The threats facing the Peruvian Amazon

Forests in the Peruvian Amazon saw some of the highest levels of atmospheric mercury pollution in Latin America. Studies showed that these figures were caused by increasing mining activity inside the forest, underlining that no piece of land is safe from climate change and human interference. 

According to the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP), over 782,880 square kilometers of the Peruvian territory are biogeographically considered as part of the rainforest. Peru’s share of the biome is the second-largest in South America — accounting for 13 percent of the total area — only behind Brazil.

But large chunks of these forests are under threat. A report published by Nature Communications on January 28 alerted that intact forests in the Peruvian Amazon which are close to gold mining sites receive “extremely...