The Peruvian government is looking into making large-scale changes to its Environment Impact Assessments (EIA) after a review found significant problems with the vast majority of past reviews, reports the Inter Press Service. The news comes a few weeks after protests over a proposed gold and copper mine in the Andes left five people dead, including a 17-year-old boy.
Reviewing just over 200 random EIAs, the Peruvian government found that 86% lacked necessary information. Nearly three-quarters did not address whether or not studies included in the EIAs were actually admissible.
Environmental-related protests are a major problem in Peru as many citizens feel corporations are given free-reign.
“Unfortunately, the public does not trust in the impartiality of the government and believes that these ministries will always take the side of the companies,” lawyer Isabel Calle told Tierramérica. Calle, who has recently published a book on the issue, argues that EIAs should be reviewed by Peru’s Ministry of Environment and not the industry ministries, as is the current practice.
The $4.8 billion Conga mining project is set to destroy four Andean mountain lakes, which locals depend on the lakes for agriculture and livestock. The majority of the project is owned by the U.S.-based, Newmont Mining Company, which says it will create reservoirs for the lakes’ water, but critics fear the water will be contaminated by mine waste. Newmont also runs the nearby Yanacocha gold mine, the world’s second largest, which locals say has polluted local water sources.
Large-scale protests, which have been met with government troops, have failed to stop the Conga project.
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