Journal Peru

A future economic model handling the logging industry in Peru’s Amazon rainforest will unite exporting companies and native communities with new profit-sharing regulations, announced Peru’s Exporters Association (ADEX) on Monday.

“According to this model, the exporting company assumes the responsibility of wood utilization, transformation and commercialization whereas members of native communities and the proprietors of the timber resources are put in charge of monitoring and supervising deforestation with the assistance of designated technical, professional experts”, ADEX detailed.

According to the association, this model tries to consolidate one of the more viable economic alternatives for improving indigenous life quality and the fight against illegal deforestation.

“Establishing private investment in inaccessible, poverty-stricken areas where the population doesn’t have sufficient capital and infrastructure to take advantage of their sustainable forest resource, will help to reach these objectives”, ADEX emphasized.

The new model may also boost chances for the approval of pending U.S. Free Tade agreements with Peru and Colombia. The democratic majority in the United States Congress has always demanded amendments or renegotiation of paragraphs related to this subject so that “both countries adjust to international standards for the protection of biodiversity”.

About a month ago, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) joined Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), Congressman Jerry Weller (R-IL) and a broad coalition of supporters from environmental, industry, and labor groups to announce the introduction of the Legal Timber Protection Act, which bans the use of illegally-harvested timber and wood products.

“Not only will this bill protect the world’s most vulnerable forests, it will also help those nations that are aggressively working to curb illegal logging within their own borders,” said Rep. Wexler. “By reducing the demand for illegally logged timber we will provide a great boost in the fight against corruption, help stem human rights abuses, and limit the environmental degradation that accompanies illegal logging. The bill will also provide a significant boost to U.S. industry that is forced to compete with these illegal imports”, an official press release states.

“Illegal logging not only destroys rainforests and wildlife habitat but it destroys communities,” said Rep. Weller. “Criminal elements lay waste to rural areas of many undeveloped countries, destroying the economic future of these areas as well as changing the area’s climate. We must work together in a global effort to close the door to the marketplace for products made from illegal logging”.

In a recent letter sent to U.S. Trade representative Susan Schwab, Blumenauer complained that a large part of the timber entering the U.S. market from Peru and Colombia “comes from illegal deforestation, generating billion dollar losses every year for the American lumber industry”.

A first example of this new model is exporting company Forestal Venao which received a certificate by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for its efficient handling of 82,853 hectares of forest pertaining to the native communities Sawawo Hito 40 and Nueva Azuaya, located in the district of Yurua in the Atalaya province (Ucayali).

“By issuing this certificate, this company becomes the first in receiving such recognition in Peru”, ADEX said.

Forestal Venao has made a short-term commitment to incorporate other native communities such as Santa Rosa, Nueva Victoria, El Dorado and Flor de Shengari, all located in Peru’s Ucayali region, with which they would incorporate 86,300 more hectares of rainforest.

The implementation of standards required for this certification includes the technical supervision of the “Project for Poverty Reduction and Relief (Project PARA).

Financing and technical attendance were left in charge of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Peru, which has the objective of promoting sustainable business while minimizing social influences and environmental impact, particularly in the case of the Amazon rainforest.

Wolfy Becker

A German tourist died on Sunday near the Peruvian city of Cusco after she apparently lost control of her rented motorcycle and fell into a 300 meter deep ravine. The German consulate has initiated legal proceedings to return her body to her home country.

46-year-old Monika Schmittlein, from Hueckelhoven, a small city located close to the German-Dutch border, passed away instantly. The accident occurred around 3 p.m. near Pampa Conga in the district of Limatambo (Anta province), at kilometer 906 of the Cusco-Abancay highway. She was accompanied by three other bike riders, one German and two Swiss nationals all traveling on separate bikes. Cusco’s high mountain rescue unit rescued the body.

Schmittlein was an experienced and accomplished motorcyclist who loved small Italian “Moto Morini” bikes. She was also an avid traveler who in the past explored countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece.

Article by Wolfy Becker

Two missing hikers survived seven weeks in a South American jungle in French-Guiana. Their saviors described the involuntary adventure of the two 34-year-old Frenchmen as a “miracle”. The 34-year-olds survived on seeds, frogs, turtles, beetles and tarantulas.

Only one of them, Loic Pillois (Pictured), was in a condition that allowed him to return home to his family in France. The other hiker, Guilhem Nayral, suffered from exhaustion and major weight loss and was committed to a local hospital where he has to recover for a few more days.

The authorities in French-Guiana, located on the northern coast of South America between Suriname and Brazil, launched about 50 helicopter flights during a three-week search but were unsuccessful. Search efforts were suspended at the end of March.

Police spokesman Martin André said Pillois eventually made it on foot to a little village on Thursday, leaving his friend behind because he was too weak to continue. Rescue helicopters were sent to pick up his friend who, according to the authorities, was resting in a dense part of the forest, under trees measuring up to 40m tall.

“Wir found him laying on the floor. He was short of breath, dehydrated and emaciated”, André said. “When I took him into my arms he started crying.” Pillois still had enough reserves left to climb into the helicopter on his own but Nayral had to be carried on a stretcher.

The two embarked on the hike form the central city of Saül in mid-February and was supposed last only ten days. They did not carry a GPS device or a satellite phone, only a few maps served as a navigation tool.

