Peru Hosts International Event to Protect the Source of the Amazon River

Peru Hosts International Event to Protect the Source of the Amazon River

(ANSA) - LIMA, 24 SET - From geographical discovery to responsibility for the future. Three decades after the discovery of the source of the Amazon River, a new international initiative proposes transforming this site into a global symbol for the protection of our planet’s freshwater reserves. This is the central theme of the Quehuisha International Initiative, scheduled to take place in Lima on September 24, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the international “Amazon Source ’96” expedition, led by the Italian-Polish journalist and explorer Jacek Pałkiewicz, which pinpointed the true source of the Amazon in the Peruvian Andes. The event’s message can be summarized in two sentences: every great river begins in an unassuming place, and the protection of freshwater must begin at its source. Hence the need to responsibly protect and preserve the mountain range in the Arequipa region where the great river originates. The event’s organizer is Jacek Pałkiewicz. “Thirty years ago,” he emphasizes, “we went to the high Andes to determine where the source of the Amazon was located. Today, the most important question we must ask ourselves is a different one: What are we willing to do to protect the place where it begins?” Until recently, oil, natural gas, and rare metals were considered symbols of wealth. However, the world’s future will depend not only on technological progress but also on the responsible management of water resources. Rapid climate change is causing glaciers to retreat. Lakes and rivers are drying up, conflicts over water are arising, droughts are becoming more prolonged, and millions of people are suffering the consequences of water scarcity. Water sources are becoming one of the symbols of the 21st century. From the small Apacheta stream springs a river that, after flowing about 7,000 kilometers, empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Along its course, the “queen of rivers” nourishes the world’s largest rainforest, helps shape South America’s climate, and discharges into the ocean about one-fifth of all freshwater from rivers that reaches the planet’s seas. Its importance is such that the Quehuisha Massif, where the Amazon originates, could be considered the “world capital of water sources.” The initiative is already beginning to receive significant support. The Lima Geographical Society, historically linked to Amazon Source ’96; the Environmental Directorate of Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the UNESCO Office in Peru, as well as Peter H. Gleick, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Maude Barlow of Canada, former senior advisor on water issues to the President of the United Nations General Assembly. Renzo Grego, an Italian participant in the “Amazon Source ’96” expedition, states: “Quehuisha should become for freshwater what Yellowstone has become for nature conservation.” Read article...