Among many pending initiatives that could be affected in the wake of new Peruvian President Ollanta Humala’s July 28 inauguration is the regulation of artisanal mining. In March, after months of proposals, counterproposals and several protests, the Peruvian government issued a plan to regulate this small-scale, so-called “informal” mining, which is causing extensive environmental harm in the Amazon and Andes. The plan sets a deadline of 2016 for government agencies to take a variety of steps, but does not include a detailed timeline. Nor is it clear if funds will be allocated for those steps. Such details—as, indeed, the ultimate fate of the plan itself—are in the hands of the new Peruvian government. After a closely contested race, Humala, a former... [Log in to read more]