Degraded landscapes and mining extraction at the southeast and southern borders of Venezuela

Abstract

The topic addressed in this article is part of an ongoing research line on Venezuelan borders, sponsored and supported by various projects of the Council for Scientific, Humanistic, Technological, and Arts Development (CDCHTA) at the Universidad de Los Andes. Specifically, it aims to analyze the most relevant aspects of mining extraction and its impact on geo-environmental and cultural degradation in the states of Bolívar and Amazonas, located in southeastern and southern Venezuela along the borders with Brazil and Colombia. The study particularly examines the intensified environmental effects observed during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, driven by shifts in both legal and illegal mining extractivism policies. First, we discuss the 2011 nationalization of gold and other strategic minerals. Next, the analysis focuses on the devastating consequences of the 2016 decree establishing the National Plan for the Strategic Development of the Orinoco Mining Arc. Additionally, it explores the role of Venezuelan state forces, the violence perpetrated by criminal groups, gangs, and Colombian guerrilla factions in territorial disputes, and their clashes with Indigenous communities. In short, this work seeks to comprehensively describe the degradation process in Venezuela’s most significant protected areas from multiple perspectives.