A new change to the law in Peru about forests and wildlife is making environmental groups and Indigenous people very angry. They say it could make trees disappear faster in the Amazon rainforest, and they think the government says it is for economic reasons, but it's not true.

The new rule means people who own land or companies don't need to ask the government before changing forests into other things. Some people are worried this change could make it seem okay that trees were cut down illegally for a long time.

This is very worrying for us, said Alvaro Masquez Salvador. He is a lawyer who helps Indigenous people at the Legal Defense Institute in Peru.

Masquez also said the change is bad because it makes land that belongs to the country like private property. He said, "Forests are not private property - they belong to the country."

People who support the new law, which started in March, say it will help farming in Peru stay strong and give farmers clear rules.

The Associated Press asked many people in Peru's farming business and a politician, Maria Zeta Chunga, who really liked the law. Only one person in the farming business answered, but they said they didn't want to talk about it.

Peru has the second-biggest part of the Amazon rainforest after Brazil. This area is more than 70 million hectares, which is about 60% of Peru's land. It is a place with many different plants and animals. More than 50 groups of Indigenous people live there, and some live alone, away from others. These groups are important for protecting nature. The forests they protect help the world's climate by taking in a lot of carbon dioxide. This gas causes climate change.

The first law in 2011 said you needed permission from the government and environmental studies before you could change forest land. But recent changes have made these rules weaker. The newest change means landowners and companies don't need permission anymore, and it even makes past deforestation legal.

A court in Peru said a change to a law was okay. Some lawyers didn't like the change, but the court kept the part that says some past changes to land use are now legal. Experts think this is bad.

The court said that Indigenous people should have been asked about changes to the law. They also said the Environment Ministry is important for planning where forests should be.

Environmental lawyer César Ipenza said: "The court agrees the law was bad for Indigenous people and they should have been asked, but it still says the worst part is okay."

This change in Peru is like what happened in Brazil when Jair Bolsonaro was president. In Brazil, politicians and businesses worked together to make rules for the environment less strong so that farming companies could make more money. In Brazil, big farming companies were very organized and wanted this change. In Peru, the group pushing for this change is not as organized, but it is still strong.

In Peru, big farms, people who take land illegally, and people linked to illegal mining and selling drugs support this. Small farmers who are worried about keeping their land have also joined.

We see legal and illegal groups working together, said Vladimir Pinto. He works in Peru for Amazon Watch, a group that helps the environment.

Julia Urrunaga, who works for a charity in Peru, said the government is not telling the truth. She said they are saying changes are needed because of new rules from Europe. These rules will ask companies to show that products like soy and meat do not come from forests that were cut down illegally.

She said that if wood cut down illegally is allowed to be sold, it will make rules like the EU's not work as well.

Urrunaga said this is not good for world markets and makes it more difficult to stop cutting down trees by controlling trade.

Olivier Coupleux, who works for the EU in Peru, said that recent changes to the law are not related to the EU's new rule about stopping deforestation.

In interviews in Peru, Coupleux said the rule wants to stop people from buying things that cause forests to be cut down. It doesn't need new laws. It just wants to know where products like coffee, cocoa, and wood come from and that they are good for the environment.

Because they cannot get help in their own country's courts, groups are planning to go to international courts. They say the decision is a bad example for other countries that want to avoid environmental laws while saying they are making changes.

For many Indigenous leaders, this law is a real danger to their lands, people, and how they live.

Julio Cusurichi, who is part of a group that helps the rainforest, said the new rule will make it easier for people to take land and harder to protect nature in places that are already in danger.

"For a long time, our people have protected our land and the Earth," Cusurichi said.