Peru reinstates full protection of Nazca Lines reserve after controversial cutback
The country's culture ministry on Sunday nullified last week's resolution that had reinstated the boundary map set in 2004. The switch followed severe backlash after the government approved a 42% reduction in the zone — about 2,400 square kilometers (926 square miles) — and to allow miners to seek formal permits in previously restricted areas.
The original protected zone — spanning 5,600 square kilometers (2,162 square miles) — will remain in effect. The ministry also ordered an update of the site's management plan within 10 days and the formation of a technical panel, which will include government representatives, academics, UNESCO, and civil society figures to define future use and conservation strategies.
The area in question forms part of a UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site, home to the Nazca Lines — massive geoglyphs etched into the desert over 1,500 years ago — and one of Peru's most fragile desert ecosystems.
'Thanks to the strong rejection by national and international public opinion, the government revoked the reduction of the area of the Nazca Archaeological Reserve,' Mariano Castro, Peru's former vice minister of the environment, told The Associated Press.
Castro said the government justified its decision by saying it had not previously discussed its decision publicly.
'In other words, it (the government) does not go so far as to admit the measure was wrong, despite evidence of the presence of illegal mining, which seriously endangers and threatens the integrity of the Nazca Lines and petroglyphs,' he said.
The ministry said a new government entity will be created to oversee the site's management, and technical studies will be published to ensure transparency and accountability.
Peruvian environmental lawyer, César Ipenza, who follows the issue closely, welcomes the technical panel, which will include local authorities, but he still has concerns.
'The truth is that the local authority is actually the one that has been calling for the reduction of the boundaries of the Nazca Lines,' Ipenza told the AP. 'There will also be strong pressure from miners for this to go ahead."
Ipenza is concerned that informal mining has been steadily expanding in the area, even though all mining activity is officially banned.
'The government hasn't taken action to remove these miners and as a result, there has been pressure to officially open the area to allow informal and illegal miners to become formalized,' he said.
The AP contacted UNESCO for comment. The organization said it would aim to provide information on Tuesday, as Monday was a public holiday in France, where it is headquartered.
—-
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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29 minutes ago
US tariffs on European goods threaten to shake up trade relationship
FRANKFURT, Germany -- FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — America's largest trade partner, the European Union, is among the entities awaiting word Monday on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on their goods, a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations. Expressing displeasure the EU's stance in trade talks, however, the president said he would jack up the tariff rate for European exports to 50%. A rate that high could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals much more expensive in the U.S. The EU, whose 27 member nations operate as a single economic bloc, said its leaders hoped to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. Here are important things to know about trade between the United States and the European Union. A lot of money is at stake in the trade talks. The EU's executive commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as "the most important commercial relationship in the world.' The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. 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Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren't on the table during trade negotiations. 'On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,' Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank, said. 'They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.' Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' 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The Hill
38 minutes ago
- The Hill
US tariffs on European goods threaten to shake up the world's largest 2-way trade relationship
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — America's largest trade partner, the European Union, is among the entities awaiting word Monday on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on their goods, a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations. Expressing displeasure the EU's stance in trade talks, however, the president said he would jack up the tariff rate for European exports to 50%. 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The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products. But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration's 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts. Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. Trump has also criticized Europe's value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale this year at rates of 17% to 27%. But many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since they apply to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren't on the table during trade negotiations. 'On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,' Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank, said. 'They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.' Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' 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Hamilton Spectator
41 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Hezbollah leader refuses to disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon
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