Minister of the Environment Vladimiro Huaroc Portocarrero announced today that the administration of President Keiko Fujimori Higuchi is preparing a “very rapid” response plan for the coming months to combat illegal mining, which is affecting the country’s protected natural areas.
In statements to RPP, he warned that illegal mining is one of the three primary threats to the Peruvian Amazon, alongside deforestation and the illegal wildlife trade.
“This is not just a Peruvian issue; it is transnational, as illegal miners from Ecuador and Colombia are also, involvedwhich complicates the situation. However, the executive branch as a whole is preparing a very rapid response plan for the coming months,” he stated.
Minister Huaroc noted that over the last three months, the Ministry of the Environment (Minam)—in coordination with other sectors, including the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Armed Forces, and the National Police—has carried out more than 50 operations to remove the majority of illegal miners from protected natural areas.
“There are still some remaining groups we are working to address in Tambopata, as well as others in parts of the Amazon—specifically in the northern Alto Nanay region, where there is a very strong presence of illegal mining,” he explained.
El Niño phenomenon
Regarding preparations for the El Niño phenomenon, Minister Huaroc stated that the Ministry of the Environment has developed and is currently implementing a contingency plan to safeguard protected natural areas, which account for 25% of the national territory. Read the article
"In the high-Andean regions of central and southern Peru, where the impact will manifest through droughts, one of the animals that will suffer the most is the vicuña of Pampas Galeras. Likely due to a lack of rainfall, they may face a food shortage; for some months now, dry fodder has been stored in silos to be distributed as needed in the areas where they typically live—we are talking about 250,000 vicuñas," he said.
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Published: 11/9/2026