Pillois’ wife Angélique said she was never really worried about her husband and his friend. “Five years ago they explored the same area together with an insect expert. He showed them which larvae are eatable in case you get lost in the jungle”.

Guilhem Nayrals brother Gilles said both had built a small shack in which they waited for their rescue. When they heard the helicopters to the north, they lighted a fire but the rescue missions failed to notice them. After three weeks they grew impatient and decided to continue on foot in search of civilization“.

French Guiana consists of two main geographical regions: a coastal strip where the majority of the people live, and dense, near-inaccessible rainforest which gradually rises to the modest peaks of the Tumac-Humac mountains along the Brazilian frontier. Since it is a part of France, it is also a part of the European Union, the largest part in area outside Europe.

Article by Wolfy Becker

Members of New York’s “East Village Opera Company” (EVOC), a popular group that blends rock with classic music, announced they are preparing a record production for which they could team up with Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez.

“I will probably be ashamed singing next to Juan Diego Flórez because he has such a great voice. But the possibility of recording a CD together is really shaping up because we both have the same record label”, singer Tyley Ross revealed.

The band’s instrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter chimed in by adding that another Peruvian singer, Ima Sumac, has one of the best voices he has ever listened to. Nicknamed the “Peruvian Songbird”, she is known for her astonishing 4 1/2 octave vocal range.

The band from New York will give its first ever concert in Lima on April 12th at the Vertice next to the Museo de la Nacion.

According to information from their website, The East Village Opera Company was co-founded by lead singer Tyley Ross and arranger/multi-instrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter. They assembled a full-on rock band, adding two guitars, bass, and drums to Peter’s keyboards, then synched it to a string quartet. A second superb vocalist, AnnMarie Milazzo, was recruited for impassioned duets with Tyley Ross.

EVOC’s Decca/Universal Classics debut was produced and recorded in April-July, 2005 by Neil Dorfsman, a three-time Grammy Award winner whose credits include international bestsellers by Sting, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, and Bjork. The string arrangements were recorded in Prague by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra featuring lead violinist Pauline Kim.

By embracing what Peter Kiesewalter calls “the pomposity of rock and the pomposity of opera” without demeaning or satirizing either form, the East Village Opera Company flies where countless other “classical-crossover” efforts have failed.

“We have a profound love and respect for the opera,” Peter insists. “But it’s so dramatic, so over the top by today’s standards, that it cannot be delivered with a straight face. You need a little bit of irreverence in it.”

“With modern recording technology and a wide variety of musical styles at our disposal, our goal has been to approach these songs the way we feel the composers would were they alive today,” says Tyley Ross.

“The East Village Opera Company” is an offbeat delight”, Calvin Wilson recently wrote in the St. Louis Dispatch. “If it sometimes teeters on the cheesy — and occasionally ventures dangerously close to self-parody — its sheer audacity is exhilarating. Vocalists Tyley Ross and AnnMarie Milazzo imbue familiar material such as Bizet’s “Carmen,” Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” and Puccini’s “Turandot” with a heartfelt urgency.”

“While it’s unlikely that the album will persuade hardcore rock fans to become opera aficionados, it’s not just another crossover effort. “The East Village Opera Company” exudes an unconventional passion”, he opines.

Article by Wolfy Becker

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, may soon have the last word on a century old conflict: Peruvian president Alan Garcia is contemplating to bring the historic maritime border dispute with southern neighbor Chile before the highest judicial organ of the United Nations.

Shortly before a protest march of Peruvian nationalists was thwarted last week close to the Chilean-Peruvian border, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet remarked on TV that her country has maintained its position throughout history. “If Peru decides to go to the international justice courts, then that’s up to them”, she said and added that her government will continue to work on a future agenda. “We have a lot more to gain if we cooperate and look at areas of common interest than if we remain stuck in past agendas”.

Garcia responded just a few hours later: “Following President Bachelet’s friendly declaration, the doors have been opened for us to go to The Hague”.

After decades of cold bilateral atmospheres between both countries, Bachelet and Garcia, who both took office just a few months apart last year, relations began to improve drastically. But latest indications now seem to point towards the end of the honeymoon period. According to an article published today in the Chilean newspaper “Santiago Times”, Bachelet’s words have been interpreted as an end to bilateral dialogue.

Rolando Sousa, chairman of Peru’s congressional commission for Foreign Relations, said on Monday that Peru’s next step would be the hiring of an international law firm which is supposed to analyze the legal situation and give independent advice on the issue.

“We need expert advise. We have to look for good lawyers, a good legal consulting firm with international experience, lawyers who have already litigated before the World Court”, Sousa told the Andina news agency, adding this would mark the first time that Peru goes before the ICJ based on a territorial matter.

“The main subject is to define the content of our position which is to find a clear and definitive solution to the maritime border issue with Chile and how the border is legally protected by current agreements. Obviously the two countries interpret them differently”, he pointed out.

Peru maintains that the border has never been properly defined, but Chile insists that a pair of treaties that were signed in 1952 and 1954 are legally binding.

The conflict originates from the “War of the Pacific” which was fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru, from 1879 to 1884. Chile gained substantial mineral-rich territory in the conflict, annexing both the Peruvian province of Tarapacá and the Bolivian province of Litoral, leaving Bolivia as a landlocked country.