The Hidden Crisis: Venezuela’s Imminent Ecocide and the Orinoco Mining Arc
Orinoco river with Kukenan Tepuy on the backdrop, Pemón ancestral land, Venezuela (Alexcocopro, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
After photos of an elitist party in one of Venezuela’s tepuys filtered out in February, many took to social media to complain and protest about the shameless display of wealth before a nation enduring a humanitarian crisis. However, the scandal provoked something unexpected: widespread curiosity about Venezuelan ecology, notably the Orinoco Mining Arc.
Gold: salvation amidst Venezuelan crisis?
News about Venezuela is often related to the socio-economic crisis that increasingly challenges the country. Among crime, hunger, and inflation, little attention is paid to other topics, such as ecology and environmental threats within Venezuelan borders.
Home to the largest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela has overly relied on oil and natural gas for exports. As such, its economy turned into an extractivist one, a situation which has its fair share of consequences as the global oil market fluctuates.
But the tropical nation is also rich in minerals such as gold and coltan, often extracted illegally. In battling the current crisis, gold has been Venezuela’s salvation. According to Telemundo 51, “the Chavista Maduro regime has used gold as a guarantee for loans granted by international banks or selling it to countries such as Turkey and the UAE, bypassing sanctions imposed by the U.S.” The gold trade brings U.S. dollars, which have replaced the long-devalued Bolivar, into the country. In areas surrounding the mines, gold is used as currency, and the rise in its prices worldwide has helped Venezuela increase its mining revenue.
As a response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro created the National Strategic Development Zone of the Orinoco Mining Arc in 2016. Commonly known as the Arco Minero, it comprises an area of 111,843.70 km², larger than Cuba, adjacent to the Orinoco river, and is designated for unlawful mineral extraction. The Arco represents 12% of the country’s territory and is a severe environmental problem for the region.
A crucial biological reserve
Infographic map of the OMA, depicting the extraction plan (Ecomineria, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
This river receives its name from the Warao language, meaning “a place to paddle.” It is the largest in Venezuela and third-longest in South America. It is located around the Guiana Shield in the southern region of Venezuela, which gives it the shape of an arc. It stretches across most of the country, through states like Amazonas, Guárico, and, for the most part, Bolívar. It connects to the Amazon through Río Negro and serves as the primary transport system for Venezuela’s interior.
Across the basin, some climates found are jungle, savanna, and desert. The Orinoco feeds other major rivers such as the Caroní and Arauca and is home to a highly diverse array of fauna and flora; for example, one of the rarest reptiles in the world, the Orinoco crocodile, is endemic to the lower basin. The chigüire (capybara), blackspot piranha, and green anaconda are also found in the surrounding areas.
A serious environmental and cultural threat
It is estimated that the Orinoco Mining Arc possesses 7,000 tons of minerals and a potential value of $2 trillion U.S. dollars. Although established to diversify Venezuela’s economy, the Arc has become an area of interest for illicit mineral extraction. It is widely known that paramilitary groups such as the Colombian guerrilla group FARC, the Venezuelan armed forces, and other gangs operate there. They constantly compete for control over the mines and conduct labor, sex, and mineral trafficking.
In an interview for the newspaper El Nacional, founder of NGO SOS Orinoco, Cristina Burelli, said that at the beginning there were only “rumors that the Amazon was looted for illegal mining, but there was little documentation about it because no one dared report it...that would mean going against the [Maduro] regime.”
Moreover, the establishment of the Arco is in direct opposition to the environmental laws cited in the Venezuelan constitution. Parliament did not approve it, and the government failed to carry out environmental impact studies. Since the opening of this development zone, organizations both domestically and internationally protested and called out the government for the illegitimacy of the project.
Additionally, there are concerns about the health and culture of the indigenous communities the project displaces. Bolivar state, where most of the Arc is located, is home to groups such as the Pemon and Warao people, among others. Their numbers continue to decrease, as they are violated and vulnerable to pollution caused by the mining sector, particularly mercury poisoning. For them and many Venezuelans, the Orinoco River, its tributaries, and the Tepuys represent sacred entities that we must protect. These include the Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Kerepakupai Vená (commonly known as Angel Falls), the tallest waterfall in the world.
As such, the Arc represents an important danger to one of Venezuela’s most sacred and protected lands. The government only seems to expand its mining projects, and in the meantime it allows for the reckless destruction of this ecosystem and the culture that belongs there.
