The economic activities of the peruvian jungle they are varied and important to their people. However, many of these activities are mainly characterized by their illegality, such as mining.
The challenge is to provide means that allow the economic and social development of the poor population of the area, without deforestation or depletion of natural resources.
The Amazon jungle is the largest region in the country, with 62% of the entire territory, but with only 8% of the population of Peru.
The Amazon River is the main transportation system for most natural resource exports. There are no roads due to the dense vegetation.
In the Peruvian jungle, the main city is Iquitos, with a population of more than 500,000. It is located north of the deep Amazon jungle.
Iquitos today is the center of operations for foreign and local companies that explore the area in search of basic products. The investments bring prosperity to the local population, but also endanger their natural resources.
List of economic activities in the jungle
gold mining
This is a highly controversial economic activity, as it brings wealth and economic development, but pollutes the environment.
Illegal gold mining is rampant in the Madre de Dios region of Peru and extremely damaging to the environment. Individuals are mining more and more gold due to the exponential increase in gold prices.
This price increase drives gold mining, and many people unable to get jobs are miners. With the Interoceanic Highway available, an estimated 30,000 miners are operating without legal permits.
Oil extraction
Oil and gas are extracted from the ground. Oil is transported through a pipeline through the Andes to refineries on the coast.
Oil extraction is a critical threat to the health of the Peruvian jungle. Although the land is potentially rich in oil, there are also many indigenous people who live in the Amazon rainforest.
Direct destruction and deforestation come from the creation of access roads for the extraction of oil and gas. These roads then become catalysts for other illegal industries, such as logging and gold mining.
Furthermore, only 7% of the oil blocks in the jungle have been extracted, so there is potential for further illegal exploration in undiscovered areas.
Wood
The trees are a treasure of the Peruvian jungle. Mahogany, teak, chestnut, walnut, rosewood, and ebony are prized for their beauty and hardness.
Seeking to support local income in the Peruvian jungle, the government awarded non-transferable contracts to individual farmers for small-scale logging activities.
However, large logging companies soon began paying these individual loggers for using their contracts, thus establishing a large-scale, illegal logging industry.
This has generated serious environmental problems. A huge percentage of Peru’s timber exports are illegally logged. This uncontrolled deforestation could negatively affect indigenous peoples, Peruvian biodiversity and, of course, climate change.
While it is understandable that illegal logging cannot be easily stopped in the Peruvian jungle, as it is an inaccessible area larger than Spain, the illegal export of timber is supposed to be more difficult. However, the shipments are huge, although there are very few routes from the jungle to the coast.
Tourism
Tourism is an important component of the region’s economy. Tourists spend millions of dollars a year on accommodation, food, local products and services.
Opportunities for trade improve as transportation in the Amazon Basin advances. The biggest challenge has been building reliable roads that don’t get washed away by rain.
There are no bridges on the Amazon River or its tributaries, so ferries make transportation more expensive. The Amazon River is vital for the transportation of residents and goods.
Agriculture
Agriculture represents a relevant part of the region’s economy. Most of it is produced for export.
Agricultural products, including bananas, soybeans, cocoa, coffee, and corn, are produced on land that has previously been cleared.
Forestry
The Peruvian government has made serious efforts to protect its natural resources and wildlife, while stimulating its forestry industry through the allocation of concessions for sustainable forest management.
However, Peru has not yet taken advantage of the 60% of the country’s land area covered by jungle. Especially the infrastructure problems leave intact the enormous forestry potential of impoverished and illegal coca production areas.
Today, forest products include balsa wood, goma balatá, rubber, and a variety of medicinal plants.
Among the latter, the cinchona plant stands out, from which quinine, a medicine against malaria, is derived.
narcotics
Since ancient times, the cultivation of coca leaves has a cultural and social significance for the indigenous peoples of Peru. The stimulant effects of the coca leaf are used for medical purposes and in traditional religious ceremonies.
Legal in Peru and sold in all supermarkets, coca tea is recommended for travelers in the Andes to prevent and relieve symptoms of altitude sickness. Coca flour, bars and coca energy drinks are also offered.
However, it is undeniable that most of the coca production is used for the cocaine industry. The illegal cultivation of coca leaves and also the production of cocaine in Peru has increased dramatically.
The efforts of the Peruvian government to stop the problem have not shown positive effects. Therefore, in most of these impoverished regions, cocaine production is the farmers’ only source of income.
Today, Peru is one of the main producers of coca and cocaine.
Other activities
Fish farming: it is used to cultivate fish on farms, especially dorado, gamitana, paiche and other species. Livestock: sheep, cattle, goats, pigs and poultry are raised, selected and reproduced for human consumption and for artisanal and industrial activities. The jungle is deforested for this activity. Crafts: Clay vessels, textiles (blankets, ponchos, bags) are produced in the Peruvian jungle, and wicker objects are made.
References
Peruvian Economy. Recovered from limaeasy.com.
The Rainforest Economy. Retrieved from discover-peru.org.