Residents who live along the highway support its repavement in the hope of improving access to medical care, but scientists are expanding research that warns of an increase in the spread of infectious diseases due to deforestation stemming from the road.
Category: Health
From Bolivia to the Tapajós: mercury trafficking for wildcat mining operations on Munduruku Indigenous Territories
InfoAmazonia visited location where illegal mercury is sold along the border between Bolivia and Brazil, for illegal use by wildcat gold mining operations in Amazonia. After the Minamata Convention, Bolivia became the world’s largest mercury importer and it is estimated that half of the metal is sold as contraband to neighboring countries including Brazil, which has eliminated its legal mercury imports.
From mining to fish: how mercury contaminates the Munduruku Indigenous community
Carnivorous fish are among the most consumed by the Munduruku and the most contaminated by mercury. Scientists suspect the toxic metal, found in the bodies of the members of this indigenous community is seriously affecting the health of adults and children who are born with malformations and developmental delays. Munduruku women already avoid getting pregnant.
New study suggests that mercury contamination is widespread among residents of the Amazon
Although living 186 miles away from the area along the Tapajós River where illegal mining is concentrated, Santarém’s inhabitants are at high risk of mercury poisoning.
Conserved landscapes act as barriers against diseases like Covid-19
Scientists emphasize that reducing the threats of contagion by zoonoses depends on “landscape immunity”, but in Brazil, the maintenance of large conserved environments runs into loopholes and delays in implementing the Forest Code.
‘Do I deserve to die for speaking on behalf of a people?’
Eronilde Fermin is the chief of the Omágua Kambeba in São Paulo de Olivença, in the Brazilian Amazon. The following is an account of the struggle of unequal forces she faces when trying to guarantee indigenous education, medical care during the pandemic, and protection against invaders.
Far from ICUs and ventilators, indigenous people from the Amazon try to shield themselves from the virus
Analysis shows that the distance between villages inland in the Amazon and the nearest ICU bed can exceed 1000 km. There are no pulmonary ventilators in most Amazonian municipalities.
Sebastião Salgado calls for protection of indigenous people during the pandemic
One of the greatest photographers of today sends a letter to Bolsonaro stating that the Covid-19 epidemic may represent the genocide of several ethnic groups.
New study: Amazon authorities can’t get a grip on mercury trade
A new report dives into the underworld of the mercury trade, as experienced across the Amazon region; in Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname.