Orinoco Mining Arc

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Map of the Orinoco Mining Arc
Entry to the Central Bank of Venezuela of 749 kilograms of gold from the Orinoco Mining Arc on 18 November 2017

The Orinoco Mining Arc (OMA), officially created on 24 February 2016 as the "Arco Mining Orinoco National Strategic Development Zone",[1] is an area rich in mineral resources that Venezuela has been operating since 2017;[2][3] It has 7,000 tons of reserves of gold, copper, diamond, coltan, iron, bauxite, and other minerals.[4]

The Orinoco Mining Arc covers an area of 111 843,70 km2, 12,2 % of the Venezuelan territory and doubling that of the Orinoco Belt.[3] According to former minister Roberto Mirabal, the Mining Arc has a potential of $2 trillion US dollars.[5][6]

The Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, the Venezuelan Society of Ecology, the Association of Archaeologists and Archaeologists of Venezuela (AAAV), the National Assembly of Venezuela and the NGO PROVEA have publicly expressed their concern at the non-compliance with environmental and sociocultural impact studies, the violation of rights to prior consultation with indigenous communities, cultural and natural heritage, and national sovereignty.[7][8][9][10][11]

In 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, denounced that workers in the Orinoco Mining Arc are subjected to serious abuse and violence that have caused at least 149 deaths since 2016.[12]

Current Situation[]

The creation of the Orinoco Mining Arc immediately triggered a migration of groups identified and anonymous with the sole objective of obtaining and taking possession of minerals (gold, coltan, diamonds, etc.) for profit.

Thus, according to an article by OEG,[13] RAISG reports that the Mining Arc has made Venezuela the Amazon country with the highest number of illegal mines. According to the SOS Orinoco,[14] in the last 20 years, 779,600 hectares of forest have been destroyed. In fact, mining is so critical in Canaima National Park (Unesco site), that Unesco's World Heritage Centr[15]e emitted a resolution that was approved without discussion or amendments on July 23, 2021 to further review impact of mining in this national park.

Per the Embassy of Canada in Venezuela,[16] in Canaima alone, there are at least 59 illegal mines, some of them are only 23 km from Angel Falls, and the devastation of large areas continues due to operations open skies mining.

Indigenous Communities Affected[]

"Illegal mining also affects the enjoyment of the individual and collective rights of indigenous people, due to the destruction of their habitat and the lack of control over their traditional territories and natural resources" as reported by United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. They also add that "Illegal mining also affects the enjoyment of the individual and collective rights of indigenous people, due to the destruction of their habitat and the lack of control over their traditional territories and natural resources".

According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS),[17] "mining has also been reported in the Alto Orinoco-Casiquiare Biosphere Reserve, a protected area that is home to the Yanomami people and other indigenous people. Though Southern Venezuela is home to 34 indigenous communities who have long been involved in environmental preservation, they were not consulted before the Maduro regime implemented public policies to promote mining in the region". This same source adds that "approximately 500,000 workers are involved in illegal mining operations, many of them from local indigenous communities who have been coerced into working through threats of violence or due to economic necessity. These miners mostly are impoverished Venezuelans, and an estimated 45 percent are underage". "Indigenous communities who have attempted to resist illegal mining have been violently repressed or forced to flee their ancestral homes".

Moreover, per CSIS,[18] as mercury from mining has seeped into the soil and water systems, local indigenous populations have been exposed at dangerous levels. In the Caura river basin, a tributary to the Orinoco, 92 percent of indigenous women had elevated levels of mercury, which could damage the kidney and brain and impedes fetal development.

According to Amazonia SocioAmbiental, "Arco Minero extends into the territories of ten indigenous communities in Venezuela". Cultural Survival[19] using information from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),[20] also addresses the impact on the different communities and says "the project is located south of the Orinoco River and is located on the homelands of several Indigenous Peoples, specifically the Kari’ña, Warao, Arawak, Pemón, Ye’kwana, Sanemá o Hotï, Eñe’pa, Panare, Wánai, Mapoyo, Piaroa and Hiwi",

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Decreto N° 2.248, mediante el cual se crea la Zona de Desarrollo Estratégico Nacional "Arco Minero del Orinoco"
  2. ^ "El Arco Minero del Orinoco: ambiente, rentismo y violencia al sur de Venezuela; por Carlos Egaña". Prodavinci. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b Cano Franquiz, María Laura. "Arco Minero del Orinoco vulnera fuentes vitales y diversidad cultural en Venezuela" (in Spanish). La Izquierda Diario. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Todo lo que debes saber sobre el Arco Minero del Orinoco (+Infografía)" (in European Spanish). Desde la Plaza. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  5. ^ Ayala (19 August 2016). "Tasan en $2 trillones potencial del Arco". Diario El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018. En ese escenario, aseguró que el oro reviste un “valor comercial” en el mundo de $200.000 millones, $180.000 millones el hierro, y 9.000 millones de dólares la bauxita. De acuerdo con las proyecciones que se manejan en el marco del Motor Minero, el AMO posee alrededor de 200 millones de toneladas de bauxita y unas 44 mil toneladas entre oro y diamantes.
  6. ^ Ayala (19 August 2016). "Tasan en $2 trillones potencial del Arco". Diario El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018. Apuntó que 60% de las ganancias que se obtengan con la ejecución de este Plan de Desarrollo Minero Ecológico, será invertido en los proyectos de desarrollo social que están en ejecución.
  7. ^ Ramírez Cabello, María (23 February 2018). "Arco Minero sigue sin estudios de impacto socioambiental a dos años de su creación". Correo del Caroní. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  8. ^ Con información de nota de prensa, Ariana Revollo (22 June 2018). "Asamblea Nacional alerta sobre los efectos biológicos, psicológicos y sociales de la explotación del Arco Minero del Orinoco". FM center es noticia. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Pronunciamiento de la Academia de Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales sobre el Arco Minero" (PDF). October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Carta al Presidente de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos" (PDF). 2 December 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  11. ^ "AN niega autorización constitucional al Ejecutivo para explotación del Arco Minero". Correo del Caroní. Prensa AN. 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  12. ^ "La ONU denuncia explotación y abusos en el Arco Minero de Venezuela". Deutsche Welle. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  13. ^ "La Amazonía saqueada: estudio inédito apunta a la existencia de más de 2000 puntos y 200 áreas de minería ilegal en los ecosistemas selváticos de seis países amazónicos". Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela (in Spanish). 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  14. ^ "The Deforestation in Venezuela That Nobody Is Talking About". Lone Conservative. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  15. ^ "Canaima World Heritage Site: Controversy at the 44th Session of the World Heritage Centre (UNESCO) in Fuzhou, China – July 16-30, 2021 – SOS Orinoco". sosorinoco.org. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  16. ^ "El Arco Minero del Orinoco - Reporte" (PDF). April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Illegal Mining in Venezuela: Death and Devastation in the Amazonas and Orinoco Regions". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  18. ^ "Illegal Mining in Venezuela: Death and Devastation in the Amazonas and Orinoco Regions". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  19. ^ "Observations on the State of Indigenous Human Rights in Venezuela Prepared for United Nations Human Rights Council" (PDF). Cultural Survival. July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Venezuela: indigenous peoples face deteriorating human rights situation due to mining, violence and COVID-19 pandemic". International Commission of Jurists. 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2021-12-02.

External links[]

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