The lack of pristine forest is estimated to be growing by round 170 per cent yearly in Venezuela – an excellent quicker fee than Brazil – because of a state-sanctioned growth in gold mining
Environment
9 December 2022
A gold mine in Bolivar state within the south of Venezuela JORGE SILVA/REUTERS/Alamy
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is accelerating quicker in Venezuela than in every other nation, spurred by a state-sanctioned growth in gold mining.
“No one is seeing this destruction because it’s happening so fast that it’s impossible to measure,” says Alejandro Álvarez Iragorry, the coordinator of Clima21, an NGO that promotes environmental human rights in Venezuela. “The environmental damage and the speed with which it’s happening is disastrous.”
Around 63 per cent of Venezuela’s land is roofed by pure …