"Critics decry controversial bill that loosens deforestation restrictions in Peru", 09 February 2024

...A new amendment to Peru’s forest and wildlife law is being criticized by opponents as unconstitutional and a step backward in forest protection after it came into effect Jan. 10 following approval by Congress. The revised law (Law 29763) legalizes agricultural activities without the need for certain environmental evaluations or technical studies on private properties deemed “agriculture exclusion areas”...

However, according to Ricardo Pérez Bailón, Peru communications adviser at Amazon Watch, the modification poses a huge risk to the country’s forests, including the Amazon Rainforest, and Indigenous peoples. The modification will eliminate the need to obtain authorization for forest zoning on private lands (determining which zones will be used for agriculture and forest conservation), a change enacted without consulting communities whose ancestral lands could potentially be affected.

In addition, there will no longer be a requirement for landowners or businesses to prove they previously received these authorizations, meaning those who have already carried out illegal deforestation in conservation zones will not be penalized...

Another change included in the bill is that land use authorizations will no longer be a matter for the Ministry of the Environment — a government body that promotes the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources — but rather, the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation, which promotes the development of agricultural activities, will deal with these authorizations...