QUICK & PULSE

"The impact of extending the deadlines for formalizing mining will be devastating" | INTERVIEW

With just four days left until the end of 2024, the Peruvian government published the law extending the deadline for the process of formalizing the integrated mining activity in small-scale and artisanal mining, known as REINFO, despite the questions because only 2,000 miners out of the more than 84,000 registered in the Comprehensive Mining Formalization Registry (REINFO) have completed the formalization process in 14 years of implementing the strategy since 2010.

The environmental law expert César Ipenza described this new extension as "nefarious and negative" because, in his view, it will increase informal and illegal mining in the South American country, mainly affecting the Amazon biome.

—What impact will the government's decision to extend the mining formalization registry, known as REINFO, have on the Amazon?

—The impact of extending the deadlines for formalizing mining will be devastating and negative because we will see an increase in informal and illegal mining activities, which then use this registration to be able to trade and launder illegal gold. We will see an increase in regions like Huánuco, Loreto, Amazonas, and other Amazonian regions that suffer the effects of this illegal activity every day.

—Sometimes there is confusion between informal and illegal mining. There is a lot of mining in the Amazon that cannot be formalized simply because it is in prohibited areas, is that right?

—That's right. The truth is that it cannot be formalized, mining within protected natural areas or operations that are over bodies of water such as rivers, Amazonian lakes, because that will always be illegal mining. Moreover, there are operations that do not advance due to the high impact they have and also due to the little responsibility and commitment of the miners. So, basically, what this formalization process does is continue extending the destruction of our Amazon for the benefit of certain economic groups.

—Only until 2018, illegal mining operations have deforested more than 30,000 hectares of forest in Madre de Dios. However, the damage is greater. Is there a calculation of the environmental damage caused by informal mining in the Amazon regions over the 14 years of REINFO?

—Well, in figures, we have more than 150 thousand hectares (deforested), which is an outdated report, but I think we shouldn't just look at the issue of deforestation, but also the impact that chemicals used in these operations, such as mercury, have. Mercury has been considered by international organizations as the most dangerous substance in the world because it causes irreversible damage to human beings and general health.

Then, Peru uses more than 300 tons of mercury annually, which ends up in bodies of water, rivers, and ultimately in fish that are consumed by people, but also by wildlife. This is causing damage that is not being quantified, and we will have real problems in the medium term.

—By the end of 2024, the Executive presented the proposal to regulate the mining activities of small and artisanal producers, known as the MAPE Law, what fundamental changes should this law have to prevent the recurrence of the REINFO problem?

—Well, in principle, beyond any regulation that I, as a lawyer, disagree with, that the law alone can resolve something, economic resources must be added for real supervision, which is currently under the responsibility of the regional governments. But in addition, this new MAPE Law, in some way, cleans up the system and states that the competencies of formal mining will be assumed by the same Ministry of Energy and Mines, which I consider an appropriate measure. However, something that is absent in the proposal is the issue of supervision and control of the processing plants.

I believe it is necessary to be sincere about that mechanism where, in practice, there are plants that represent large-scale mining and appear as small miners. The other is to ensure the traceability of gold, that is, that there is a true record where what is being produced also matches what is being exported. And we do not have that mechanism.

What actions should the government take to truly combat illegal mining?

The first step is that there must be a genuine and real commitment from the Executive Power and the Congress to fight against illegal mining, which currently does not exist. The facilitation mechanism and the co-governance that the Executive has with the Congress allow impunity to prevail. We do not even have an integrated strategy to combat illegal mining.

On the other hand, neither the conditions nor the economic resources have been provided in the last public budget to address this activity that requires significant resources for supervision and formalization.

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Main Image: According to the USAID Prevent Project, there are 31,390 people working in informal mining and 9,323 in illegal mining. Photo: MINDEF