Lima - The environmental organization Greenpeace protested biofuel production at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, in south- eastern Peru on Thursday, claiming ethanol will have a severe impact on the native forests of Latin America. Ahead of the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean summit in Lima Friday and Saturday, Greenpeace called upon leaders to protect the Amazon rainforest from the encroachment of farmland due increased farming of sugar cane for ethanol.
Members of the organization displayed placards on the ruins - known as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World - with slogans like "Save the forest, save the planet." They were later forced to leave by security personnel.
Greenpeace said in a statement that cutting down and burning the forest to produce biofuels releases greenhouse gases.
The leaders of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, which like Peru have rainforest areas, were expected to attend the summit in Lima.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday signed a deal on biofuels with Brazil, amid criticism within both countries over the deal's possible impact on the rainforest and over the conditions of workers in plantations that grow sugar cane for biofuels.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso also visited Machu Picchu on Thursday.
