Last week, representatives from USTR traveled to Lima, Peru for bilateral meetings to further strengthen implementation of the Environment Chapter and Annex on Forest Sector Governance of the United States - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). USTR staff were joined by representatives from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Since entry-into-force of the PTPA in 2009, Peru has made substantial progress to improve environmental protection, particularly with respect to forest sector governance. The United States has worked closely to support Peru in those efforts through robust environmental cooperation programs. To maintain momentum and address remaining challenges, the United States and Peru regularly meet to advance progress on a range of environmental issues, particularly those related to the forestry and wildlife sector. The meetings included discussion of Peru's draft Forestry and Wildlife Regulation, finalization of documents necessary to set up an environment secretariat to receive submissions on environmental law enforcement from U.S. and Peruvian stakeholders, and coordination on environmental cooperation programs aimed at building capacity for environmental prosecutors to investigate and prosecute forestry and wildlife crimes, and to combat anti-corruption in the forestry sector.
As part of the U.S. commitment to transparency, the U.S. Delegation also hosted a roundtable discussion with a range of Peruvian stakeholders, including representatives of native communities, and members of civil society, academia, and industry.
These discussions provide invaluable input as to how the PTPA is working to benefit the environment, and where future efforts may be focused to address pressing environmental issues.
For more information about PTPA environmental issues and progress, please visit: http://www.ustr.gov/peru-tpa/environment.
