How Venezuelans destroy paradise

Click here to see a satellite picture from Eosnap of the Northern Amazon region, at the border between Venezuela and Brazil. If you enlarge it and take a look at the Northern part, you will see a lot of tiny brown areas. Those tiny brown areas are mostly places where deforestation is taking place right now (the picture is from early 2010).

Some days ago we read Brazil authorities were reporting the rate of deforestation in their country was going down. We have no real figures for Venezuela, but let me tell you something: destruction is going on unabated. A few months ago I wrote here about the way the Upper Caura and Caroni Basins are being polluted, destroyed. That has been happening for many decades now under the eyes of a very corrupt military force. The military regime made a big show about it and destroyed some miner's camps in the area. After a few days, miners went back. They blackmail some military, as usual, or start to work it when they think the military is not around. They keep destroying some of the most impressive jungles on Earth.

Three things are making the situation worsen:

• Brazilian garimpeiros know the Venezuelan military are much more permissive than the Brazilian lot, specially when it gets some golden opportunity.
• Millions of Venezuelans have no real jobs at all: about half the population works selling cheap items on the streets or driving as pirate taxi drivers (the official unemployment rate is under 10%, but that's just because illegal street vendors are considered as people with jobs). Mining is one of the few solutions for many thousands.
• Gold prices are going up.
  

It would be interesting if we started to examine satellite pictures more closely. Check out here for more satellite picture from Venezuela and the rest of the world.

Hat off to my friend from the land of the fjords for this link.