Addressing Threats of Oil and Gas Development in Peru

Community in the Peruvian Amazon © Lisa Henke/TNC; Petroleum waste on road © Andy Drumm/TNC

Another South America development project aims to protect marine life in Venezuela's Caribbean

In Venezuela, the Conservancy is providing technical support to the Institute of Technology and Marine Science (INTECMAR) of Venezuela's Simón Bolívar University through a project with the country's state petroleum company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.) with the objective of identifying sensitive marine ecosytems and providing conservation guidelines for 64,000 square miles of Venezuela's Caribbean that are being prospected for oil and gas.

Once priority sites have been ascertained, experts from INTECMAR and the Conservancy, together with other organizations and marine experts, plan to propose conservation strategies and recommend best practices for petroleum operations in the zone. This work follows the Conservancy's Conservation by Design framework and is modeled after guidelines established by the Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI), a venture between conservation groups, including the Conservancy, and energy firms to make harvesting hydrocarbons more environmentally friendly.

Conservancy and Peruvian partners promote dialogue between stakeholders

The concurrence of energy needs and protection of important areas for biodiversity has posed challenges for both the energy industry and the conservation community in Peru. As Peru modernizes and expands its economy, new foreign companies are increasingly interested in the country and its potential oil-gas resources to meet the international demand for low-cost oil and gas products. For conservation organizations, it is necessary to find a firm voice for biodiversity conservation issues within Peru, and to achieve a balance between the potential threats posed by oil and gas and the opportunities to use financial resources for conservation efforts.

Oil and gas reserves are found in some of the most ecologically sensitive areas of Peru, such as the Amazon and Pacific Ocean. Whereas some of these areas were too costly to access in the past, the current high prices of oil and gas now justify exploration. The delicate balance between hydrocarbon exploration and drilling, and conservation of critical ecosystems can only be achieved by establishing strict and specific environmental conditions for resources, including strengthening national regulatory frameworks and ensuring benefits and compensations for the affected areas and the people who live near them.

What the Conservancy is Doing
The Nature Conservancy has developed a collaborative project with the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA), a Conservancy partner since 1990, to tackle legislative challenges and ensure a national Peruvian policy framework that supports the conservation of the country’s natural heritage. The current project represents timely and critical support to safeguard natural protected areas in the long term. The Conservancy and SPDA are working closely to strengthen the capacity of civil society and the Peruvian government’s National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) in order to adopt consensual positions with regard to oil- and gas-related activities in natural protected areas. INRENA is in charge of natural resources such as water, forests, wildlife, and specifically Peru’s national system of protected areas. This project seeks to work along with INRENA to maintain a balanced position and create a means for dialogue and coordination among stakeholders. The Conservancy and SPDA will promote better approaches and improved practices for oil and gas development and will also propose financial mechanisms to the government and the industry to obtain additional funding for conservation.