day state of emergency in the Alto Nanay district, arguing that the decree focuses too heavily on security and lacks specific interventions to address the environmental, sanitary, and productive damage caused by illegal mining.