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From August 18 to 22, 2025, the 21st edition of the Permanent Seminar on Agrarian Research (SEPIA), one of the main spaces for interdisciplinary reflection on rural reality in Peru, was held in Oxapampa. The Universidad del Pacifico participated in this edition through the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CECHAP) and the Universidad del Pacifico Research Center (CIUP), with presentations on the port of Chancay, indigenous and rural territories, and their implications for the Peruvian Amazon.

On Tuesday, August 19, CECHAP researchers Omar Narrea and Leonino Dourado presented their research for Special Roundtable 1, entitled “The Port of Chancay and the implications for the Peruvian Amazon.” The panel presentations were completed by Pilar Delpino of Clark University and Natali Pinedo of the NGO Law, Environment and Natural Resources (DAR, for the spanish acronym). Cesar Gamboa provided commnetary and Juan Dammet moderated the panel. 

The session opened a space for reflection on the potential effects of the new port terminal on the Amazon, considering how infrastructure projects–roads, waterways, and railways—could be promoted or reactivated with the port’s entry into operation, presenting both challenges and opportunities. 

For his part, Roger Merino, a researcher at CIUP, participated in the panel on Indigenous and Rural Territorialities in the Peruvian Amazon, providing a critical assessment of the social and political dynamics linked to Amazonial territories. 

The participation of CECHAP researchers is part of the project “The Impact of Chancay on the Amazon and Brazil – Analysis of the Potential Social and Environmental Impacts of the Chancay Megaport and Lare-Sacale Landscape Changes in the Amazon.”This project, coordinated the professor Denise Humphreys-Bebbington (Clark University) in collaboration with the CECHAP and DAR, seeks to understand how the Port of Chancay can transform Amazonian territories, generating social, economic and environmental dynamics that require analysis and support from innovative governance proposals.

For nearly four decades, SEPIA has been a benchmark for the analysis of rural and regional processes in Peru. In its 21st edition, it provided a privileged framework for discussing strategic topics such as the territorial impacts of infrastructure investment. For the Universidad del Pacifico, this participation reaffirms its commitment to applied research and academic dialogue on the challenges of regional integration.