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Critics decry controversial bill that loosens deforestation restrictions in Peru

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A new amendment to Peru’s forest and wildlife law is being criticized by opponents as unconstitutional and a step backward in forest protection after it came into effect Jan. 10 following approval by Congress. The revised law (Law 29763) legalizes agricultural activities without the need for certain environmental evaluations or technical studies on private properties deemed “agriculture exclusion areas.” Supporters of the motion, including president of the Agrarian Commission, María Zeta Chunga, say it will bring stability to the Peruvian agricultural sector and offer legal security to farmers. Peru’s Congress, which is currently controlled by members in favor of agribusiness, approved this modification on Dec. 14 with 70 votes in favor, 35 against and five abstaining. Alfonso Bustamente Canny, a food exporter and president of an economic powerhouse institution, the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP), sent a letter to the president of Congress the day before the vote. The letter said that not approving the law would be “a flagrant violation of the right to work,” would endanger job stability and discourage investment in this key sector for economic growth. However, according to Ricardo Pérez Bailón, Peru communications adviser at Amazon Watch, the modification poses a huge risk to the country’s forests, including the Amazon Rainforest, and Indigenous peoples. The modification will eliminate the need to obtain authorization for forest zoning on private lands (determining which zones will be used for agriculture and forest conservation), a change enacted without consulting communities whose ancestral lands could potentially be affected.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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