- List of economic activities in the jungle
- Gold mining
- Oil extraction
- Wood
- tourism
- farming
- Forestry
- Narcotic drugs
- References
The economic activities of the Peruvian jungle are varied and important for its people. However, many of these activities are characterized mainly by their illegality.
The challenge is to provide means that allow economic and social development of the poor population in the area, without deforestation or depletion of natural resources.
Source: Flickr.com
The Amazon rainforest is the largest region in the country, with 57.5% of the entire territory, but with only 13% of Peru's population. Approximately 4 million inhabitants live here.
The Amazon River is the main transportation system for most natural resource exports. There are no roads due to the dense vegetation.
In the Peruvian jungle, the main city is Iquitos, with a population of 500,000. It is located north of the deep jungle on the Amazon River.
Today Iquitos is the center of operations for foreign and local companies that explore the area in search of basic products. Investments bring prosperity to the local population, but also put their natural resources at risk.
List of economic activities in the jungle
Gold mining
This is a highly controversial economic activity, as it brings wealth and economic development, but pollutes the environment.
Illegal gold mining is rampant in the Madre de Dios region of Peru and is extremely damaging to the environment. Individuals are mining more and more gold due to the exponential increase in prices for this product.
This price increase is driving many people unable to get jobs into the gold mining business due to the huge financial gain. With the Interoceanic Highway available, an estimated 30,000 miners are in operation without legal permits.
Oil extraction
Oil and gas are extracted from the ground. Through an oil pipeline, the oil is transported through the Andes to the refineries on the coast.
Oil extraction is a critical threat to the health of the Peruvian rainforest. Although the land is potentially rich in oil, there are also many indigenous peoples living in the Amazon rainforest.
In 2008, 150,000 square kilometers were set aside for oil drilling in the western Amazon, and today that number has grown exponentially to more than 730,000 square kilometers.
Direct destruction and deforestation come from the creation of access roads for oil and gas extraction. These roads then become catalysts for other illegal industries, such as logging and gold mining.
Furthermore, only 7% of the oil blocks have been extracted in the jungle, so there is potential for further illegal exploration in undiscovered areas.
Wood
Trees are a treasure of the Peruvian jungle. Mahogany, teak, chestnut, walnut, rosewood, and ebony are prized for their beauty and toughness.
Seeking to support local income in the Peruvian jungle, the government awarded non-transferable contracts to individual farmers to carry out small-scale logging activities.
However, the large logging companies soon began to pay these individual loggers to use their contracts, thus establishing a large-scale and illegal logging industry.
In recent decades, illegal logging has become a serious problem in the Peruvian Amazon. In 2012, the World Bank estimated that 80% of Peru's timber exports are extracted illegally.
This uncontrolled deforestation could negatively affect the habitats of indigenous tribes, Peruvian biodiversity and, of course, climate change.
Although it is understandable that illegal logging cannot be easily stopped in the Peruvian jungle, as it is an inaccessible area larger than Spain, the illegal export of timber is supposed to be more difficult.
However, the shipments are huge, although there are very few routes from the jungle to the coast.
tourism
Tourism is an important component of the region's economy. Tourists spend millions of dollars a year on accommodation, food, local products and services.
Opportunities for trade improve as transportation advances in the Amazon basin. The biggest challenge has been building reliable roads that won't be washed away by rain.
There are no bridges on the Amazon River or its tributaries, so the ferries make transportation more expensive. The Amazon River is vital for the transportation of residents and goods.
farming
Agriculture represents an important part of the economy of the region. Most of it is produced for export.
Agricultural products, which include bananas, soybeans, cocoa, coffee and corn, are produced on land that has previously been cleared.
Forestry
The Peruvian government has made serious efforts to protect its natural resources and wildlife, while stimulating its forest industry by assigning concessions for sustainable forest management.
However, Peru has not yet taken advantage of 60% of the country's land area covered by jungle. Infrastructure problems especially leave intact the enormous forestry potential of impoverished and illegal coca production areas.
Today, forest products include balsa wood, balata gum, rubber, and a variety of medicinal plants.
Among the latter, the cinchona plant stands out, from which quinine is derived. This is an antimalarial medicine.
Narcotic drugs
Since ancient times, the cultivation of coca leaves has a cultural and social significance for the indigenous peoples of Peru. The stimulating effects of the coca leaf are used for medical purposes and in traditional religious ceremonies.
Coca tea, legal in Peru and sold in all supermarkets, is recommended to travelers in the Andes to prevent and relieve symptoms of altitude sickness.
Coca flour, coca energy drinks and coca energy bars are also offered.
However, it is undeniable that most of the coca production is used for the cocaine industry. The illegal cultivation of coca leaves and also the production of cocaine in Peru has increased dramatically.
The Peruvian government's efforts to stop the problem have not shown positive effects. Therefore, in most of these impoverished regions, cocaine production is the only source of income for farmers.
Today, Peru is one of the main coca producers and also one of the main cocaine producers. The Peruvian authorities estimate that cocaine production for 2010 reached 330 tons.
References
- Lima Easy (2019). Peruvian Economy. Taken from: limaeasy.com.
- Discover Peru (2019). The Rainforest Economy. Taken from: discover-peru.org.
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2019). Peruvian Amazonia. Taken from: en.wikipedia.org.
- Save the Amazon Rainforest (2017). Amazon Rainforest Economic Importance. Taken from: amazon-rainforest.org.
- Nadia Drake (2018). Isolated Tribes and Forests Threatened by New Amazon Road. National Geographic. Taken from: news.nationalgeographic.com.