Overview
- The Observatorio de Minería Ilegal (OMI) estimated the illicit gold economy at about $11.5 billion and urged the next government to take urgent action in its first 100 days.
- Local and park officials confirmed growing incursions into protected areas, with Puno authorities reporting at least 18 illegal mining sites and about 500 hectares deforested around Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene.
- Park rangers and prosecutors say miners are using mercury and heavy machinery that has contaminated rivers and fish and forced wildlife to move, a public-health threat noted by Sernanp and community leaders.
- Experts blame recent laws, the REINFO registry and cuts to environmental prosecutors and park budgets for weakening enforcement and creating legal cover for informal operators.
- Observers want immediate steps such as closing REINFO, funding specialized environmental prosecutors, banning river mining and phasing out mercury while the presidential runoff candidates face rising pressure from Amazonian communities.