{"id":1126498,"date":"2019-07-14T21:15:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-14T21:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=996601"},"modified":"2019-07-14T21:15:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-14T21:15:17","slug":"venezuela-has-an-indigenous-mining-arc-that-is-destroying-national-parks-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1126498","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela has an Indigenous Mining Arc that is destroying national parks: Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Venezuelan scholar and forestry expert, Jos\u00e9 Rafael Lozada, is making public a series of videos where he demonstrates that besides the polemic <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Mining Arc of the Orinoco River (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/venezuelas-mining-arch-spotlight\/\" >Mining Arc of the Orinoco River<\/a>, there is another mining arc devastating Venezuela\u2019s Canaima National Park, which is a Unesco world heritage site, as well as the Caura National Park and the Southern Bol\u00edvar State Protective Zone.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lozada calls the area \u2018Indigenous Mining Arc\u2019 and, according to his review of media stories, interviews with local sources and research trips to the area, it is the product of a series of deals that the Pem\u00f3n tribe made with both the current Nicol\u00e1s Maduro regime and the former Hugo Ch\u00e1vez regime. It all started in 2004 when the so-called \u2018Piar Mission\u2019 was launched and provided Aboriginal groups with motorized pumps, pipelines, and diesel power plants for small-scale mining operations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"5. Arco Minero Ind\u00edgena, Parte 2.\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RQpVbH6YlAw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption>Video in Spanish with English captions by Jos\u00e9 Rafael Lozada.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Besides the archival documentation, the expert analyzes satellite and Google Earth images from different years and shows how massive placer gold mining operations that employ dredges have grown anarchically in protected areas. At least three dozen mines of different sizes appear in the region. However, digging deeper using the Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network, Lozada is able to identify over 1,000 \u2018mining spots\u2019 or smaller operations.<\/p>\n<p>Located to the south of the southeastern Bol\u00edvar state, Canaima National Park is the area that hosts the region\u2019s most important rivers watersheds. For example, the entire watershed of the right bank of the Caron\u00ed River -the one that generates most of the country\u2019s hydroelectric power- is within the park as are two of the highest waterfalls in the world, Angel Falls and the Kuken\u00e1n falls. The park also hosts the main forest that connects with the Amazon and the plateaus of rock called tepui formations.<\/p>\n<p>According to Lozada, some of the mines detected there occupy more than 150 hectares and are not only close to important freshwater sources but also to Indigenous towns such as Campo Alegre, where a namesake mine is causing methylmercury or acid rock drainage contamination. Such conclusion is based on what Google Earth presents. The app also shows that the operation, which is also next to the Kuken\u00e1n river, probably started around 2007 and has been growing ever since.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Screen-Shot-2019-07-14-at-1.01.51-PM-300x227.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-996600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Screen-Shot-2019-07-14-at-1.01.51-PM-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Screen-Shot-2019-07-14-at-1.01.51-PM-768x582.png 768w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Screen-Shot-2019-07-14-at-1.01.51-PM-1024x776.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Screen-Shot-2019-07-14-at-1.01.51-PM.png 1039w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>The red circle signals the Indigenous Mining Arc. Image by Jos\u00e9 Rafael Lozada.<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Following the course of the Kuken\u00e1n river on Google Earth up to the point where it joins the Aponwao river and both rivers \u2018give birth\u2019 to the Caron\u00ed river, Lozada shows satellite images of mining works which he saw in person back in 2009. Sediments from these mines -he explains- threaten the Guri dam lake, which feeds from the Caron\u00ed and the <g class=\"gr_ gr_14 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"14\" data-gr-id=\"14\">Paragua<\/g> rivers and is responsible for 80% of Venezuela\u2019s electricity.<\/p>\n<p>South of this area, along both margins of the Icabar\u00fa river, several mines can be observed. As he shows this, the expert explains that this is an area where there is no road and that is only accessible by <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">curiara<\/g> -motorized canoes operated by Indigenous people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe riverine forests around the Icabar\u00fa river are being intensely destroyed,\u201d he says in one of the videos. \u201cThe river shows a brownish colour which is evidence of mine residue contamination.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Following his examination -which he also submitted to a peer-reviewed publication-, Lozada concludes that there is evidence of numerous extractive activities in the Canaima and <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">Caura<\/g> national parks that started more than a decade ago. This means that such activities have nothing to do with the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Mining Arc of the Orinoco River (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/ngos-want-venezuela-to-halt-mining-concessions-claim-violations-of-indigenous-rights\/\" >Mining Arc of the Orinoco River<\/a>, which was created <a href=\"http:\/\/www.correodelcaroni.com\/images\/stories\/dia180316\/GacetaoficialN4085524-02.pdf\">by decree<\/a> on February 24, 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The problem -he says- is that the existence of the Indigenous Mining Arc is being ignored, as is the fact that, by law, Indigenous peoples in Venezuela are obliged to collaborate in the protection of national parks and natural resources.&nbsp;<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to scholar Jos&eacute; Rafael Lozada, the Indigenous Mining Arc precedes the Orinoco River Mining Arc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[369,4,391],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1126498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1126519,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126498\/revisions\/1126519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1126498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1126498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1126498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}