Non-traditional exports to the United States increased from US$1.6 billion to US$2.7 billion over the past five years, which reflects a 14% average annual growth rate, informed the director of Peru's Trade Commission in New York, Conrado Falco. 

On the occasion of COP20, the Peruvian government has created Voices for Climate, an open space for dialogue, learning and action designed to help society members understand and be aware of the risks and challenges posed by climate change. 

The desert is one of the most fragile ecosystems. Vegetation grows slow, and climate change, urban development, and agriculture hurts its development. In Peru there is only 185,000 miles of desert, which is distributed along the entire coast from Tumbes to Tacna. For many people, this place is worthless. It's a dry space where supposedly nothing grows. There is no water, the sand burns, and everything becomes unbearable. Those who say this have probably never been on a dune or walked through the woods of Huarango. 

AIM Exploration has received approval to develop a coal mine in the Alto Chicama Basin, Otuzco Province, Peru, by the local village - a requirement under Peruvian government regulations. More than 80% of residents of Lajon Village have now signed off on the project, providing long-term stability for the project.

The majority of local artisan miners who are currently mining on the company's properties have also agreed to become independent contractors with AEXE to mine the existing 20 tunnels.

Cocoa production in Peru is set to rise 5% in calendar year 2014 and increases in planting will see the country become a key cocoa exporter in the coming years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

A mysterious glowing worm has been discovered lighting up the soil in the Peruvian rainforest.

The strange glow worms, which are thought to be the larval stage of an as-yet-unidentified species of beetle, may use their phosphorescence to lure unsuspecting flies and ants into their waiting, open jaws.

Peru plans to award next year infrastructure concessions including rail and road projects. Hydro and thermal power plants and liquefied petroleum gas distribution in the capital are also being lined up, a senior government official has said.
Concessions will include the fourth stretch of the Longitudinal de la Sierra highway, which calls for the construction, operation and maintenance of a 640 kilometre stretch of Peru's Longitudinal de la Sierra highway, connecting Huancayo, Izcuchaca, Mayoc and Ayacucho. Other proposals include the Huancayo-Huancavelica railway line and the Callao logistics hub (ZAL), which could require an investment in excess of US$100 million. 

You may not be familiar with the cuisine of the Andes. Luckily, chef-proprietor Martin Morales is on a mission to acquaint London diners with the food of his native Peru. He opened Ceviche in Soho in 2012 to showcase coastal offerings, followed by Andina in Shoreditch in December last year, inspired by the food parcels he was sent as a kid by his Andean grandmother ("andina" means "lady from the Andes"). Eat and learn. 

Felipe Rojas-Lombardi did not invent quinoa, of course, but he gets much of the credit for introducing it to North Americans. The Peruvian-born chef, honored in September with a Celebrity Chefs stamp from the United States Postal Service, did much to popularize the ingredients, cooking and food traditions of Latin America and Spain - notably tapas-like small plates - in the U.S.

"He defined what is '80s food as much as the 'Silver Palate' women," says Clark Wolf, a restaurant consultant and trend spotter. "He brought South American and other Latin cuisine forward in a way that was delightful."

Rojas-Lombardi's creativity was a huge draw - he seemed to be there first on a variety of culinary fronts, writing what may have been the first "talking" cookbook on game cookery (two 40-minute cassettes and a recipe booklet, according to a 1973 New York Times article); foraging for food on Fire Island (duly noted in a 1978 New York Times article), or serving up quinoa at the Ballroom in a stew, in a salad, and in a dessert. "Nobody knows what it is, but they love it," he told the Times' Florence Fabricant in 1986.

My expectations of delving into a jungle Eden and finding half nude natives greeting me as I stepped from my plane were as fantastic as they were far from the truth. The small airport terminal in Tarapoto was as welcoming as my fantasy, though, after having spent two hours waiting on the tarmac in Lima for the rain to clear over Tarapoto. 

The National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) recently announced winners for 2014�s National Tourism Award (PNT), of which there were three categories.

Accepting the award for "Person or business that has excelled Peruvian tourism" will be Jose Koechlin von Stein, chairman of the Board of Inkaterra.

Nearly two weeks ago, Fernando Raymondi Uribe, a young journalist, was fatally shot in Ca�ete, a southern province of the Lima region. While the motives for the murder are still unclear, a mototaxi driver, believed to have transported the shooters, was detained Tuesday night.