The Peruvian Congress will establish an Environment Ministry and an Environmental Prosecutor's Office in August, announced lawmaker Fabiola Morales on Apr. 16. “Both bodies will be pillars of the National Environmental Management System. The ministry, to be created based on the current National Environmental Council, CONAM, (established in 1995), will develop state policy for the sector, while the prosecutor will be in charge of investigating reports of violations of ecological laws and resolving disputes,” she said.

Some legislators said the existing environmental agencies were sufficient, and warned that the new institutions could lead to unnecessary bureaucratic expansion.

But Morales argues that giving ministerial status to CONAM, with a voice and vote in the Cabinet, represents an important political advance and will translate into greater executive capacity.