In 2020 and 2021, Peru lost more than 340,000 hectares of forests, among the causes are environmental crimes such as illegal logging and illegal mining, which, together with illegal wildlife trafficking, are among the most widespread illegal activities in the Amazon. peruvian
In order to strengthen the prevention and reduction of these crimes, USAID’s Prevenir project has developed the Second Specialized Legal Contest on Environmental Crimes and Sustainable Development in the Amazon, aimed at future professionals in environmental matters.
Around 200 university students of Law and related fields from the departments of Loreto, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Cusco and Lima participated in this high-level competition that was implemented together with the Universidad Científica del Sur, the National University of Ucayali and the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA).
In total, 122 women and 78 men, from 15 universities in the country, received training in environmental matters and developed their legal skills by resolving a hypothetical case before a moot court made up of environmental justice experts.
Winners and finalists
Two student teams from the Peruvian Amazon qualified for the grand final, after competing with 25 groups from all over the country. They were the “Iustitia Naturalis” team, from Madre de Dios, who held the position of accuser; and the “Nii Koiranaibo” team from Ucayali, which assumed the role of defense. They debated around the hypothetical “Chaparral Grande” case, related to illegal mining and logging, and environmental defenders.
The jury, which announced the team from Madre de Dios as the winner, was made up of Lucia Ruiz, former Minister of the Environment; José Guzmán Ferro, prosecutor of the Ucayali Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental Matters; Marita Barreto, prosecutor coordinator of the Special Team against Power Corruption; as well as Martín Castro, coordinator of USAID Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Projects in Peru; and Violeta Bermúdez, executive director of the USAID Prevent project.
The finalists won a full scholarship for the Environmental Law Workshop (TDA) organized by the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA) for the year 2023, as well as a collection of publications, technological equipment, and an economic incentive for first place.
