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.
Tag: Tapajós
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.
Global Manifesto Calls for End of Investment in Hydroelectric Power Plants
The appeal signed by 300 organizations around the world addresses the COP26. According to the document, hydroelectric power plants increase greenhouse gas emissions and deplete natural resources. In the Amazon, Belo Monte deforested an area larger than the city of São Paulo. Works at 12 hydroelectric plants could lead to the deforestation of 9,500 km2 in the Tapajós river basin.
Tapajós and other Amazon dams not sustainable development say reports
According to reports, these big infrastructure projects will have huge impacts on ecosystems of rainforest and indigenous peoples, with potentially disastrous results.