Bright and early on World Environment Day, June 5, Peru’s first-ever environment minister, Antonio Brack, joined schoolchildren to plant tree seedlings in Villa El Salvador, a shantytown that sprawls over the desert on the south side of the Peruvian capital. But with Congress holding up the new ministry’s budget and questions emerging about the scope of the agency’s monitoring and enforcement capabilities, some observers worry Brack might lack resources and clout. “If the executive branch does not recognize the need for a strong ministry, it could lead to a loss of credibility for the ministry and a lost opportunity, and like many countries in the region, Peru could suffer from further weakening of its environmental system,” says Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, director of the Peruvian... [Log in to read more]