Peru
On March 31, 2025, the Fifth Court, Specialized in Constitutional Matters of Lima issued a ruling in favor of the Institute for Legal Defense of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Peru (IDLADS Peru), ordering the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) and the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) to comply with the obligations established in Supreme Decree No. 003-2022-MINAM, which declares a climate emergency in Peru, approved in 2022.
The ruling confirms that the State must take urgent measures to reduce deforestation by 30% by 2030, as required by Supreme Decree No. 003-2022-MINAM. This includes approving key forest control regulations, updating national data on illegal logging, strengthening forest governance in coordination with regional governments, and promoting actions to address deforestation hotspots related to illegal activities.
This is the first time a Peruvian court has ordered compliance with an official declaration of a climate emergency. This ruling sets a powerful precedent: climate commitments are not optional, they are legally binding, and authorities can be legally compelled to act when they fail to comply.
Implementation
The ruling ordered that both the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation and the National Forest and Wildlife Service - SERFOR comply with the provisions of numeral 9 of article 3 of the Supreme Decree that declares the climate emergency to be of national interest, Supreme Decree No. 003-2022-MINAM, published on January 25, 2022, within a period of 10 days and consequently prioritize measures to strengthen forest governance and the control of deforestation, carrying out the actions contained in numeral 3.9.1 to 3.9.8 of the same article, in accordance with the provisions of article 72° of the New Constitutional Procedural Code.
In a context where 150,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest are illegally deforested each year, where 60% of global warming in Peru is due to deforestation, and where the main cause of Amazon rainforest loss is land use change, this ruling is historic, as it establishes that the State must take urgent measures to reduce deforestation by 30% by 2030, as required by Supreme Decree No. 003-2022-MINAM.
The ruling orders government authorities to prioritize measures to strengthen forest governance and control deforestation. Implementing these measures is fundamental for promoting agroforestry systems, ensuring the proper allocation of rights to unclassified lands, and ecologically restoring degraded areas. This can significantly contribute to reducing deforestation and increasing carbon sequestration in the Amazon (which is crucial for climate change mitigation). These actions also offer direct environmental benefits and economic opportunities for local communities through sustainable activities and job creation.
- Institute for the Legal Defense of the Environment and Sustainable Development Peru – IDLADS Peru.
Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI)
National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR)
According to FAO data, Peru is among the five countries with the largest forest cover in the region. Thus, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, and Bolivia together account for 79% of the total forest area in Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to official data from Peru's National Center for Strategic Planning, an estimated 300,000 people depend on the resources and ecosystem services provided by forests, and the Amazon rainforest is the most vulnerable in the country. It is estimated that 118,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest are lost each year due to deforestation, equivalent to a quarter of the Tumbes region.
Among the main consequences of deforestation in Peru is the generation of a large amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere as a result of land-use changes. This environmental impact is so significant that it accounts for 51% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions (Conservation International, 2020). Furthermore, there is also a loss of the services that forests provide at all levels (timber, food, landscape, tourism, among others). These negative effects would not only impact the populations that live in or depend on the forests but the entire population of Peru.
International agreements/treaties
- Paris Agreement
- Framework Law on Climate Change and its Regulations
National laws
- Political Constitution of Peru
- Law No. 29158
- Law No. 30754
- Constitutional Procedural Code
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