At least four government officials have been criminally denounced for the implementation of Law No. 31973, also known as the “Anti-forestry Law”, despite the existence of lawsuits questioning its constitutionality and legality. The complaint It was presented by Lucila Pautratpresident of the NGO Kené Institute of Forest and Environmental Studies, and involves to the President of the Council of Ministers, Gustavo Adrianzén; the Minister of Agriculture, Ángel Manero; the Minister of Environment, Juan Carlos Castro; and the director of Serfor, Nelly Paredes.
The first charge concerns the Illegal involvement in ongoing proceedingssince the Anti-Forestry Law – approved by Congress in January – continues to be the subject of lawsuits before the Judiciary and the Constitutional Court. According to the document to which The Republic had access, the accused promoted the invasion of forest lands, facilitating illegal activities such as deforestation and burning of more than 299 thousand hectares in Ucayali through the “Resizing of the Permanent Production Forest.”
The second charge relates to the illegal granting of rights over deforested lands. According to the document, Minister Manero promoted a land formalization program in May 2024, without complying with legal requirements. This sought to legitimize illegally occupied lands, which favors the expansion of illicit crops. It is also noted that this policy encouraged deforestation and caused fires in the Amazon, which benefit agro-industrial consortiums and promote drug trafficking.
The third charge is the omission of functional acts in the face of the forest fire crisis. According to the document, despite the fact that the fires had already left dozens dead and more than a thousand homeless, The government delayed declaring a state of emergency until September 18The management was described as negligent, since there had been data for weeks warning of the seriousness of the situation.
Finally, the document mentions Nelly Paredes, director of the National Forest and Wildlife Service (Serfor), who was criticized for her lack of action in the face of the forest fire crisis in Peru. According to the document, as the fires worsened, Paredes, who also She had been a senior advisor to President Dina Boluartewas in China participating in a forum on legal and sustainable wood. This absence was seen as a sign of inattention to the environmental emergency that was seriously affecting the country, which increased criticism of his management and the performance of Serfor, a key institution in the protection of forests.
What is the ‘Antiforestry Law’?
In January of this year, the Congress of the Republic approved the autograph that amended articles 29 and 33 of the Forestry and Wildlife Lawadding two complementary provisions focused on promoting forest zoning. The rule establishes that “permanent production forests are created through Ministerial resolution of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, at the proposal of Serfor“.
In addition, it indicates that the Regional Forestry and Wildlife Authority must formulate and approve a Master Management Planwhich should include the identification of areas that require special treatment to ensure sustainable use, as well as access routes, common roads and control points.
However, Law 31973, known by environmental activists as the “Antiforestry” law, has generated legal loopholes that have caused confusion and incorrect application of the law. This has raised concerns among experts, who believe that ambiguities in its wording facilitate misinterpretations and affect the effective protection of forests and their fauna.
