 Peru
consists of three different geographic zones.
Costa is a narrow plane along the pacific
coast. Sierra consists of the Andes Cordillera
with the Andes Highland, and Selva is a
virtually unpopulated lowland in the Amazon
basin.
Since
1998, the economic recession and the difficult
economic world climate with low commodity
prices opposed the recovery of the Peruvian
economy. Since early 2002, an economic upswing
can be noticed. The Gross National Product
(GNP) grew by 5.2% in 2002. The most important
business segment is the service provider
business, followed by industry, agriculture
and mining. Half of the population are poor;
approx. two thirds of the population live
in ecologically sensitive areas.
The
coast
The coastal zone of Peru has 53 rivers and
valleys with farming – mainly for
the domestic market. The farms are small,
with old-fashioned equipment, and don’t
have the capital for necessary modernization.
The
most important big cities and industrial
towns (steel, chemical and petrochemical
products, vehicles etc.) are located along
the coast. Fishing is also a major economic
factor and contributes 5% to the GNP, and
it is particularly important for exports.
The cold seas close to the coast are rich
in Plankton, the basis for the large number
of Anchoveta, which account for roughly
80 % of all catches, most of which are processed
to fishmeal.
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