THE GOLDEN CURSE OF THE PERUVIAN AMAZON

New York             Dr. Cesar Chelala

Madre de Dios, the name of a region in southeastern Peru bordering Brazil and Bolivia, is a very common designation for the Virgin Mary, meaning Mother of God in Spanish. In real life, however, rather than a religious connotation, the name exemplifies what intense and unregulated gold exploration and extraction are doing to this up to now privileged area in Peru.

Madre de Dios is a region rich in cotton, coffee, sugarcane, cacao, Brazil nuts and palm oil. However, plentiful gold has attracted tens of thousands of illegal miners whose activities are having a deleterious effect not only on precious species in the environment but also on the health and quality of life of both native and new populations in the region.

Alluvial gold mining in Peru’s Amazon rainforest has rapidly spread in recent years, driven by the high price of gold. Although many jungle mining concessions have been granted by the energy and mines ministry, the informal sector has grown out of control, and it is estimated that almost a quarter of the gold produced in Peru, the world’s sixth largest producer, is illegal. The majority of this illegal gold comes from the Madre de Dios region. Local non-governmental organizations believe that there are up to 30,000 miners in the area.

Gold deposits are mined by both large-scale operators and small-scale miners who use hydraulic mining techniques and heavy machinery to expose potential gold-yielding gravel deposits. Gold is extracted by a sluice box, a piece of gold prospecting equipment that has been in continuous use for over a hundred years. The sluice box is used to separate heavier sediment; mercury is also used for amalgamating the precious metal.

Several studies have shown that small-scale miners are less efficient in their use of mercury than industrial miners. As a result, 2.91 pounds of mercury are released into waterways for every 2.2 pounds of gold produced. It is estimated that more than 40 tons of mercury are absorbed into the rivers of Madre de Dios, poisoning the food chain.

Mercury contaminates waterways and becomes a dangerous toxin to fish and a serious threat to human health. Fish in the area contain three times more mercury than the safe levels permitted by the World Health Organization. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “After fossil fuel burning, small-scale gold mining is the world’s second largest source of mercury pollution, contributing around 1/3 of the world’s mercury pollution.”

Mercury contamination is not the only draw-back of small scale mining. Another important problem is the significant amount of deforestation this kind of mining produces. It happens while clearing forests for the construction of roads to open remote areas for transient settlers and land speculators. In addition, deforestation is the result of cutting trees for construction and fuel.

The enormity of the damage illegal mining and deforestation have caused has been documented in a study by American, French and Peruvian researchers published in the peer-reviewed magazine PLoS ONE. According to the study, using satellite imagery from NASA, researchers were able to assess the loss of 7,000 hectares (15,200 acres) of forest due to artisanal gold mining in Peru between 2003 and 2009. This is an area larger than Bermuda.

Jennifer Swenson, the lead author of the study, says that such enormous deforestation is “plainly visible from space,” and suggests that Peru should limit the importation of mercury.

A further consequence of illegal gold mining is the significant increase in prostitution among girls 12 to 17 and young women drafted into brothel-running rings spread throughout mining camps. Many of these women eventually disappear, never to be seen again. In addition, indentured labor, drug-trafficking and illegal poaching of endangered species have also increased.

Last February, Peruvian authorities have sent almost 1,000 security forces to destroy river dredgers used by illegal gold miners in the Madre de Dios region. However, even more drastic measures are needed, such as stricter vigilance, regulation, and scrupulous application of environmental emergency laws. At stake is the survival of what has been recognized as one of the most biologically rich areas in the world.

Dr. Cesar Chelala, the author of “Impact of the Environment on Children’s Health,” a publication of the Pan American Health Organization (Washington, DC), is the foreign correspondent for The Middle East Times International (Australia).