Federal agents destroy an illegal mining barge in Indigenous Yanomami territory in the Amazon. IBAMA via AP
Brazilian officials say they have nearly rid Indigenous Yanomami territory in the northern Amazon of the thousands of miners who had been operating illegally in the region.
In a rush for gold, illicit miners had contaminated rivers with mercury and other toxic chemicals and with human waste, resulting in a wave of disease among the Yanomami that led to food shortages and malnutrition. Reporting by Yale Environment 360 brought attention to the humanitarian crisis and, in particular, the devastating toll on Yanomami children. In February of 2023, Brazil launched a campaign to “completely eradicate illegal mining” from the territory, which spans an area roughly the size of Portugal.
More than a year later, officials say they have destroyed 42 airstrips, 18 aircraft, and 45 barges used by miners, and have seized 24,000 gallons of diesel fuel. They are now close to expelling the last of the miners, Reuters reports.
For the Yanomami, life is at last beginning to return to normal. “We are seeing many of them bathing in the rivers and out hunting again, and clearings being planted for food,” Nilton Tubino, the government official overseeing the operation to remove the miners, told Reuters. Tubino added that malaria is in retreat and that the government is supplying food to the Yanomami.
Still, mercury used in mining continues to contaminate water supplies. “The waters are poisoned and there are no fish,” Junior Hekurari, head of the Yanomami health council, told Reuters. “Our people believe the earth has been contaminated and that is why the crops are not growing.”
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