Struck by an economic downturn and international sanctions, the Venezuelan authorities have turned to natural resources in an attempt to identify any possible source of revenue. This move endangers the Amazon rainforest and the Caribbean coast which are being heavily mined for oil and noble metals. Environmentalists have warned that the extent of the damage is increasing although it is difficult to assess this accurately due to the lack of data.
Venezuela enjoys unique natural resources, being home to many rare plants and species of endangered animals in its part of the Amazon rainforest and it is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth with its Caribbean coast being a unique habitat for birds and many sea creatures. Unfortunately, both areas have become the location for extensive industrial activities. The incumbent regime is damaging the Amazon by allowing illegal mining while the coast in the north of the country is the site of intense oil industry activity which very often pollutes the water and soil as a result of fuel spillages. As the Venezuelan government has not made any economic data public for about 10 years, it is difficult to assess the extent of this activity.
Amazon rainforest
Venezuela is host to 6% of the Amazon rainforest and almost the whole area of the Orinoco River which is or once was a rainforest. Assessments by the Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG) based on satellite imagery show that until recently 82.9% of the Venezuelan part of the Amazon was intact and it had managed to escape logging, farming, and mining activities. However, over the past 20 years, about 3,800 km2 of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down and half of this has been carried out in the past five years alone.
See also: Deforestation of Brazilian Amazon rainforest hits record high
The protected Canaima National Park has recently become an area of extensive industrial activity. Located in central east Venezuela, the zone is rich in precious metals such as gold but also diamonds, coltan, bauxite, iron ore, and copper.
To gain maximum results, mining works are conducted not only on the perimeters of the park but also inside the buffer zone which is a UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
“In many cases, they’re even inside the park,” said Cristina Burelli, founder of SOS Orinoco, an advocacy group aiming to protect the Venezuelan Amazon.
SOS Orinoco has located 27 mining areas on the edge of the Canaima National Park and 32 inside the park. Many of these activities directly affect the Caroni River which is used by indigenous people to drink or cook. One mine is located just 24 km from Salto del Angel which is the tallest waterfall in the world reaching 979 meters in height.
Environmental groups have reported that 70% of the Caroni River, which at 1000 km long is the second largest river in Venezuela and which surrounds the park, “may be at risk of contamination resulting from the use of mercury in gold mining operations”. SOS Orinoco undertook tests amongst the indigenous Pemón community who inhabit this area and found that the levels of mercury in the blood of most people “exceeded the limit established by the World Health Organization as safe for human consumption.”
Orinoco Mining Arc
In 2016, the Maduro regime established the “Orinoco Mining Arc” stretching from the border with Colombia on the west to the border with Guyana on the east, along the Orinoco River. The arc also goes through the rainforest and partially through the Amazon. According to RAISG, the area of land being used for mining in the southern part of the arc increased by 20% between 2015 and 2020 and has tripled in the last 20 years. The zone is rich in gold, diamonds, coltan, and other minerals.
The Venezuelan government argues that the activities conducted in the area are well regulated but many media reports indicate that the zone has become the scene of fighting and criminal activities by gangs and Colombian guerillas. To access metals, miners use open-pit mining techniques which have a long-lasting impact on the land and may lead to the spillage of undesirable chemicals.
Caribbean Coast
Venezuela is the biggest reservoir of crude oil on the planet and its extraction is being carried out around the Caribbean coast. Although oil extraction in Venezuela has significantly dropped in recent years due to the sanctions imposed by the US on the oil industry as well as technical failures of unmaintained infrastructure, the number of spills has recently increased.
“There’s been an increase in oil spills in recent years, definitely. Even though we are producing only a third as much oil as we used to produce, the situation is worse,” said Eduardo Klein, Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Studies at the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas.
The increase in spills is a result of flawed oil infrastructure which has not been maintained and repaired for years as the state-owned oil concern, PDVSA, has no money to invest in improvements. The situation further deteriorated when the majority of the US and European oil companies left the country a couple of years ago while those who remained limited their activities so now oil operations are mainly undertaken by PDVSA. Trade unionists report that fires and explosions at refineries as well as leakages or burst pipelines occur on a regular basis.
Klaus Essig, a Venezuelan oceanologist who was formerly the Environmental Director at the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces, noted that between January and September 2021 there were 53 oil spills with most of these occurring on the Caribbean coast.
“You can see how the mangroves have died from the oil,” said Klein.
Mangroves are unique ecosystems crucial for wildlife in Maracaibo Lake but it is not only nature that is affected. Spills also disrupt the work of local fishermen who are no longer able to fish and this is very often the only source of income for them.
The lack of government transparency makes it practically impossible to estimate the true environmental damage caused by both the oil and mining industries.
