Illegal Gold Mining:

Impacts on Human Rights

and Biodiversity in the Amazon
Six Countries Report
Illegal Gold Mining:
Impacts on Human Rights
and Biodiversity in the Amazon
Six Countries Report

Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia

(CEDIB)

Fundación Pachamama
(Ecuador)

Due Process of Law Foundation

(DPLF)

Fundación Gaia Amazonas

(Colombia)

Hutukara Associação Yanomami

(Brazil)

Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project

(MAAP)

People in Need
(PIN)

Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental

(SPDA)

SOSOrinoco
(Venezuela)
2 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Content

3| Executive Summary
5| Introduction
9| Geographical Areas Emphasized
in this Report
13 | Legal Status of the Geographical Areas Highlighted
in this Report
20 | Socio-Environmental Impacts of Mining in the Amazon
21 | Mercury: Ecosystem Destruction and Health Effects
33 | Deforestation
37 | Effects on the Social Fabric and Health Crises
41 | Direct Victims
48 | Actors: Organised Crime, Companies and the State
48 | Organised Crime
51 | Mining Companies and Cooperatives
54 | The State
65 | States’ Human Rights and Environmental Protection
Obligations with Respect to Mining
66 | The Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment
70 | Human Rights Obligations in the Context
of Gold Mining
73 | State Obligations with Respect to the Use, Regulation, Monitoring
and Control of Mercury and Other Toxic Substances Used in
Illegal Mining
76 | Procedural Obligations of States in the Context of Activities that
Have an Environmental Impact, Including Extractive Activities
78 | Differential Impacts of Illegal Mining on Indigenous Peoples and
Other Groups Particularly Vulnerable to Illegal Mining
81 | Conclusions
83 | Recommendations
86 | Bibliography
 3 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Executive Summary

This report, prepared by several organisations caused by mercury. Furthermore, environmental

from six Amazonian countries (Bolivia, Brazil, defenders and journalists who denounce this
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela), addresses situation are under constant threat and danger.
illegal gold mining’s impacts in the Amazon, In many cases, illegal mining in the Amazon
focusing on its devastating effects on human rights is controlled by criminal networks, enabled by
and biodiversity. The Amazon, one of the most corruption and a lack of state presence. States have a
biodiverse regions in the world, is home to numerous duty to prevent, mitigate and punish environmental
Indigenous peoples who depend on its resources. damage and human rights violations arising from
However, illegal gold mining has accelerated the extractive activities, including illegal gold mining.
destruction of the Amazon’s ecosystems, causing States must adopt regulatory frameworks to govern
serious environmental and social consequences. and oversee extractive activities, including illegal
Each of the countries participating in the report mining, prevent and mitigate their negative impacts,
identifies impacts in specific geographical areas guarantee access to justice and protect Indigenous
within their respective regions of the Amazon. The peoples, local communities and environmental
same pattern of destruction is repeated in each of defenders. Furthermore, the report highlights the
these areas. Although many of the affected areas black market use of mercury in illegal mining,
are legally protected as Indigenous territories or which represents an additional challenge for states.
protected areas, the lack of effective law enforcement The Minamata Convention, which regulates the
has allowed illegal mining to flourish. Illegal mining use of mercury, has been ratified by many of the
uses mercury to extract gold, contaminating rivers countries studied, but its implementation remains
and destroying vital ecosystems. Effects also include weak. Among other policy recommendations, the
deforestation, loss of biodiversity, alteration of report recommends strengthening cooperation
hydrological cycles, and most notably, damage to among Amazonian countries to coordinate regional
the health of indigenous and local populations, who monitoring and sanctioning efforts, prioritising the
depend on local resources. Mercury accumulates delineation and titling of Indigenous territories,
in fish, a major food source for these communities, establishing systems to track and progressively
causing serious health problems. Indigenous peoples reduce the use of mercur y, and promoting
and local communities are the primary victims of Indigenous participation in decision-making on
illegal mining, facing forced displacement, violence, environmental and conservation policies, while
loss of their territories and serious health problems respecting their knowledge and cultural practices.
 4 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 1. Geographical limits of

the Amazonian biome, from an
ecological and bio-geographical
perspective. Source: MAAP, 2022.
 5 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Introduction

For the purposes of this publication, the holds 20% of the planet’s freshwater, which in itself
Amazon is considered, from an ecological and makes it one of the fundamental resources for life.
bio-geographical perspective (Hylea amazonica), Its proper use is not only essential for the region’s
as the great continuum or blanket of forests that growing population, which benefits directly from
encompasses both the Amazon River basin and it, but is also decisive in maintaining the planet’s
a large part of the Orinoco River basin and the stability, affecting the gravitational equilibrium and
forest formations of the Guiana Shield (Figure 1). continental ocean current flows (Bernal et al., 2009).
This immense region, measuring about 7.640.665 Despite being considered a unique, irre-
km 2, constitutes the most biodiverse biome in placeable, megadiverse and invaluable region,
the world, supporting approximately 10% of all the Amazon is under serious threat. The Science
currently known vascular plant and vertebrate Panel for the Amazon (PCA) states in its 2021
animal species on the planet. Estimates (gener- report that around 65% of the region’s endemic
ally underestimated and/or biased towards the species are classified under some risk category on
Brazilian Amazon) point to a wealth of species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
including about 50.000 vascular plants, at least (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (Critically
2.406 fish, 427 amphibians, 371 reptiles, 1.300 Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable), warn-
birds and 425 mammals, all concentrated in only ing that this percentage is well above the global
0,5% of the total surface of the Earth. In addition, average risk, which is estimated at 47% for tropi-
the Amazon maintains an impressive cultural cal countries (Pitman and Jørgensen, 2002 cited in the
diversity. It is home to about 47 million people, Science Panel for the Amazon, 2021).
of which about 2,2 million are part of around Deforestation, forest degradation and climate
410 distinct ethnic groups, including 80 groups change are seriously jeopardizing the functionality
that remain in voluntary isolation, all of whom of Amazonian ecosystems and decreasing the re-
have different spoken languages and cosmovisions silience of a forest that has been able to respond to
(Science Panel for the Amazon, 2021). climate variability for more than 65 million years.
On the other hand, the region is an impor- Flores et al., (2024) combined spatial information
tant carbon sink. It is estimated that the Amazon on various disturbances and estimated that by
stores an amount of carbon equivalent to 15 to 20 2050, between 10% and 47% of Amazonian forests
years of global CO2 emissions (150 to 200 Pg C), will be exposed to compound disturbances which
which demonstrates its crucial role in regulating the could trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions
global climate (IPCC, 2021). Likewise, the Amazon and potentially exacerbate regional climate change.
 6 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Deforestation in the Amazon is a product of

