When you think of Peru you think of mountains, but in fact the vast majority, 70% of the country, is Amazon rainforest and it emerges that half of it has been leased out to multinational oil companies.

The Amazon contains the majority of the worlds fresh water and is the largest carbon sink in the world, protecting us against global warming. Parts of the country contain some of the most pristine and biodiverse rainforests on Earth according to Dr. Matt Finer of Save America’s Forests, who has spent years working as an ecologist in the rainforests of Peru and Ecuador. He explains that over 97 million acres of the Peruvian Amazon, about the size of California, is now zoned for oil and gas exploration and exploitation, “That represents well over one-half of the remaining intact Peruvian rainforest.” he states.

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