Parts of the world are succumbing to environmental degradation and Latin America is not escaping this. The fires of the Amazonia this year attracted much attention to the area, and many showed concern for the importance of the world’s “lungs”. However, destructive actions against the environment are not only observed in the Amazon rainforest; other areas of Latin America also face serious ecological problems caused by man.
The degree to which people are concerned about the environment depends on how the news is amplified in social media. The fires in the past few weeks in the Amazonia created awareness, but there has been an increase in the percentage of forest fires in 2019. This is a pattern that is repeated too often in different seasons and the world talks little about it.
The problem has not arisen in one single country because the fires have also hit Brazil and Bolivia hard this year. Each nation has its own responsibilities, impacts and leaders who manage ideologies that allow them to believe that they are dealing with a problem in the garden of their home and not one that affects the entire planet.
The Amazonia is home to more than 6,000 animal species, 40,000 plants and 400 indigenous peoples intimately related to the rainforest. Outside of the Amazon, many crops in South America depend on its capacity for conservation, being a regulator of the hydrological cycle and of the planet’s climate.
Part of the Amazon forest is cut down for the value of its wood. This felling means there is less water vapor in the air, diminishing the precipitations in the Amazonia, the reason why the growth of the fires in the virgin forests have become more frequent thanks to the increase of its vulnerability.
The Amazon zone is not the only one that presents the problem of indiscriminate felling and burning of its lands. In Central America, the Indio Maiz reserve has also seen more than 450 of its species endangered by fires in the marrow of the jungle. The Nicaraguan government wanted to take care of the fires with its own resources and refused help from countries like Costa Rica, ignoring one of the most serious environmental problems in the area.
The jungle has seen its conservation diminished since the incursion of residents who have cut down wood to sell, plant grass, and illegally hunt exotic animals. The lack of protection is intensified with a government unable to recognize the number of hectares devoured by the fire, until environmentalists demonstrated the impact with NASA satellite images.
Ignoring the events is not the only thing the government administrations of Latin American countries have done. In Venezuela, for example, more than 110 square kilometers of mining concessions have been granted after decades of fighting illegal mining. Although the extraction of coltan, diamond and gold was legalized with this measure, the violent use of resources has brought serious consequences to the jungle.
The pollution caused in the Orinoco Mining Arc, in the south of the country, is one of the greatest environmental concerns shared by environmentalists in the region. Exploitation has long been present in the area, but interventions with government approval are carried out with impunity by mafias that control the area, and who have invaded protected territories.
Prior to the concession, the affected indigenous peoples were not consulted, nor was an environmental impact study carried out. Experts in the field have rejected the actions, because the mining area is intertwined with indigenous peoples and ecological reserves of great national and international importance. Environmentalists and groups that denounce destructive practices are often the victims of threats.
Colombia has also seen a consecutive loss of forest as a result of illegal gold mining. As a consequence, indigenous groups, rivers and the biodiversity of the area are strongly impacted by high concentrations of mercury.
The Colombian jungle is another area of concern for deforestation. Both the armed conflict and coca cultivation are causing damage in areas of great conservation value. The loss of hectares of Amazonian forest in Colombia adds to the risk when actions are carried out in other regions that share this important ecological resource.
Another similar case arises in Bolivia with sugar cane crops, which advance in an uncontrollable manner, seizing hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest. The government encourages ethanol production, but the forest reserves and their biospheres are affected by these and coca plantations.
One of the ecosystems of greatest value for humanity is the wetlands, because of the great biodiversity they are able to contain and the protection they offer against erosion. In Mexico, the Yucatán mangroves have been affected by indiscriminate logging to build houses. Although sanctions have been imposed, the action caused damage to the site’s biosphere, which is essential for the reproduction of many bird species.
A future construction that is causing controversy in Mexico is that of the Mayan Train. Although some see the tourist potential of the work, it must be based on international standards that guarantee the protection of the area and the indigenous peoples. Some native groups have maintained a strong position against the actions and denounce not having been properly consulted.
Deforestation has not been the only factor that has left its mark in Latin America. Oil spills have also caused serious environmental consequences in recent years. For example, in Peru, a state of emergency was recently declared due to the leakage of crude oil, with more than 1,000 families affected in one area of the Amazon.
It is not the first time that something like this has happened and the impact on streams has left the population without the vital liquid. In Ecuador, on the other hand, the main concern is the protection of the intangible zone and isolated indigenous territories linked to oil extraction. After a popular consultation demanded by the population, the protected area was expanded, but protection was suppressed in the buffer zone.
Economic activities in these areas have led to the reduction of forests and the contamination of natural resources in Latin America, without taking into account the fragility of ecosystems, which are losing their harmony and ability to regulate themselves.
Image credit: Ana_Cotta