increasing pressures such as population density,
natural resource extraction, infrastructure develop-
ment and illicit crops, among other drivers (Davidson
et al., 2012). Gold mining, a productive activity that
has boomed in recent decades, has exacerbated
deforestation and caused a range of other negative
impacts on ecosystems, local communities and hu-
man rights (Espinosa and Beyeler, 2021). For example,
the use of mercury in extraction processes pollutes
rivers and affects the health of Indigenous and
local populations, causing serious public health
problems (Bell et al., 2021).
This report focuses on the general impacts
of illegal gold mining in six Amazonian coun-
tries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Venezuela) and seeks to highlight the severe impacts
this activity has on the Amazon and the communi-
ties that inhabit it, analysing concrete cases that
illustrate the magnitude of the problem. Through a
review of the technical and scientific literature, the
report documents some of gold mining’s effects on
biodiversity and the human rights of Indigenous
and local communities. While this report focuses
on illegal mining, in some cases it refers to different
types of mining: artisanal, industrial, small-scale
or medium-scale. These references to other types
of gold mining are made to illustrate its effects or
impacts on the countries studied. The report will
explicitly state when types of gold mining other
than illegal mining are mentioned.

Total transformation of the banks and course

of the Mapiri River, Mapiri Municipality, Bolivia.
Source: CEDIB.
7 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t
 8 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 2. Location of the Amazonian

geographical areas analysed in the report.
Source: Prepared by the authors based on
layers available in ArcGis Online.
 9 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Geographical Areas Emphasized

in this Report

To create this report, each organisation from In the case of Brazil, the information and data
the six participating countries prepared a contribu- provided focus on the Yanomami Indigenous Territory,
tion focusing on the geographical space in which in the states of Amazonas and Roraima, adjacent to
they operate and where their expert opinion shows the Venezuelan border, one of the richest and most
the principal effects of legal and illegal mining on complex ecosystems on the planet. The Yanomami
the Amazonian environment. This information Indigenous Territory is a vast area of Amazonian forest,
helps to gauge the undeniable effects that min- covering more than 9 million hectares (90.000 km2),
ing has on the socio-environmental balance in which hosts a great diversity of species. Although
the region, helping to analyse current and future exact figures on the total number are not available,
consequences and to come up with actions to avoid it is estimated that the region is home to over 1.000
irreversible changes that will certainly damage the plant species and over 300 bird species. Around
global balance (Figure 2). 150 mammal species have been recorded, as well
as a high diversity of reptiles and amphibians (Albert,
In Bolivia, the main point of reference is 1999). This territory also plays an essential role in
the middle part of the Beni and the Madre de Dios regional climate regulation. It is mainly inhabited by
river basins, in the north of the country. This is the Yanomami people, made up of different groups,
considered one of the most biodiverse areas on the who maintain a deep relationship with this land,
continent. It is home to the Madidi-Pilón Lajas- sustained by traditional practices that respect and
Apolobamba-Cotapata conservation corridor, preserve the environment.
where 57 endemic species have been identified
(12% reptiles, 7% mammals, 25% birds and 56% Colombia focuses its report on the eastern
amphibians), as well as 13 “endangered” species Colombian Amazon, which includes the departments
(2 amphibians, 7 birds, 4 mammals) and 7 “criti- of Vaupés, Amazonas and Guainía, which border
cally endangered” species (5 amphibians and 2 Venezuela, Brazil and Peru. These departments
birds) (WCS et al., 2020). The area is also home to cover an area of approximately 22.603.000 hectares
26 Indigenous Originary Campesino Territories (226.030 km2) and are home to dozens of Indigenous
(IOCT), who either hold titles or have submit- peoples. It is home to the best-preserved tropical
ted applications for titles. Most of the territories rainforest cover in the country1 and extraordinary
belong to Indigenous peoples whose way of life is
closely linked to the rivers, forest and biodiversity 1
It is estimated that the Indigenous territories of this Colombian Ama-
in these territories. zon sub-region have lost only 0,7% of their forest cover in the last 38
 10 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

