The Peruvian government has redrawn the borders of the archaeological reserve protecting the ancient Nazca Lines, a decision that has sparked alarm among scientists and conservation groups. The measure, published last week in the country’s official gazette, slashes the reserve by more than 2,000 square kilometers, effectively stripping protected status from a vast stretch of desert long suspected to hold unexplored cultural heritage.
The change reduces the size of the Nazca Archaeological Reserve from 5,633 to 3,235 square kilometers. The affected area is located roughly 400 kilometers south of Lima and includes desert land near the towns of Nazca and Palpa in the Ica region. Officials say the exclusion does not affect the central UNESCO World Heritage Site or its established buffer zones. But critics warn that the removed land overlaps with territory rich in undiscovered geoglyphs — some of which were only recently identified using advanced imaging techniques.
Legal Shield Removed From Area With Known Mining Activity
The government’s justification centers on claims that the excluded portion of the reserve lacks archaeological or environmental significance. “There is no archaeological or other heritage” in the removed area, Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Montero said during a briefing with foreign press, defending the decision as a practical step to accommodate local mining activity.
That mining activity, however, has long been informal and, in some cases, illegal. With the reserve boundaries redrawn, Montero added, the operations are “no longer illegal,” because the land where they operate is no longer under protected status. According to analysts, the move aligns with Peru’s broader economic strategy, in which mining plays a central — and often controversial — role.
Environmental groups and heritage experts say the decision risks opening a precedent. Critics argue that the change creates a legal vacuum that enables extractive industries to operate in sensitive areas without sufficient oversight. In recent years, satellite imagery and conservation monitoring tools have documented encroachments by gold miners and the establishment of mineral processing plants within the broader Nazca region.
Experts Say Archaeological Value Was Ignored
The backlash has been swift. Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the Peruvian Association of Archaeologists, called the minister’s statement “very inappropriate” and questioned the legitimacy of the claims. “How can he possibly know if there are no remains without proper expertise?” he said in an interview with AFP. He was joined by other experts, who warned that recent scientific efforts had revealed the presence of previously undocumented geoglyphs in the area now excluded from protection.
One of the most significant discoveries came from a Japanese research team that used artificial intelligence to identify 303 new geoglyphs. Their findings nearly doubled the known figures in the Nazca region, adding to the existing catalogue of iconic shapes — including the hummingbird, monkey, and whale — that date back over 2,000 years. Many of these formations can only be fully appreciated from the air, and are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 200 and 700 A.D.
Ana María Cogorno Mendoza, president of the Maria Reiche International Association, said the newly excluded area “is exactly where some of the oldest rituals took place, according to our research.” Reiche, the German-born scientist after whom the organization is named, spent decades studying and protecting the lines throughout the 20th century.
Mining Registry and Policy Under Fire
A key concern among environmental lawyers is that the removed zone overlaps with about 300 mining concessions registered under Reinfo, a controversial state registry designed to legalize informal mining operations. According to Sidney Novoa, technology director at the nonprofit Amazon Conservation, these concessions now sit on land no longer classified as protected, giving miners an opening to expand legally.
César Ipenza, an environmental attorney who has closely tracked the changes, said that the state had failed to demonstrate that the excluded land lacks cultural significance. “This area, which belongs to our ancestors, requires real protection and not just political expediency,” he told The Guardian. Former Environment Minister Mariano Castro warned that the rollback “exposes [the reserve] to very serious risks and cumulative damage,” adding that the ministry of culture had failed to consider the broader impact of extractive activities on archaeological sites.
Culture Minister Fabricio Valencia, speaking on national radio, defended the decision, stating that the new boundaries “respond to the need to more accurately reflect the relationship between the geoglyphs and the physical features recorded in the area, ensuring their protection and preservation.” But opponents say the timing of the move — coinciding with a surge in gold prices — raises concerns that the government is prioritizing mining interests over long-term conservation.
