Drafting.- The indigenous communities of the Bolivian Amazon have declared an “emergency” this Saturday and announced that they will defend themselves against any attempt to exploit gold in their territories and protected areas such as Madidi, one of the natural reserves with the greatest biodiversity in the world.
“We are in a state of emergency and all the communities are ready with a single call to be able to concentrate and defend our rights,” said the president of the Central de Pueblos Indígenas de La Paz (Cpilap), Gonzalo Oliver Terrazas.
This organization, which brings together some 11 indigenous organizations from the northern Amazon in the department of La Paz, warned of a “new attempt” by gold miners organized into cooperatives to modify the “zoning” of protected areas.
The emergency is “before any income that is wanted to be given, either by force or trying to manipulate (the rules) in a deceptive way to enter the communities of Madidi and Pilón Lajas,” said Terrazas.
Madidi Park, in La Paz, is one of the richest areas in the world in terms of flora and fauna, while Pilón Lajas, shared with the department of Beni, is made up of dry and humid forests as well as mountains.
This week, the gold miners gave the government of Luis Arce an ultimatum to respond to their request to conclude legalization procedures in some exploitation areas by August 21, since otherwise they will begin their protests.
“We want to vindicate (our demands) and publicize the massive growth we have experienced,” said the leader of the Federation of Gold Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (Fecmabol), Róger Coata.
In this regard, the President of Cpilap stated that this announcement is “misleading, manipulative as well as harassing” since he considered that the miners seek an “arbitrary modification” of management plans in protected areas.
This work is the responsibility of the National Service for Protected Areas (Sernap) “in full consensus with the indigenous peoples” who inhabit those territories, Terrazas remarked.
Cpilap maintained that it signed an agreement with the Government in November of last year that prevents a “rezoning of protected areas”, something that was established in a previous agreement between gold miners with the national Executive.
In recent times, the use of mercury by cooperative miners for the extraction of gold in the rivers of the Bolivian Amazon has generated a wide discussion, due to the negative effects that this substance causes in the environment and in human health. such as neurological damage and other conditions.
A study presented in mid-June by Cepilap, based on 302 hair samples from various people belonging to 36 native Amazonian communities in northern Bolivia, established that mercury levels are above what is allowed.
This week, various indigenous institutions and leaders gathered in Bolivia at the Pre-Panamazonian Social Forum (Pre-Fospa) spoke out against extractivist projects and in favor of a plan for an Amazon “free of mining and mercury.”
Faced with this situation, the Government approved a decree last month to regulate the use of mercury in mining and a few days ago announced that it is listing two additional regulations that will address health issues related to the effects of the substance.
