At present, in Peru there are about 75 Natural Protected Areas (ANP) under national administration, 139 Regional Conservation Areas (ACR) and 141 Private Conservation Areas (ACP). 59 years have passed since the creation of the Cutervo National Park in 1960 in the Cajamarca region, being the first Protected Natural Area of ​​Peru with the category of National Park.

One of the main political mechanisms for the protection of biodiversity and to avoid the extinction of species of flora and fauna is the establishment of protected natural areas. In Peru, Law N° 26834 - “Law of Protected Natural Areas”, established in June 1997, is the legal mechanism that seeks to define the guidelines for the declaration, selection and management of these areas, patrimonies of the Nation [1 ].

In November 2019, the Ministry of the Environment of Peru declared October 17 as the Day of Protected Natural Areas, in order to highlight the importance of these areas for their contribution to the sustainable development of the country. Peru is one of the ten most diverse countries in the world, since it has 28 of the 32 climates, 84 of the 117 life zones and 71 percent of the tropical glaciers on the planet. For this reason, it ranks first in species of butterflies, third in birds and amphibians, fourth in mammals, as well as being home to 1,141 species of freshwater fish and 1,090 species in our seas [2].

In addition to the great biological and ecosystem diversity that the Protected Natural Areas host, they provide ecosystem services to thousands of families throughout Peru and the world. The environmental awareness and education campaigns have generated great positive impacts on the population to reduce the impact of local pollution on biodiversity.

It is common knowledge that if we do not take care of our soils, our waters and our nature, we will be the cause of depleting the planet's resources in a short time. What is going to happen? Well, I would not like to find out. We still have time to make a change, scientific experts have already affirmed how bad our home (planet earth) is, it is time to do something about it.

References:

[1] https://bit.ly/2Tawjyk

[2] https://bit.ly/3dOJ23i

Photos:

[1] Cutervo National Park

[2] Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu