Ecobreves – PERU: Mining Law Includes Satellite Monitoring

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

LIMA, Sep 3 2005 (IPS) - A law passed recently in Peru states that mining companies will have to submit to rigorous standards for minimizing environmental harm and must present financial backing to ensure that once their operations end they will not leave behind contaminants. And, beginning in 2006, a satellite monitoring system will assess their compliance with the law.

“Peru is becoming part of the Latin American vanguard when it comes to environmental legislation for mining,” César Rodríguez, head of mining at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, told Tierramérica.

The government “will invest approximately 150,000 dollars in (satellite) equipment, and each company will have to contribute 20,000 to 30,000 dollars to install the corresponding monitoring equipment,” he added.

In recent months, conflicts have been frequent between the mining companies and the local peasant communities, who are protesting the pollution of the water the use for irrigation.