Lima Peru
A group of minors (born between 2005 and 2011) represented by their parents filed a constitutional appeal against the Peruvian State, demanding its failure to formulate and implement a national public policy and regional action plans with concrete measures to stop the deforestation of the Peruvian Amazon.
In the legal action, the children argue that this omission violates their fundamental right to enjoy a healthy environment, and threatens their fundamental rights to life, life project, water and health, since progressive deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon generates a loss of ecosystem services and contributes to the generation of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
In that regard, they request the Constitutional Court to order the defendant authorities to "modify their public policies with the objective of reducing the net annual deforestation rate to zero by 2025, both through national and regional environmental and forestry policies, which include the adoption of adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change."
The lawsuit was rejected at first instance, but the Court ordered the judge to accept it again.
The initial petition for protection argues that public policies on environmental protection have been insufficient and that this scenario further affects minors "whose future is severely compromised as a result of the current climate and ecological crisis," and in that sense, it lists some of the direct and indirect impacts of climate change for Peru, citing the country's National Climate Change Strategy.
Similarly, reference is made to data from the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, which indicates that "the main source of GHG emissions at the national level comes from the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector" and that, within this sector, "the main source of emissions is the loss and burning of forests and pastures for other uses (agriculture, mining, infrastructure, urbanization, illicit crops, others)."
It is explained that deforestation in the Amazon causes the loss of ecosystem services from forests, including the regulation of ecological and climatic processes, since forest cover "reduces the impacts of climate change by mitigating the impacts of greenhouse gases."
In this context, the plaintiffs demand that the Peruvian State "fulfill its duty to protect nature," which implies the adoption of policies and measures aimed at ensuring the maintenance and functionality of the ecosystem services of the forests.
- Saúl Amaru Álvarez Cantoral (14 years old)
- Emilia Letizia Becerra Mera (11 years old)
- Hector Delgado Perez (11 years old)
- Luna Hoetmer Daza (11 years old)
- Munay Hoetmer Daza (8 years old)
- Camila Micaela Ruiz Cuba (10 years old)
- Laura Daniela Ruiz Cuba (12 years old).
- Presidency of the Republic
- Presidency of the Council of Ministers
- Ministry of the Environment
- Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
- Ministry of Energy and Mines
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Economy and Finance
- Regional Government of Loreto
- Regional Government of Ucayali
- Regional Government of Madre de Dios
- Regional Government of Amazonas
- Regional Government of San Martín.
Peru is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet and, therefore, one of the most vulnerable to climate change. According to the Third National Communication on Climate Change, presented by the Peruvian government, its territory is divided into three main regions: rainforest, highlands, and coast. The rainforest comprises 58.9% of its land area, the highlands 28%, and the coast 11.7%. It has a wide variety of climates, encompassing 84 life zones, harboring 71% of the world's tropical glaciers, and is the fourth country with the most tropical forests and the second with the largest area of Amazon rainforest in South America.
In Peru, 22.7% of the population lives in poverty. Amazonas, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, and Huancavelica are the regions with the highest concentration of people living in poverty.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- American Convention on Human Rights
- Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Political Constitution of Peru
- Children and Adolescents Code