June 21, 2022.– National and international experts in environmental remediation participated in the discussion: How to remediate sites contaminated by hydrocarbons in the Peruvian Amazon?, organized in the city of Iquitos on June 17, at the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment.
During the event, different perspectives on solutions to the underlying problem were shared: the negative impacts that hydrocarbon activities have generated for more than 40 years in the basins of the Tigre, Pastaza, Corrientes and Marañón rivers, the most important oil extraction zone in the Loreto region.
The specialists, after visiting the impacted areas, agreed that one of the most important challenges to address is access to these places, often made difficult by the rugged geography or the lack of transport routes.
Experts visiting the remediation zone.
«After this visit to the Peruvian Amazon, we can say that the most significant challenge is the logistics required to reach and remediate sites impacted by hydrocarbons. Oil companies must ensure that these remote areas are accessible both during and after oil production.«"Faisal Kahn, a professor at Texas A&M University, pointed out,",
Jorge Seminario, a professor of Chemical Engineering at the same university, shares this opinion, noting that:“Prevention is cheaper than cure. In that sense, operating companies should be required to leave all the logistics and infrastructure deployed for their operations to the country. If it has been accessible for them, then it should also be accessible for the country. This should be a legal obligation. With that in place, it would be easier to remedy the situation.«.
This event was developed as part of the actions of the Contingency Fund for Environmental Remediation, whose administration falls to the Environmental Liabilities Program of Profonanpe, the most important private environmental fund in the country, and allowed to learn about the different approaches to the environmental problems of the Peruvian Amazon, with the expectation that they can be part of the planning strategies of the authorities of the sector, in the short term.
About Profonanpe:
Profonanpe has established itself as Peru's leading private environmental fund. Since its founding, it has been characterized by its specialization in creating, developing, and implementing innovative processes for fund management and administration, as well as participatory management and private sector involvement, for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Furthermore, since 2020, through its Environmental Liabilities program, it has assumed the Technical, Administrative, and Financial Secretariat of the Environmental Remediation Contingency Fund.
