Environmental Impact of Guano

History of Guano

The term guano comes from the word “wanu,” which in Quechua — the language of one of Peru's main indigenous cultures — means manure. The guano that covers the islands and capes in the new reserve is white and powdery. It is rich in minerals, such as nitrate, phosphorus and carbon, and it often gets mixed with feathers, bones and other animal parts (Hollett, pp.9). The millions of marine birds that live on the rocky islands and cliffs of the Peruvian coastline left layers of guano that once reached up to 150 feet high. In this area of Peru, the birds that produce guano include:

The Guanay cormorant (Phalacrocorax bougainvilii)

The Peruvian booby (Sula variegata)

The Peruvian pelican (Pelecanus thagus)

Guano has been widely used as fertilizer since pre-Inca times and sustained Peru's economy between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s. After heavy extraction during the 1800s, the Compañía Administradora del Guano was created in 1909 to ensure the continued commercial viability of this product. Although the primary motivation was to ensure monetary profit, the result was the continued protection of the guano birds and other key species of marine mammals, fish and shellfish, as well as their natural environment.

The importance of guano to the Peruvian economy diminished in the mid-1900s when organic fertilizers were replaced by synthetic alternatives. Therefore efforts to protect the vast colonies of the birds producing guano were lessened. At the same time, industrial fishing became an increasingly significant activity, reducing the availability of food for these species and the entire marine life network. But in 2001, the Biomar Consortium — an alliance of universities and conservation organizations, including the Conservancy — responded to this critical situation. The Consortium developed a technical proposal for the network of islands and capes to become part of Peru's National Protected Areas System (Jimmy, pp. 129).

Uses of Guano

Bat Guano is said to be the ultimate Organic Fertiliser containing all the essential elements necessary to grow healthy plants. The reason lies in Guano's chemical makeup. Because it is deposited deep inside caves where it is protected from sunlight and wind, it doesn't decompose as quickly as organic matter does, when it is exposed to sun, bacteria and air.

Rich in nitrogen and phosphorous, Guano provides important chemicals for crops. It also has beneficial fungi and bacteria, and acts as a natural fungicide to protect plants from disease Another factor that makes Guano an effective nitrogen-rich fertilizer is that its contents originate from fish-eating birds. Because Guano is rich in microbes that clean up toxic substances, it functions as a purifier in areas which are changing over from chemical to organic practices (Gootenberg, pp.51). Confederate soldiers even mined bat Guano for saltpeter to make gunpowder. The US Government at one time even offered free land to those who found Guano deposits and made it available to the public.

Economic Boom and fall

After gaining its independence from Spain in 1824, Peru experienced a boom as a result of demand for guano as a ...