Peru

The demand for energy in Peru is increasing. Most of the agricultural and forest waste is burned in the fields without any energy recovery. A project funded by the Global Environment Facility seeks to remove the barriers to commercial use of bio fuels and non-wood cellulose. This is a substitution for electricity generation based on the use of fossil fuels and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Peru is located in South America. It lies at 10 00 S, 76 00 W and has a total area of 1,285,216 square kilometres. The climate and geography in Peru is varied. The climate is tropical in the east and dry in the west. Its natural hazards include earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides and mild volcanic activity. There is a western coastal plain and eastern lowland jungle of the Amazon Basin. The high and rugged Andes are located in the centre of Peru. Its natural resources include copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, iron ore, coal and natural gas.

Sources: Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook, Peru (as at 11 November 2009); Global Environment Facility. Obtaining bio fuels and non-wood cellulose fibre from agricultural residues/waste. Project Brief.

Peru has submitted only one National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in June 2001. The Communication established the National GHG Inventory, as well as it proposed measures to be taken in the agricultural sector (including land use and land use change and forestry) that will have an impact on climate change. Furthermore, it gives a description of the programs and policies with an impact on climate change, an overview of climate change adaptation measures and financial and technological limitations to confront climate change. A Second National Communication is in the works and scheduled to be published in 2009.

In May 2008 Peru announced the inception of its first Ministry of the Environment (MINAM, Spanish acronym) which assumed the responsibilities previously held by CONAM and has among its mandates the coordination of the national climate change strategy and adaptation and mitigation measures related to it. The Ministry of the Environment is constituted by the Vice Ministry of Environmental Management and the Vice Ministry of Strategic Development of Natural Resources that is the DNA on climate change to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Peru.

Additionally, the National Commission on Climate Change was created in 2001 and it is made up by twenty members from the public and private sector who work on issues of adaptation and mitigation and its goal is to coordinate with the different sectors the fulfillment of the obligations to the UNFCCC.

Source: World Bank Country Notes on Climate Change Aspects in Agriculture. Accessed on: 24 May 2010 at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:22077094~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:258554,00.html

For additional information and for the complete Peru - Country Note on Climate Change Aspects in Agriculture refer to the World Bank Country Notes.

The Country Notes are a useful tool for organizing in a systematic way the available information on climate change and agriculture in each country. They provide a brief summary of information pertinent to both climate change and agriculture in 19 countries in LAC, with focus on policy developments (action plans and programs), institutional make-up, specific adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as social aspects and insurance mechanisms to address risk in the sector.