Zulia, Venezuela
The state of Zulia, extremely rich in oil and coal, has generated a great deal of wealth for Venezuela during the last half century of intensive resource extraction. However, this has taken a heavy toll on the region’s ecosystems and infringed on the human rights of local communities, raising questions in some quarters about Chavez's commitment to indigenous peoples and the environment.
The Sierra de Perija, which forms the border between Colombia and Venezuela, is at the heart of debate over the usage of Zulia's resources. This mountain range, which half-encircles Lake Maracaibo, contains an estimated 400 million metric tonnes of coal, making it the principal reserve in Venezuela. However, ecologists and water authorities warn that increased coal mining could damage the area's biologically diverse ecosystem which houses the state's most vital water supply.
The state capital of Maracaibo, which is home to approximately two million people, depends on just two water reservoirs which are fed by rivers flowing from the Sierra de Perija. Though located on the coast of Lake Maracaibo, one of the largest fresh-water lakes in the world, the city no longer has potable water from this source, having been contaminated by decades of heedless oil shipping practices.
Despite the dependency of both city dwellers and indigenous communities on the water that springs from the Sierra de Perija, Corpozulia, the national government’s regional development corporation, has plans to expand coal mining operations three fold along the rivers that lead to the reservoirs. The water problem in Maracaibo, which already experiences shortages, is about to get worse.
Zulia has a history of resource extraction projects that have been given the go-ahead without regard of their impact on local communities. These communities face the continuous encroachment of various industries on their lands, forcing them to relocate, and suffer health problems due to poor working conditions and pollution. In the early nineties, for example, two huge open-pit coal mines were opened by Corpozulia working in conjunction with foreign private mining firms. Thousands of people were displaced who were living in the area, primarily because the mines released dust laden with heavy metals that can eventually cause pneumoconiosis, a respiratory lung disease.
Due to the degree of decentralization in Venezuela, it is difficult to say to what extent resource extraction projects in Zulia are the realization of Chavez’s own objectives or those of regional authorities working to the benefit of foreign oil and coal interests.
Sources:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/1531
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press665.htm
tag: last301
The Sierra de Perija, which forms the border between Colombia and Venezuela, is at the heart of debate over the usage of Zulia's resources. This mountain range, which half-encircles Lake Maracaibo, contains an estimated 400 million metric tonnes of coal, making it the principal reserve in Venezuela. However, ecologists and water authorities warn that increased coal mining could damage the area's biologically diverse ecosystem which houses the state's most vital water supply.
The state capital of Maracaibo, which is home to approximately two million people, depends on just two water reservoirs which are fed by rivers flowing from the Sierra de Perija. Though located on the coast of Lake Maracaibo, one of the largest fresh-water lakes in the world, the city no longer has potable water from this source, having been contaminated by decades of heedless oil shipping practices.
Despite the dependency of both city dwellers and indigenous communities on the water that springs from the Sierra de Perija, Corpozulia, the national government’s regional development corporation, has plans to expand coal mining operations three fold along the rivers that lead to the reservoirs. The water problem in Maracaibo, which already experiences shortages, is about to get worse.
Zulia has a history of resource extraction projects that have been given the go-ahead without regard of their impact on local communities. These communities face the continuous encroachment of various industries on their lands, forcing them to relocate, and suffer health problems due to poor working conditions and pollution. In the early nineties, for example, two huge open-pit coal mines were opened by Corpozulia working in conjunction with foreign private mining firms. Thousands of people were displaced who were living in the area, primarily because the mines released dust laden with heavy metals that can eventually cause pneumoconiosis, a respiratory lung disease.
Due to the degree of decentralization in Venezuela, it is difficult to say to what extent resource extraction projects in Zulia are the realization of Chavez’s own objectives or those of regional authorities working to the benefit of foreign oil and coal interests.
Sources:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/1531
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press665.htm
tag: last301
posted by Serena at 11:27 PM
1 Comments:
This is something that seems to happen way too much. Health and safety of local people seems to come second to economic profit. This is the problem with a lot of the world -- thinking that going into a community and starting something will be a benefit to all (or at least those who have something to gain out of the deal), not realizing the impact it has on the locals, or perhaps disregarding them altogether.
Thanks for this article -- very interesting, and an issue I'm interested in learning more about.
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