The Panel acts independently of the Ex-Im Bank or any other public or private institution or government. In view of its independence, the Panel has the ability to define the scope of its work, including both its thematic and geographic areas of study. In that regard, the first decision of the Panel was to extend the scope of its deliberations beyond the Peru LNG project alone, and to include the larger south-central region of Peru, encompassing the Departments of Madre de Dios, Cuzco, Puno, Huancavelica, Apurimac, Ayacucho, Lima, and Ica.

Thematically, and in the context of this Report, it is not possible to objectively separate the Peru LNG Project from the larger context in which it operates. Peru LNG is part of a much larger series of hydrocarbon-based projects centered in blocks No 56 and 88, known generally as Camisea. Because these projects are so closely interlinked and interdependent, it is difficult to separate out the broader social and environmental impacts of one from the others. Combined, these projects directly impact areas within the Departments of Cuzco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Ica and Lima.

At an even broader level, our choice and analysis is driven by the enormous natural resource reserves that exist in south-central Peru, which includes important reservoirs of oil, gas, minerals, hydropower, lands, and timber. As a result of a favorable policy environment over the past decade, there is currently an investment boom in natural resource extraction and infrastructure development in the region, of which Peru LNG is just one among many players. In this context, investments in resource extraction are driving new investments in major infrastructure such as new roads and hydropower generation. In turn, new public infrastructure encourages additional investments in natural resource extraction, in a cycle that accelerates exponentially. Therefore, the Panel has chosen to take a broad thematic view of the region, addressing multidisciplinary and cross-cutting issues related to the economic, financial, social, environmental, ecological, and ethnic consequences triggered by these events.

The geographic areas covered by the Panel closely match ecological realities and historical events that have shaped the social characteristics of the people living there, as well as their interactions with the environment and natural resources. For these reasons, we believe that defining the scope of the Panel as “South-Central Peru” is not arbitrary but rather, it reflects a distinctive on-the-ground environmental, political, economic, and social reality.