biocultural diversity, as it is a very heterogeneous that 473 species and 225 genera are known to exist
territory. Guainía is a border territory between the in the Napo basin, figures that exceed the number
Orinoco and the Amazon, with all the biological and reported in any other hydrographic system of simi-
cultural diversity that this entails. Cárdenas et al., lar size in the world (STCTEA, 2021). The Ecuadorian
(2019) report that at least 1.133 species of flora have Amazon is the ancestral territory of the Siona, Cofán,
been recorded in the Apaporis River basin (Guaviare, Secoya, Huaorani, Shuar, Achuar, Sapara, Andoa,
Caquetá, Vaupés and Amazonas departments), 51 of Shiwiar, Quijos and Amazonian Kichwa peoples,
which are endemic to the country. 10 new species who share a common land, history, language and
have been discovered for science. There are also 256 traditions (Arias et al., 2012).
species of arachnids, 160 species of diurnal butter-
flies, 101 species of fish (which represents 10% of In Perú, the Amazon covers a total area of
the species in the Colombian Amazon biome), 40 78.282.060 hectares (782.820,6 km2), an area equiva-
species of amphibians, 34 species of reptiles, 273 lent to 60,9% of the country’s territory (IBC, 2009). This
species of birds (15% of the birds in the Colombian region includes the departments of Loreto, Ucayali
Amazon biome), 44 species of bats and 38 species and Madre de Dios in their entirety and part of the
of medium and large mammals, including some departments of Amazonas, Cajamarca, Huancavelica,
endangered species such as the jaguar, tapir, otter La Libertad, Pasco, Piura, Puno, Ayacucho, Junín,
and water dog. In this region of Colombia there are Cusco, San Martín and Huánuco (IBC, 2009), or 15
approximately 51 Indigenous peoples with 41 dif- of the 24 of the 24 departments that make up the
ferent languages belonging to the Eastern Tukano, country,2 bordering Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and
Arawak and Makú-Puinave language families. For Bolivia. According to Villacorta et al., (2007), some
example, the Indigenous territory of Yaigojé Apaporis 7.372 species of higher plants, 262 of amphibians,
is inhabited and managed by communities belonging 180 of reptiles, 806 of birds and 293 of mammals
to the Tanimuca, Letuama, Macuna, Yauna, Yujup, have been recorded in this extensive region, corre-
Cabillari, Gente de Día, Tuyuca, Majiña and Gente sponding to 43%, 65%, 46%, 44%, 44% and 63%,
de Leña ethnic groups. respectively, of the national total inventoried. These
Meanwhile, Ecuador provides informa- figures are increasing as new species are discovered.
tion on all its Amazonian Provinces: Sucumbíos, In addition, there are 14.701 samples of plant re-
Orellana, Napo, Pastaza, Morona Santiago and sources and 7.328 samples of animal DNA stored in
Zamora Chinchipe, representing about 48% of the the germplasm bank. Likewise, in 2011, the Peruvian
country, around 120.000 km2. This region has been Amazon was identified as home to more than 800
classified as one of the most diverse in the world, in species of fish, equivalent to 82% of the total number
terms of its flora and fauna. It has 7.000 species of of species recorded in the country’s inland waters
vascular plants, 183 of mammals, 761 of birds, 219 (Ortega et al., 2010).
of reptiles, 285 of amphibians and 655 of fish. The
richness of the Amazonian rivers is so remarkable In Venezuela, the area being reported on
belongs to the Guayana region, as defined by Huber
years, thanks to Indigenous peoples’ management (MapBiomas and
RAISG, 2023). 2
Peru has a total of 24 departments and one constitutional province.
 11 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

(1995). It is made up of the states of Amazonas, Bolivar is far from being ecologically homogeneous; on the
and Delta Amacuro, without including the Essequibo contrary, it has a very wide variety of ecosystems,
Territory. This region represents 49,5% (453.915 with different types of forests, savannahs, grasslands,
km2) of Venezuela’s land area (916.445 km2, exclud- shrublands and vegetation that support the great
ing the Essequibo Territory) and borders Colombia, biodiversity found, some of which are unique to the
Brazil and Guyana. This vast region includes the country (Riina and Huber, 2003). From a socio-cultural
Venezuelan part of the Amazon basin (about 41.956 and ethnic perspective, Venezuelan Guayana has
km²) (Rojas and Castaño, 1990), more than half (58%) of the greatest diversity in the country, with a myriad
the Venezuelan Orinoco basin (Lasso et al., 2010) and of Creole, Afro-descendant and Indigenous popula-
about 45% of the area of the Guiana Shield (Huber, tions, including more than 1.500 communities of 30
1995). The Guayana region of Venezuela is not just Indigenous peoples from the Caribbean, Arawak,
an area with a rich number of species, but also has Saliva, Yanomami, Guajibo, Tupi and independent
one of the highest levels of endemicity in the country linguistic families. The Indigenous peoples that in-
and in the whole of northern South America. Of the habit the region are: Akawaio, Arawak, Arutani,
9.411 known species of vascular flora, 2.136 (22,7%) Baniva, Baré, Eñepa, Inga, Jivi, Jodi, Kariña, Kubeo,
are endemic to Venezuelan Guayana. With respect Kurripako, Mako, Macushi, Mapoyo, Pemón, Piapoko,
to the vertebrate fauna, more than 50% of the spe- Puinave, Sáliva, Sanema, Sapé, Shiriana, Uwottüja
cies reported in Venezuela are found in the Guayana (Piaroa), Wapishana, Warao, Warekena, Yanomami,
region. For example, of the 360 species of known Yabarana, Ye’kwana and Yeral (INE, 2015).
amphibians in Venezuela, 195 (54,2%) are present In addition, there are groups among the Uwottüja
in the Guayana region, 65 of which are endemic. (Piaroa), Jodi and Yanomami, who are in voluntary
Special mention should be made of the Venezuelan isolation or initial contact, which makes them par-
continental ichthyofauna of the Guayana region, ticularly vulnerable to external pressures on them,
which contains 960 species. For example, in the their territory and their resources (Poleo, 2022). The
Canaima National Park alone, 119 species (40%) of total population living in the three states is 1.725.120
the known ichthyofauna in the entire Caroní basin people. The Indigenous population totals 172.543
have been recorded, 55 of which are considered people, which represents 10,3% of the total population
endemic. In other words, 45% of the ichthyofauna of of the three states and 24% of the national Indigenous
Canaima are endemic. Finally, Venezuelan Guayana population (INE, 2015).

