The fire is out of rule

A Peruvian official audit bureau says the procedure is environmentally damaging but it doesn't set any investigation, harder penalties neither. 

LA HUACA, Peru -- Local people was claiming in the last years that Lower Chira Valley-based ethanol industry has been producing burnt sugarcane stubble, disagreed by them, apparently agreed by the Peru's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. According to the industry, the government had authorized them to have a procedure called controlled burning, that wondered to specialists and locals because it produces air contamination, so it was supposed the new agricultural techniques look for reducing negative impacts to environment.

As this was not clear, complainers decided to request for an official review and get out of doubt. Peru's general Controller of the Republic, an official audit bureau, went page by page of the Management Programme for Environmental adaptation(PAMA in spanish). In December 2016, it released its legal analysis, finding out some exerpts suggesting guiltiness.

Write us to factortierra@gmail.com to have a copy of the full document.

FACTORTIERRA accessed to the final paper and contacted an independent lawyer for understanding if the audit was fingering down the Ministry's authorization. Sullana, Peru-based SAVIDE'sLegal Advisor Roberth Jhon Alama checked out the full document. He confirmed the recommendations of the audit report says the Ministry authorization for controlled burning has to be shut down because it violates prior Peruvian Government's supreme resolutions ordering the reduction of negative impacts in solid residues management (2004) and agricultural procedures (2012) as well.

Even, the Ministry of Agriculture is not authorized to authorize any company to do any controlled burning, Empresa agrícola del Chira (Caña Brava) in this case, because the Peruvian law simply doesn't allow it. "[Those rules] are for mandatory comppliance by any public and private person or organization across national, regional or local territory," Alama states.

The lawyer says the Ministry is out of rule and threatening the environment, people's health & wellness as well. "The benefitted company has not made the environmental management procedure, psetting the people's health on risk before the authorized schedule for sugarcane stubble controlled burning, what is not outlined nor addressed to actual environmental rules those prevent negative impacts could happen in environment or protection of human being health," he adds.

Although the audit report basically shuts down the Ministry authorization and follow the environmental rules, it does not impose any administrative penalty for the responsible ones or filing a deep investigation about the correct way for authorizing the procedures. Alama points out it might be written down in the recommendations.

"Acting out of a mandatory legal rule prones to be under investigation and further penalty, if not why to rule mandatory compliance by public and private people and organizations nationwide then if when environment-related decisions are released, those will not be taken by the ones who have to comply them!," Alama claims. Now, the Ministry of Agriculture has to play its part. How will it to do?

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