PLANETA

Green Ponchos and Inca Gold: Natural Links to the Past in Cajamarca, Peru
by Ross Mitchell

PLANETA FORUM

PERU -- Cajamarca ... land of past glories and defeats, the ghosts of Atahualpa and Pizarro hanging in the mist, a temperate, fertile valley surrounded by barren hills that still resonate with the sound of ancient flutes (quenas and zampoœas) and drums.

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Traditional long horns, much like those found in the Swiss Alps, measure three meters long and emit a blast that can be heard for miles.

The pleasant colonial city of Cajamarca, population of about 125,000, is nestled in the northern Peruvian Andes. Its tranquil, green valley is dotted with eucalyptus groves and grazing cattle. Cajamarca is renowned for its excellent cheeses and other dairy products. Residents are determined to modernize their city, but not at the expense of their strong cultural heritage or colonial architecture.

Poncho-draped farmers with their wide-brimmed palma sombreros (hat palm) sell their wares in street markets alongside city dweller entrepreneurs. Mules and cows pulled by hurrying owners and noisy "micros" (small buses) frequent its narrow, colonial streets.

I first came to Cajamarca in 1988, traveling with a friend after a great seafood lunch of ceviche (sea bass marinated in lime juice and chiles) in the coastal city of Trujillo. We climbed past verdant green rice fields and roadside mango trees, up to the Jequetepeque Valley. We journeyed to the pre-Incan site of Cumbemayo at 3,600 metres in the Peruvian altiplano, and at about midnight, in the pouring rain of the Andean wet season, we dropped down into the ancient city of Cajamarca at 2,750 meters.

Environmental Profile: Trees and Soil

I spent the next two years of my life in Cajamarca, an experience that would inevitably change my outlook on forestry and tourism. It was the former of which brought me here in the first place. But as the years passed, I found myself returning time and time again to this age-old place that shares some similarities to Cuzco for its post-colonial architecture and countryside scenery.

Cajamarca has yet to experience the kind of explosive tourism growth that Cuzco has seen in recent decades. Perhaps that is the way most Cajamarquinos would prefer it. But changes are in the wind, and environmental restoration is a key part of the solution.

My job as forestry advisor for CUSO and the National University of Cajamarca seemed simple enough -- research and re-introduce native tree species such as quishar, queœal, aliso, capuli, and nogal. CUSO is a Canadian non-profit agency that operates in similar fashion to the United States Peace Corps, sending its cooperants on two-year assignments to developing nations. Yet my job was not a simple task. Many rural communities of the Cajamarca region were long accustomed to planting exotic tree species such as eucalyptus, radiata pine, and cypress -- fast-growing species much favored for firewood and building needs. Eucalyptus trees in particular often worsen the poor soil conditions due to their insatiable demands for nutrients and water. It would take some convincing to bring back native trees on the mainly barren landscape.

The soils of Cajamarca have been badly eroded over the centuries long before "exotics" were planted. The fragile hillsides surrounding Cajamarca, once covered with native forests and rich topsoil, formed part of an important watershed. But cattle farmers seeking to expand their pastures removed much of the vegetative cover. With this overuse and the annual heavy rainfall from November to April, most of the topsoil washed away. Today, the eroded hillsides around Cajamarca are largely scrub and bedrock in which huge logos of schools and soccer teams have been etched.

In a concerted effort to halt and reverse the massive soil degradation, reforestation projects started in Porc¸n and other highland areas (called the jalca) in the 1960s and 70s. It was my former boss and local ecologist Pablo S¦nchez Zevallos who is noted for his metaphorical use of laying a "poncho verde" (green cape) over the Andean landscape. In other words, returning vegetative cover to the exposed, clay soils.

Digging infiltration canals, constructing terraces, and planting various tree species have had notable results in several areas. One such success story is the municipality of La Encaœada, 40 kilometers from Cajamarca. La Encaœada has become both a laboratory and a model for integrated rural development. With assistance from the government of Canada, the Association for Rural Development of Cajamarca (ASPADERUC), and Peru's soil and water conservation service (PRONAMACHCS), local farmers built hundreds of hectares of slow-formation terraces. These reduce erosion and help the soil retain badly needed moisture. Seed production centers to improve crop quality and tree nurseries have been established. Terracing and "greening" eroded slopes can make more food and clean water available to local farmers.

Integrated land-use planning, reforesting degraded areas, enhancing soil and water management, and creating non-farm employment are all having positive effects. Still, the battle to stabilize and reforest the land is far from over. High population density, soil erosion, limited infrastructure, small farm size, and poor soil fertility have resulted in a generally impoverished rural sector. Much more needs to be done to reduce pressure on fragile Cajamarcan soils, restore ecological health, and reverse the poverty trend.

Gold in the Hills

It is not just planting trees, raising cattle, and making cheese that occupy many rural people of Cajamarca. In recent years, gold has come to the forefront again of Cajamarca's economy. Even though most Inca gold was melted into ingots and sent to Spain over several decades, significant deposits of oro still remain. El Dorado is no myth -- Peru is the eighth largest gold producer in the world and largest in South America.

The nearby region of Yanacocha has been converted into an industrial gold mine that has brought in workers from across the nation and other countries. The combined potential output of the Pierina mines in the north and Yanacocha make up 60% of Peruvian gold production. Yanacocha is one of the largest heap leachable gold mines in the world with production costs of $88 per ounce (year 2000 estimate) and reserves in excess of 35 million ounces of gold. In its first week of operation, Yanacocha yielded over a ton of gold -- more than the entire ransom paid for the last Inca ruler Atahualpa.

Not that this mining activity has gone unnoticed. Although Peru's President Alejandro Toledo has introduced new legislation that "obliges [mining] companies not just to think of economic success but also of the well-being of all and achieving harmony with the community and the environment," whether this harmonious relationship can be achieved is another story. According to a 1997 IDRC report, "the gold boom has brought foreign investment and jobs, but also its own set of problems including inflation, uncontrolled urban expansion caused by a flood of job-seekers, environmental contamination, and related health problems."

In a concerted effort to alleviate some of these social and environmental problems related to mining and other natural resource-based industrial activities, Cajamarca has been experimenting with new forms of democratic participation. In 1992, the municipality of Cajamarca launched a formal mechanism for inter-institutional coordination of resource allocation and use -- the key instrument is "mesas de concertaci¸n" (tables of discussion and negotiation). Different levels of government, district mayors, non-governmental organizations, the local mining company, and other interested parties are brought together to discuss development priorities and negotiate a sustainable development plan.

This has not been an easy process. A big challenge is to ensure that these multi-party negotiations are truly transparent, democratic, and representative. The process is being monitored so that those most directly affected by natural resource decisions -- indigenous peoples, the rural poor, and women -- have a fair and equitable stake at the table.

AUTHOR

Ross Mitchell is an Environmental Sociologist with the Alberta Research Council. He holds a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology and a B.Sc. in Forestry from the University of Alberta , Canada, and a M.Sc. in Rural Planning and Development (University of Guelph). He may be reached by email.