Today, the webinar “#RecuperoMiMar: Civil Society’s Response to the Environmental Emergency” was held, presenting a report on the use of funds raised with the support of citizens and businesses since the start of this campaign. As is known, #RecoverMySea It was created with the objective of providing a timely response to the environmental emergency caused by the oil spill on the coasts of the Peruvian sea in January of this year.
During the event, Claudia Godfrey, Director of Innovation and Strategic Management at Profonanpe, participated, along with representatives from allied environmental organizations, including Cynthia Céspedes, Oceans Program Manager at Conservation International; Miguel Pacheco, Policy Director at WWF Peru; and Daniella Biffi, Researcher at EcOceánica. They recounted the environmental emergency in Ventanilla, the impact on our ocean and wildlife, and how civil society voluntarily joined the #RecuperoMiMar campaign to contribute to the cleanup and mitigation of damage to the coastal marine ecosystem. Regarding this, Claudia Godfrey commented, “The response from civil society was excellent. We raised 149,000 soles from citizens and businesses, which, combined with the support of international cooperation, allowed us to reach and exceed our goal.»
The funds raised were channeled through Profonanpe to acquire the necessary equipment for the Sernanp and Serfor teams working in the disaster zone. Yeselia Cano, Sernanp's Supervision and Monitoring Coordinator, and Jessica Oliden, Technical Administrator of Serfor's Lima Forestry and Wildlife Technical Administration – who joined the event as representatives of the State – shared how the #RecuperoMiMar initiative was perceived from the perspective of their respective institutions, and expressed their gratitude for the campaign's prompt response and that of civil society. Jessica Oliden emphasized that “The initiative #RecuperoMiMar It helped us a lot with the staff's duties for the rehabilitation of the affected wildlife. However, this is still hard work.»
Private companies also participated in #RecuperoMiMar: Peggy Guzmán, Talent and Culture Manager at Cementos Pacasmayo, and Susana Zárate, Head of Research and Development for Tren Projects, shared their perspectives on the campaign and explained how the business sector supported the initiative through donations of work equipment and monetary aid. Peggy Guzmán stated: «When we saw the news of the disaster, we decided to join immediately. We allocated the resources we had for volunteering to this campaign, to help in the recovery of our sea.»
At the close of the event, Bruno Monteferri, Director of Conservamos por Naturaleza at SPDA, emphasized the importance of the campaign, because #RecuperoMiMar is the first nationwide initiative and the first fundraising platform for our coastal marine ecosystem. Furthermore, this coalition has demonstrated that businesses and citizens can take an active role in conserving our environment and participate in collaborative spaces for the sustainable development of our country.»
See the details of the expenditure execution at: www.recuperomimar.com
