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Lima, MAY 5 2022 Joint effort of the State and business leaders will allow for efficient and safe environmental remediation

During the third day of conferences at Rumbo a PERUMIN – Consensuses for the progress of central Peru, the roundtable “Environmental liabilities: experiences, challenges, and opportunities” was held, featuring representatives of the State, civil society, and academia.

Álvaro Barrenechea, vice-president of the Peruvian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, addressed the issue of remediation and investment promotion based on a dual concept, that is, a joint effort of the State and companies to develop an efficient and safe environmental liability management plan.

“Since the 1990s, we have seen the State playing a more active role in the closure and remediation of environmental liabilities. However, with the support of the private sector, these tasks could be done more efficiently and in less time, thus avoiding endless lawsuits with responsible third parties and those affected,” he explained.

Moreover, Barrenechea underscored the importance of disseminating, at a communications level, the actions taken by the public company Activos Mineros, since it sets an example of how to intervene mining environmental liabilities.

ENERGY AND MINES COMMISSION

On the other hand, congressman for Puno Carlos Zeballos said that the Energy and Mines Commission is working to make the new DNA that mining must have under the social responsibility approach known to everyone, so as to work together with community members, while respecting and preserving the environment.

“The idea is that we need the government to work on prevention policies to provide more resources and the necessary legal framework to accelerate the environmental remediation processes, but we also need to have companies committed to preserving the environment,” he claimed.

REMEDIATION POLICIES

Antonio Montenegro, general manager of Activos Mineros, stated that, based on the experience of the intervention of environmental liabilities, it is necessary that, in the future, the budget be executed on a multi-year basis, with a view to achieving efficient remediation in the long term.

“The government did not plan a direct environmental remediation intervention, which is why it does not have, for example, the legal capacity to open a closure plan,” remarked Antonio Montenegro.

INVESTMENT AND EFFICIENT SERVICE

Finally, Marita Chappuis, consultant on economic and environmental affairs related to mining, stressed that work must be done, particularly in terms of financing, because, although some State entities received a significant investment, the service is deficient.

“I think they should be allocated an amount that will allow them to operate efficiently, and the rest should go to the environmental remediation fund. There are many communities in the highlands that are waiting for remediation work to be done, but they still have not received the financial means,” she concluded.

Newsletter PERUMIN 35

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