Middle Putumayo Algodón, Loreto Department, Peru. Source: Diego Pérez, SPDA.
 12 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 3. Mining expansion in the Yanomami

Indigenous Territory. Source: MAAP, 2024.
 13 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Legal Status of the Geographical Areas

Highlighted in this Report

In Bolivia, the Beni river basin overlaps not only significant because of its size, which
with 6 national protected areas (Manuripi, Madidi, is approximately twice that of Switzerland, but
Apolobamba, Pilón Lajas, Cotapata, Tunari), 5 also because it represents the largest Indigenous
departmental protected areas and 7 municipal jungle territory in Brazil.5 Legally, the recognition
protected areas. Several of the national protect- of this territory is fundamental for the protec-
ed areas form part of one of the most biodiverse tion of Yanomami rights. Despite its status as
zones on the continent, such as the Madidi-Pilón Indigenous land, the territory has recently been
Lajas-Apolobamba-Cotapata conservation corridor. subject to neglect by the Bolsonaro government,
Furthermore, in the Beni and Madre de Dios river leading to a humanitarian crisis in several of its
basins there are 26 consolidated or requested IOCTs communities6 - particularly those located along
(Ministry of Development Planning, 2005). It should also be the Uraricoera, Mucajaí, Couto de Magalhães and
noted that the untouchable and fully protected area Catrimani rivers, which have long been exploited
of the Madidi National Park is considered a special by illegal miners.
protection area for the uncontacted Indigenous According to the Socio-Environmental
Toromona people. Institute,7 Brazil has 534 Indigenous lands ap-
proved or reserved by the President of the Republic.
The area of Brazil considered in this re- From 2019-2022, garimpo (illegal gold miners)on
port is the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, one Indigenous lands increased dramatically (Figure
of the largest territories in Brazil, encompassing 3). In 2020, the area being mined was 6 times
approximately 96.650 km² of tropical rainfor- larger than it was in 1985, growing from 31.000
est.3 This territory is officially recognised for its to 206.000 hectares (MapBiomas, 2021).
importance in the protection of biodiversity and
Yanomami Indigenous culture, with more than Much of Colombia’s eastern Amazon is
250 isolated communities and groups, totalling collectively titled to Indigenous peoples. There
more than 27.000 inhabitants.4 This territory is are also various types of protected areas such as
national parks and nature reserves. There are also
3
https://pib.socioambiental.org/es/Povo:Yanomami
4
https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2023-08/maior-ter-
ra-indigena-do-brasil-yanomami-contabiliza-27152-pes-
soas#:~:text=A%20Terra%20Ind%C3%ADgena%20Yanoma- 5
https://preview.survival.es/indigenas/yanomami
mi%20(AM,Geografia%20e%20Estat%C3%ADstica%20 6
https://coicamazonia.org/los-yanomamis-luchan-por-sus-vidas-y-
(IBGE); https://brazil.iom.int/es/news/en-el-corazon-de-la-amazo- territorios-en-la-amazonia-brasilera/
nia-fortaleciendo-los-esfuerzos-para-la-prevencion-de-enferme- 7
Socio-Environmental Institute. Indigenous Lands in Brazil. Available
dades-con-las-comunidades-indigenas-yanomami-en-brasil at https://terrasindigenas.org.br/. Accessed on 13 Sep. 2024.
 14 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

various types of protected areas such as national is applicable to the non-municipalised areas of the
parks and nature reserves, some of which overlap three departments. In this sense, the Indigenous
with or have been established on land owned col- peoples of the eastern Colombian Amazon have
lectively by Indigenous peoples. Likewise, since a political interest in having their forms of gov-
1959, a large part of this territory has been de- ernment recognised on the basis of their own
clared a Forest Reserve. According to the Amazon systems of knowledge and environmental and
Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental territorial management.
Information (RAISG) (2024), of the 50.345.527,11
hectares in the Colombian Amazon. Of these, In the Ecuadorian Amazon, the areas al-
27.413.940 are collectively titled to Indigenous located to artisanal and small-scale mining occupy
peoples (equivalent to 54.45% of the territory). approximately 225.262,4 hectares distributed across
Protected areas across all sub-categories total 1664 concessions in six Amazonian provinces,
11.631.194,46 hectares, making up a total of mainly concentrated in the provinces of Zamora
23,10% of the Amazon. Chinchipe, Morona Santiago and Napo. They are
The case of the Yaigojé Apaporis Indigenous generally found near riverbanks that flow down
Reserve is emblematic of the overlap between from the Andes and in the Cordillera del Condor.8
Indigenous territories and protected areas. When Many are close to protected natural areas and even
they were faced with the authorization, without con- go into Indigenous territories. These figures relate
sultation, of mining titles for open-pit gold mining to “legal” mining, but it should be noted that the
on part of their territory, including on sacred sites, lack of state control facilitates the proliferation of
the community decided to work with the National illegal and informal mining activities, which coex-
Natural Parks to create a protected area, shielded ist with legal mining.
from titling without consultation. Following a legal Z amora Chinchipe is the Ecuador ian
dispute, the Colombian Constitutional Court (2014) Amazonian province with the most concessions,
declared the park legal and ordered an investigation with more than 63% of the mining concessions,
into the mining company’s behaviour. In recent followed by Morona Santiago with 20%, Napo with
years, the national government has identified il- 9% and Sucumbíos with 6%. This is reflected in
legal or illicit alluvial mining in the rivers that the level of gold extraction. According to data from
border or cross the Puinawai, Puré, Cahuinarí the Ministry of Mining (2016: 292) from 2005-2014,
and Amacayacu National Parks (Ministry of Mines the country’s gold production increased eleven-
and Energy [MinMinas], 2022). fold, with the most significant provinces being
Currently, fourteen of the Indigenous terri- El Oro, Azuay and Zamora Chinchipe. Zamora
tories are in the process of becoming Indigenous Chinchipe produced 2.730.997,51 grams of gold,
Territorial Entities in Vaupés, Amazonas and representing 92,53% of the gold production in
Guainía. In other words, they are in the legal the Ecuadorian Amazon.
process of becoming part of the Colombian state’s
functional and administrative structure, based on 8
The most common form of gold extraction is alluvial mining, which
decree law 632 of 2018, which develops transitory is carried out with motor pumps, dredges and mini-dredges. In the
provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Napo, vein-type deposits are
article 56 of the 1991 Political Constitution, and also mined with dynamite and hydraulic hammers.
 15 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 4. Mining expansion

