Peru reverses its decision and restores the original area of ​​the Nazca Lines

The Peruvian government on Sunday rescinded the 40% reduction in the area of ​​the famous Nazca Lines archaeological reserve, a measure that had generated great controversy and was rejected by experts in the Andean country because it was considered to benefit illegal miners invading the area. "Article 1 of the Vice-Ministerial Resolution" that established a smaller area for the area has been repealed, the Ministry of Culture announced in a statement on X.

The decision by Peruvian authorities restores the full area of ​​the Nazca reserve, located 400 kilometers south of Lima in the Ica region, to 5,633 square kilometers , which had been reduced by 2,400 square kilometers by a May 28 ruling.

The resolution, published in the official newspaper El Peruano, was signed by the Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Industries, Moira Rosa Novoa, days after a petition was announced in Congress to question the Minister of Culture, Fabricio Valencia, according to Efe.

The regulation establishes the validity of a resolution dated August 13, 2004, and of the plan that establishes the reserve as having an area of ​​5,633.47 square kilometers. It also mandates the initiation of the update process for the plan called "Management System for the Cultural Heritage of the Nasca and Palpa Territory" within a period of no more than 10 days.

It also confirms that "any action with an impact" on the reserve "must be shared with key stakeholders involved in the management of the aforementioned territory." It also orders the General Office of Planning and Budget of the Ministry of Culture to take the necessary steps to formalize and implement an Executive Unit in the reserve.

Minister Valencia confirmed on May 29 that the reserve's area had been reduced, although he assured that this change did not affect its UNESCO World Heritage status or its buffer zone.

"After gathering information and conducting in-depth studies for more than 20 years, we are now making the information clear and have determined that the archaeological reserve covers approximately 3,200 square kilometers," he stated, a position he defended in the following days as criticism mounted.

During a session of Congress's Culture and Cultural Heritage Committee, held in the southern region of Ica, where Nazca is located, the minister said that "various activities" could be carried out in the liberated area, in some cases with prior authorization from his ministry.

Three days later, Valencia acknowledged the presence of illegal mining within the reserve, but reiterated that the measure they had taken "does not mean that it will be strengthened, nor that the likelihood of any impact from illegal mining will increase."

"There is no archaeological or other heritage," asserted the Minister of Energy and Mines, Jorge Montero. According to the official, the cuts would force illegal miners to apply for permits given the withdrawal of protection from the territory. But Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, told AFP that what the Minister of Energy said was "very inappropriate."

Former Foreign Minister Óscar Maúrtua, president of the Peruvian Society of International Law, told RPP radio on Saturday that the measure to reduce the reserve area "is serious because it sends a message that we do not respect treaties."

The Nazca Lines and Geoglyphs Archaeological Reserve was declared by a resolution of July 26, 1993, and the subsequent resolution of August 13, 2004, specified that it covered an area of ​​5,633.47 square kilometers.

Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the famous Nazca Lines are some 2,000 years old and take the form of geometric figures and animals, which can only be appreciated from the sky. The first geoglyph was discovered in 1927. Last September, Japanese research supported by artificial intelligence led to the discovery of 303 new formations in the Nazca Desert in six months , nearly doubling the total number of known formations of these mysterious lines, announced archaeologist Masato Sakai of Yamagata University.