Although for reasons of practicality the regions of Peru are simplified into jungle, mountains and coast, this great country has 9 biomes and 28 of the 32 climates that exist on Earth. Fascinating! Can you imagine the great variety of ecosystems and landscapes of Peru? Or even the different types of natural resources that this country has? Good! We will talk about that in this Green Ecologist post. From now on we will develop the natural resources of Peru. In this way, we can get to know them better and keep them in the future. We invite you to continue reading.
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The Peruvian territory presents a vast variety of soils, which together with the different climates, allow the cultivation of a large number of plant species. In particular, the growing potatoes and corn They have a strong presence in Peruvian culture for centuries and there, both crops come in different sizes and colors. Other crops that are produced in Peru are: rice, sweet potato, wheat, beans, tomato, quinoa, coffee and several more. These crops not only serve to supply the Peruvian population, but are also exported to a large number of countries.
Here you can read about The Importance of Soils.
Forest resources
Undoubtedly, forest resources are one of the main riches of Peru if we consider the fact that a large part of the country's surface is covered by the Amazon jungle. The forest as a resource provides numerous ecosystem services and also forest products.
However, if we talk about the Amazon, we must bear in mind that it is a great carbon sink, that is, the sink of one of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and that practically 20% of the oxygen on planet Earth is spawns there.
Read more about this topic in this article on Flora and fauna of the Peruvian Jungle.
Hidric resource
Peru has great water wealth: more than 1,000 rivers, more than 10,000 lagoons and around 3,000 glaciers. This makes it a privileged country, since it has 1.89% of the world's fresh water. However, not all the Peruvian population has access to drinking water and this is mainly due to the contamination of fresh water bodies. It is estimated that 80% of fresh water is used for agricultural activity, 6% for industrial activity, 2% for mining and 12% is for population use.
In this link you can read about the Causes and consequences of water pollution.
Marine resource
The Pacific Ocean It has a strong influence on the Peruvian people, in fact 65% of the population lives near the ocean. Itself, the fishing resource It is the main marine resource, although its bottoms contain hydrocarbon and mineral reserves.
Entering the fishing resource, the main exploited species are: sole, corvina, anchovy, Pacific bonito, South Pacific horse mackerel, among others. However, with the passage of time, the Peruvian government has had to take measures regarding the conservation of the fishing resource, since the excessive exploitation of the resource has brought many species to the brink of extinction.
Renewable energy
Within the renewable resources of Peru, we find renewable energy. The main forms of renewable energy are: hydraulic energy first, then thermal, wind, solar, geothermal energy and also biomass energy (obtained from agroforestry residues or special crops).
We advise you to read this other article about renewable energies: which are the most important?
Mining resources
Peru is one of the world's leading mining producers and the first mining producer in Latin America. Its production is mainly based on minerals such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and tin. It is estimated that mining is one of the pillars of the Peruvian economy, but we cannot ignore that the mining resource is one of the non-renewable resources of Peru and that its exploitation causes a severe environmental impact.
You can read this other post about Mineral Resources: what they are, classification, examples and importance.
Oil resources
Like mineral resources, oil is a non-renewable natural resource. Peru has 18 basins with potential to be exploited, most of which are in the Amazon rainforest region. On the other hand, the exploitation of oil in Peru has a history of more than 140 years. For what has been described so far, we must consider the environmental consequences caused by the exploitation of this resource and that, as we mentioned earlier, the Amazon rainforest provides invaluable ecosystem services.
Here you can read about the Environmental Impact of Oil and Natural Gas.
Biodiversity of Peru
With a great diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, Peru is the habitat of numerous species of flora and fauna. It's even one of ten megadiverse countries of the world. We advise you to read this information What is a megadiverse country and examples.
If we talk about numbers, Peru has more than 25,000 plant species (which constitutes 10% of the world), more than 2,000 species of fish, more than 500 species of mammals, 1,800 species of birds and more than 600 species of reptiles and amphibians. . Next, we will list some of the most emblematic species of flora and fauna.
Plant species of Peru
- Quina (Cinchona officinalis)
- Cantuta, the national flower of Peru (Cantua buxifolia)
- Titanca of Raimondi (Puja raimondii)
- Orchid (Phragmipedium kovachii)
- Amancay (Ismene amancaes)
Animal species of Peru
- Spectacled bearTremarctos ornatus)
- Paiche (Arapaima gigas)
- Titicaca Frog (Telmatobius culeus)
- Wonderful hummingbirdLoddigesia mirabilis)
- Charapa turtlePodeocnemis expansa)
Learn much more about Peru's natural resources related to its biodiversity by reading our articles:
- Biodiversity in Peru: characteristics and importance.
- +45 native animals of Peru.
- 20 endangered animals of Peru.
- Plants in danger of extinction in Peru.
If you want to read more articles similar to Natural resources of Peru, we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment.
Bibliography- Water is our great legacy, but how much do we know about it? National Water Authority. Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru. Retrieved from: https://repositorio.ana.gob.pe/bitstream/handle/20.500.12543/2672/ANA0001374.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities in Peru. PeruPetro. Retrieved from: https://www.perupetro.com.pe/wps/wcm/connect/corporativo/3f0ce56e-5bb9-4a12-b1ae-b64602e6bbdd/ActividadesdeExploracionyExploraciondeHidrocarburosenelPeru09.07.10.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
- How much do Peruvians know about biodiversity? Ministry of the Environment of Peru. Retrieved from https://www.minam.gob.pe/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/%C2%BFCu%C3%A1nto-sabemos-los-peruanos-sobre-biodiversidad-Estudio-de-percepci%C3 % B3n-p% C3% BAblica-en-five-regions-del-pa% C3% ADs-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf
- Renewable energy. Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru. Website: https://www.minagri.gob.pe/
