Success arising from civil society pressure in curbing deforestation is the surprising but welcome finding of recent work done by MAAP (Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project), an international non-profit organisation that tracks the issue in real time by satellite imagery.

A report in Mongabay Latam highlights five instances in Peru where deforestation has been halted, at least for now.

Three concern palm oil and cacao: United Cacao in Loreto, shown to have cleared over 2,300 hectares between 2012 and 2016, has halted its operations as a consequence of pressures from civil society organisations, both Peruvian and international. The same is true of the deforestation caused by Plantaciones de Pucallpa in Ucayali, and the Romero group’s work in palm oil in Loreto.

Illegal gold operations which were also encroaching into the Amarakaen Communal Reserve now appear to have been halted over the past year, while actions by SERNANP (an agency of the Ministry of the Environment) and the Peruvian Navy appear to have stopped the advance of deforestation in the Tambopata National Reserve.