Deforestation in San Martín

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Tarapoto, the city where I live in northern Peru, sits in the large rural region of San Martín. The principle economic activity in the region is agriculture, with products such as rice, maize, and fruit being the regions major products both for local consumption and export to coastal cities, in particular the nation’s capital, Lima. Geographically, the region consists of two river valleys. The river Huallaga is the largest, flowing from the south of the region to the northeast and into the next region, where it feeds into the mighty Amazon. The river Mayo (which is featured in the graphic at the top of each page of my blog) is the other major river, which flows from the northwest and into the Huallaga in the north of the region.

There are wide ranging ecological issues facing the San Martín region. Perhaps the most significant of these is an ongoing drought that is threatening crops and harvests, as well as water supplies in some parts of the region, and could threaten to expand to the whole region. The amount of rainfall in February was significantly lower than the usual. February is traditionally a rainy month. Although it is predicted by the Peruvian government’s meteorological department to end in March, it has been a cause for concern for many people. The authorities assert that the cause of drought is the ongoing destruction of the regions forests. It is estimated that 15 hectares of forest are destroyed every day in the region, and in the previous 36 years, over 1.3 million hectares, or 26.41% of the total forest area were destroyed according to a local ecological and economic study conducted by the ‘Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana’ in 2006. Destruction proceeded at a rate of 40 hectares a day, until the regional government began to take action. These estimates can be considered conservative, more recent media reports claim that up to 1.9 million hectares, in excess of a third of the regions forests have been logged, making San Martín the most deforested region in Peru.

Deforestation is increasingly a political issue. Environmental issues in general are widely forgotten by the people and the press, but as they begin to hold consequences for daily lives, the press at least, and the authorities are taking notice, although the issues remain very low in the conscience of the population. In spite of that, in January a new regional president, council and new mayors at almost all levels of regional and local government took office following elections in November 2006. The political party that assumed office in many cases was an independent regional party called ‘Nueva Amazonia’. This party came into office with strong commitments to tackle ecological issues such as deforestation. Whether they will make a difference is yet to be seen.

The effects of the destruction of the woodlands can increasingly be seen on the ground. Not just in monthly rainfall statistics, but also in natural springs, small rivers and brooks, some of which serve as the only source of water for some communities, which are beginning to dry up.

The causes of deforestation in the San Martín region vary. In the south of the region along the banks of the river Huallaga the development of new highways has enabled greater access to the forests, and the area has been settled by migrants, who are largely responsible for felling the trees. The authorities claim to be acting against this. A state of emergency declared in 2006 had the result of reducing the amount of felling. Meanwhile in the north, near to the city of Tarapoto, another growing problem is threatening supposedly protected forests. Here, people cut down areas hidden deeper in the mountainous jungle in order to grow primarily coca to meet growing international demand for cocaine. Whilst cultivation of coca is illegal in Peru, coca farmers are organised, and have the support of at least one major political party at the national level in Peruvian politics, not to mention the support of some sections of society. Coca is a cash crop that brings in much higher returns for a Peruvian farmer than traditional crops. As the authorities clamp down on farmers growing the plant on conventional farmland, the farmers are pushed into the forests to earn their living.

Western coca demand is driving the destruction of the Peruvian Amazon in the San Martín region. And in spite of international assistance to combat illegal cultivation of drugs in general and specifically here in San Martín, and even a recent visit to the region by Washington big-shots on such issues, the regional authorities are seen to do very little to tackle the issue.

By Robert Jones, March 2007.

Sources: Diario Ahora,; Via Television.

~ by Robert Jones on March 12, 2007.