in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Source: MAAP, 2023.

The highest concentration of illegal mining for the buffer zone, where land use is meant to
sites is mainly concentrated in the provinces of be restricted in order to provide an additional
Morona Santiago, Napo and Zamora Chinchipe. swathe of protection for the protected area. In
Illegal miners have developed alert and rapid mo- many protected areas it is clear that the borders
bilisation mechanisms to evade monitoring and were adapted in order to guarantee the mining
continue their activities, which is why in many concession, without taking the buffer zone into
cases they are located close to international bor- account. Navarro et al., (2003:16) remind us that
ders, which contributes to building this circle of these border or buffer zones with protected areas
impunity (Figure 4). should gradually decrease the intensity of use and
Many of the small-scale and artisanal min- the negative impact of anthropogenic activities,
ing concessions border the natural protected until reaching a zone of zero to almost zero in-
areas, occupying the part that should be set aside tensity of use. These areas correspond to the core
 16 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

zones of protected areas, in addition to promoting In the Peruvian Amazon, protected natural
the economic development of local populations areas cover an area of 16,2 million hectares; 2,16
without this implying that the buffer zones be- million hectares belong to 10 community reserves
come attractive focus points for the establishment managed jointly by Indigenous organisations or
of new uncontrolled human settlements, such as peoples and the state, which aim to protect wildlife
those promoted by mining. for the benefit of neighbouring rural populations.
There are nine natural areas that belong to This is because Peru is a country that must be
the National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador recognised as Indigenous.
(SNAP) and that are threatened by the proximity In Peru, approximately 200.000 people belong
of the mining concessions mentioned above. These to an Indigenous people of the Amazon; approxi-
are Cayambe Coca, Sumaco Napo Galeras, Río mately 7.500 of them belong to 25 Indigenous
Negro-Sopladora, Podocarpus and Yacuri National peoples in isolation and initial contact. Of the
Parks; El Quimi and Cerro Plateado Biological 55 Indigenous peoples in the country, 51 are
Reserves; Cofán Bermejo Ecological Reserve; and from the Amazon (Ministry of Culture, 2024a; INEI,
El Zarza Wildlife Refuge. In areas such as El Quimi 2018). Likewise, territorial rights have been rec-
and La Sopladora, the border delimitations are so ognised for these peoples in the Amazon, and
symmetrical that they appear to have been adapted as of December 2022, there are 1.585 titled na-
specifically so that the land could be granted as tive communities (Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian
a mining concession. El Zarza is a reserve threat- Development -MIDAGRI-, 2023) and 8 territorial and
ened by small and large-scale mining, as it borders Indigenous reserves to protect Indigenous peoples
the Fruta del Norte mega-mining project. Finally, in isolation and initial contact, which represents
Yacuri National Park is the only case where there 3,6% of the national territory (Ministry of Culture,
are concessions operating within the protected area. 2024b). In 2022, in the Madre de Dios department
With regard to Indigenous territories, there are alone, approximately 1.088 illegal mining opera-
currently 61.326,6 hectares of concessions within tions were identified, 45,8% of which occurred
Indigenous territories, which represents 27,22% in native communities, 32,9% in bodies of water,
of the concessions granted in the Ecuadorian 18% in buffer zones of protected natural areas
Amazon, meaning that a quarter of the small- and 0,03% outside the mining corridor (Figure 5),
scale and artisanal mining concessions are located (Amazon Conservation/USAID PREVENT Project, 2022).
within Indigenous territories. This undoubtedly
negatively affects the communities’ ways of life In Venezuela, the Guayana /Amazon
and hinders their processes of autonomy and region is covered by 41 “Areas under Special
self-determination. Additionally, whether those Administration Regime” (ABRAE) with differ-
concessions are on or near Indigenous territo- ent objectives. According to the Organic Law
ries, there is widespread dissatisfaction among of Territorial Zoning, these areas are defined
Indigenous organisations, who report that none as spaces within the national territory that are
of the concessions granted within their territories subject to a special management regime. Of these,
have involved the implementation of free, prior eight are national parks, 19 natural monuments,
and informed consultation and consent. two biosphere reserves, three forest reserves,
 17 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 5. Mining expansion in

the southern Peruvian Amazon.
Source: MAAP, 2024.

five forested areas, one national water reserve, were created. Thus, most of Venezuelan Guayana
two protected areas and one wildlife reserve. Of should be a mining-free region. In addition, a
these 41 areas, 30 are protected natural areas as specific ban on any type of mining activity has
defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity, been in place for the state of Amazonas since
and all but three of them are affected by illegal 1989. In the case of Bolivar state, such mining
mining. However, mining is not permitted in activity would only be legally possible in those
any of them, Moreover, in every case mining is areas under an ordinary administration regime,
contrary to the objectives for which they were which is circumscribed to a strip in the north
created and to the special laws by which they of the state.
 18 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 6. Mining in the Imataca

Forest Reserve, Venezuela.
Source: https://satellites.pro/
 19 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

The region most heavily impacted by mining official recognition of ownership has only been
is the Imataca Forest Reserve (Figure 6). The re- granted in the form of eight titles to 61 communi-
serve was invaded by mining, which was legalised ties, covering an area of 1.206.060,91 hectares.
through a strained interpretation of the law and The majority of Indigenous peoples in the south
sparked a major controversy in 1997. This activity of the country live within protected areas and,
was unlawfully re-legalised in the 2004 zoning despite not having their territory recognised,
plan (SOSOrinoco, 2023c). This same principle of enjoy legal protection. In many cases, some of the
evading legal provisions is what has allowed the goals of creating protected areas had to do with
imposition of an extractivist model south of the the preservation of Indigenous peoples’ culture
Orinoco, rendering efforts to enforce the provisions and habitat, which has allowed them to develop
of the law ineffective. their traditions and cultural components, except
The extractivist policy was completed with the those aspects that could potentially infringe on
declaration of the National Strategic Development national sovereignty (SOSOrinoco, 2023d).
Zone, “Orinoco Mining Arc” (OMA), which des-
ignates and privileges the development of mining
activities in 111.843,70 km2, in the northern part
of the state of Bolivar (Venezuela, 2016). This des-
ignation formalised a policy in which mining
is considered not only the main, but the only
desirable economic activity, negating all other
activities that were carried out there and deny-
ing the potential for developing other sustainable
activities. This provided a framework of apparent
legality to all the illegal mining that had been
taking place but was now protected by the gov-
ernment. This scheme comprises the fundamental
element of mining policy, which incorporates
small and medium-scale mining, which have low
investment and low levels of technology, as cheap
and disposable partners who make the majority
of their mining production available to the gov-
ernment. Furthermore, this scheme, with all its
socio-environmental impacts, not only affects the
area delimited by the OMA, but also the whole
of southern Venezuela.
In the Guayana/Amazon region of Venezuela
there are 30 different Indigenous communities
living in more than 1.500 communities. All of
them have property rights to their lands, but
 20 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Socio-Environmental Impacts of Mining

in the Amazon

Gold mining in the Amazon is primarily car- concentrated using gutters (washers). This pre-
ried out on bodies of water and in alluvial areas concentrate is “harvested,” usually on a weekly
near to or associated with bodies of water: in other basis, to be “enriched” by panning. The fine gold
words, through alluvial gold mining. Alluvial gold content is amalgamated with mercury, either by
mining sediments end up running downstream hand or, in some cases, using amalgamating drums,
filled with highly toxic substances such as mercury, agitators and even mixers similar to small concrete
creating high levels of suspended sediment. Gold mixers. It is common to burn the amalgam in the
mining can also occur in gold outcrops far from open air, a practice categorised as “bad” by the
waterways, especially in the Guiana Shield, though Minamata Convention. In the case of vein min-
this still requires the use of water as a vehicle for ing, ore is extracted from rock in the mines and
processing the raw material, which always ends subsequently crushed in ball mills. In this type of
up having an impact on natural drainage, as well gold mining, it is very common to pour mercury
as on the areas surrounding the mining site. directly into the milling equipment to simultane-
In alluvial mining, coarse waste material is ously grind and amalgamate in the same machine.
sorted out using static or vibrating screens and This practice is listed in the Minamata Convention
trommels, and then gold-bearing material is as one of the “worst practices.”

Illegal and informal mining in the Mapiri River,

Bolivia. Source: CEDIB.
 21 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Mercury: Ecosystem Destruction and Health Effects

The ecological impact of the type of mining part of the process, it enters ecosystem compart-
described above is reflected in the water, soils, ments, where it remains in both soil and water for
vegetation and overall biodiversity. It involves a long time. It is incorporated into food chains,
deforestation, landscape destruction, habitat frag- especially by fish and other organisms, in which it
mentation, disruption of biogeochemical cycles, bioaccumulates as methylmercury, eventually con-
alteration of river courses, modification of river sumed by humans. Methylmercury enters aquatic
flows, increased sedimentation, riverbank land- organisms and eventually reaches a maximum
slides and mudslides, as well as impacts on the concentration at the top of the food chain (Benefice
reproductive cycle of fish, the availability of fish et al., 2010). Recent studies demonstrate physiological
and increased hunting. In addition, there are im- and neurological effects in Amazonian fish (Tanan
pacts on human health and availability of drinking et al., 2006; Mela et al., 2007; Neto et al., 2008).
water and soil is rendered unusable for agriculture
(Vargas, 2011: 230). Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most While amalgamation of gold with mercury is
toxic form of mercury; it is easily assimilated by not the only technology used in the gold extraction
organisms and constitutes at least 90% of the total process, it is the most widely used. In Bolivia, the
mercury in fish muscle, one of the main sources importation, commercialisation and use of mercury
of human ingestion of methylmercury (Bloom, 1992 is legal; there is no specific regulation (Campanini
in Pouilly et al., 2012: 9). Gonzales, 2020) beyond the registration of import-
In general, this type of mining is carried out ers and sellers (DS 4959) which has shortcomings
without a technical environmental mine closure, (Campanini Gonzales, 2023) (Figure 7). Although it is clas-
so pollutants persist at the site for generations, sified as a hazardous substance and therefore should
while mining moves on to new locations to repeat be subject to certain regulations on its importation,
the cycle. transport, use and disposal, these mechanisms are
not enforced (Campanini Gonzales, 2020). Bolivia has
Mining activity in the Amazon replaces the become the hub for mercury trade in the region:
forest-dominated landscape with one filled with between 2016 and 2023 it has imported 1.251
tailing ponds, where residual mercury can be con- tonnes of mercury. Mercury is legally imported
verted by microbial activity into methylmercury at to be illegally exported to neighbouring countries
net rates five to seven times higher than in rivers, that have established import restrictions.
according to the Centre for Amazonian Scientific Several reports in Peru, Brazil and Bolivia have
Innovation (2021), which cites a study in Ecuador exposed the role of Peruvian people and compa-
estimating a 670% increase in the presence of tail- nies in Bolivia, some of whom have complaints or
ing ponds since 1985. investigations open against them in that country
The mercury used to extract gold is mixed (Campanini Gonzales, 2023; Los Tiempos, 2023; Ramírez,
with mineral sediments and then sublimated. As 2024; Castro & Garro, 2022).
 Figure 7. Mercury use in Bolivia.
Source: CEDIB.

Figure 8. Mining on the Mapiri River,

Bolivia. Source: CIPCA Pando.

Between 1952 and 2000, it has been estimat- Emission Sources (Campanini, 2020) reports that gold
ed more than 330 tonnes of mercury have been mining is responsible for 82,3% of national mer-
released into the environment in Bolivia, either cury emissions.
directly into rivers or indirectly through open burn- Total mercury concentration in sediments
ing of mercury amalgam (Maurice-Boirgoin et al., 2003). has been estimated to vary between 8 ng/L during
Since 2015, Bolivia has become the largest legal the country’s dry season to 1.600 ng/L during the
importer of mercury in the world, averaging 180 rainy season. Half of the Beni River’s numerous
tonnes/year. Bolivia’s National Inventory of Mercury tributaries have had gold mining since the 1960s,

22
including the Kaka, Tipuani and Mapiri rivers (Paz concentrations increase from 126 kg/km-2j-1 in a
et al., s. f.) (Figure 8). It is estimated that 4.5 tonnes/ river with no mining to between 590 and 2.900
year of clay-associated mercury is deposited in the kg/km-2j-1 in rivers with recent human activities
alluvial plain along the Beni River as it leaves the (Maurice-Bourgoin et al., 2003).
Andes; up to 47% of that amount (2,1 tonnes) may While in some cases there may be low mercury
re-enter the river through erosion (Miller & Villarroel, transfer from soil to plants, it is known that plants
2011: 423) (Figure 9). Bodies of water that originate in may contain >0,1 mg Hg/kg near gold mining opera-
the Andes and feed the Amazon see their mercury tions, contributing to mercury bioaccumulation in

23
 24 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 9. Mining footprint of open-pit

activity near the Beni River, Bolivia.
Source: Satellite Pro.

the food chain. For example, camelids are entirely the 0,1 mg/kg limit set by the European Union for
dependent on high-mercury forage and their meat plants used for animal feed (Directive 2002/32/EC, 2002;
is an important source of protein for communities Terán-Mita et al., 2013). Recent studies in a Bolivian
and miners in the upper watersheds in Bolivia. The watershed show very high levels of mercury in the
mercury-related health risks may increase if min- muscles of five out of eight species of fish native to
ers ingest plant species for medicinal purposes (ex. the area, which are consumed at high levels by the
Alchemilla pinnata). High mercury content in plants local population (Wilmer Peñates-Hernández et al., 2023).
of the Poaceae and Rosaceae families may increase The United Nations Environment Programme
mercury accumulation in the food chain because (UNEP) attributes 37,1% of total mercury emis-
camelids can only thrive on these plants as food. sions in the global atmosphere to this type of
The mercury content in all plant samples exceeded mining (2014: 27). The release of mercury in gas
 25 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 10. Tucunare (Cichla monoculus)

captured during field sampling in
Brazil. Source: The Institute for
Indigenous Research and Training
(Iepé) in Mongabay, 2020.

form is the fastest way to distribute the metal to for the Defence of Native Indigenous Territories and
the surrounding environment, as it is transported Protected Areas (CONTIOCAP) and the PhD unit
by wind, evapotranspiration and relative humid- in Environmental Toxicology of the University of
ity. The UNEP also attributes 36,26% of mercury Cartagena published results from samples taken
released into aquatic systems in the region to this between 2021 and 2022 in the Beni, Madre de Dios
type of mining (Santana et al., 2014: 34). and Mamoré river basins in the Bolivian Amazon.
A total of 865 human hair samples were collected
In Bolivia the average level of mercury de- in different watersheds of the Beni (n=435), Madre
tected by Benefice et al., (2010) in 173 women was de Dios (n=377) and Mamoré (n=53) rivers. The
4,4 µg/g (median); 14,7% of the women showed results show average mercury levels between 10
mercury level above 10 µg/g. Most of the women and 20 ppm, and in some cases, even higher than
affected were young, frequent fish eaters and part 20 ppm, reaching up to 30 ppm.
of the Indigenous Esse Ejja people. A non-fishing
lifestyle had a protective effect. A study by Bell et According to a study in Brazil, 81% of car-
al., (2021) revealed significantly elevated mercury nivorous fish had detectable levels of mercury
levels in hair samples from Indigenous Esse Ejja above the WHO standard for fish (of 0,5 μg/g)
women of reproductive age, with levels higher than (WWF, 2019: 77) (Figure 10). There is evidence show-
previously identified by the International Pollutant ing mercury toxicity relationships with predatory
Elimination Network (IPEN), with a mean of 7,58 aquatic mammals in warmer waters, such as pink
ppm ± 4,75 ppm, significantly exceeding critical dolphin and manatee populations. Pink dolphin
limits (1 ppm according to the US Environmental densities are higher in locations with lower rates
Protection Agency). of degradation, especially with respect to water
In 2023, the Documentation and Information quality. Twenty-six percent of samples analysed
Centre Bolivia (CEDIB), the National Coordinator from four river dolphin species in the Amazon and
 26 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Orinoco river basins have mercury levels above the full development of their children, who are
WHO standards (WWF, 2019: 77). Because of their exposed to birth defects, cerebral palsy and other
long lifespan and potential to accumulate meth- effects. A 2014 study carried out in the Yanomami
ylmercury, pink dolphins serve as bio-indicators Indigenous Territory (YIT) indicated that 92% of
of the state of freshwater degradation. the members of the Aracaçá community, located
An alert in the Brazilian Amazon, highlighted in the Waikás region – an area heavily impacted
by Larissa Schneider of the Australian National by the “garimpeira” presence – had high rates of
University, emphasises the urgency of protecting mercury poisoning. Unfortunately, the Brazilian
16 turtle species that are endangered by mercury state has so far failed to develop a strategy to moni-
contamination. Schneider identified behavioural tor mercury contamination in Yanomami land.
and endocrine disrupting effects associated with
mercury, which could be fatal at high concentra- In Colombia, this type of mining has been
tions (Salisbury, 2016). observed in several of the main rivers in the sub-
In Brazil, the Yanomami and Ye’kwana region, such as Amazonas, Putumayo, Cotuhé,
Indigenous Health Special District found that Caquetá, Inírida, Yarí, Puré and Atabapo (Figure
water consumed in 13 communities in 2021 was 11) (MinMinas, 2022). The aforementioned study by
unfit for human consumption, according to ap- the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas, 2022)
plicable Brazilian standards, with high levels of determined that the protected area (or area excluded
faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli. More recently, from mining) most affected by alluvial mining
a Federal Police survey conducted with residents on Amazonian land was the Puinawai National
of the Yanomami Indigenous Territory showed Reserve in Guainía. This protected area contains
that water samples from the Uraricoera, Parima, shields and plateaus that are part of one of the old-
Catrimani and Mucajaí rivers have mercury levels est geological structures on the planet, the Guiana
approximately 8.600% higher than those estab- Shield (Guarnizo and Tarazona, 2023). Large quantities
lished by internal legal standards. Finally, another of coltan and gold are illegally extracted from its
survey by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) soils and rivers without any state control.
indicated that “fish collected in 3 of 4 points in Colombia is the country with the third highest
the Rio Branco watershed - the main river in the level of mercury contamination, releasing between
state of Roraima - showed mercury concentrations 50 and 100 tonnes of mercury annually as part
greater than or equal to the limit established by the of gold mining (MADS, 2023). Among Indigenous
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United people in the Yaigojé Apaporis territory, mercury
Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation concentrations of 2,.98 μg/g (22,98 ppm) were
(WHO).” All this was the case despite the fact found, which is extremely high compared to in-
that the Brazilian state has been a member of the ternational standards for the protection of human
Minamata Convention since 2013. health (with limits equivalent to 1 μg/g, i.e. one
Studies by the Fiocruz Foundation have dem- part per million) (ACIMA et al., 2019).
onstrated how members of Indigenous peoples
are affected by mercury, with irreversible conse- In Ecuador, mercury is traded illegally in
quences for women’s reproductive health and for 100 gram plastic bags, 500 gram bottles or 34,5
 27 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 11. Mining in the Caquetá River, Colombia.

Source: Satellite Pro.

kg jars. The market price in 2018 ranged from It is estimated that about 60% of the mer-
USD 100-120 per kilogram. It is currently traded cury released by mining operations is dispersed
at USD 286-330 per pound. Most of the mercury in the air (MAE 2011: 44). According to the World
enters the country illegally through the Amazonian Wildlife Fund (WWF), at least 18 tonnes of mer-
border with Peru and Colombia.9 cury released from gold mining are reported in
Ecuador’s national emissions inventory (2019: 71).
9
Mercury is not the only contraband material smuggled in for artisanal In fish, methylmercury may play a role in reduc-
and small-scale mining activities. The Zamora Chamber of Small-
Scale Mining has reported that explosives are smuggled illegally
ing fertility or causing slower growth. Depending
across the border with Peru, a border where there is almost no mil- on exposure levels, it could alter fish’s endocrine
itary control (Interview with Ausberto Zúñiga, personal communica-
tion, April 14, 2020). system, leading to a negative impact on their
 28 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

development and reproduction (IPEN, 2010: 20). A attention, abstraction). It was also found that
source cited in MAAE et al., (2020) has reported 30% had impaired motor functions and cognitive-
quantities of up to 6,62 tonnes of mercury re- motor disorders, and 40% were affected in their
leased into the environment (water, soil, air) per emotional-affective function (MAE, 2011). Another
year in the Upper Nangaritza. study looked at 350 artisanal miners in Portovelo
A study by Echevarría et al., (2024) in the basins who were exposed to mercury contamination
of the Napo, Pastaza, Aguarico, Cuyabeno and and found that 62% had medium to high levels
Bobonaza rivers recorded high concentrations of of respiratory disorders. Fifty per cent showed
aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, some degree of psychological and nervous system
iron, mercury and lead. The results showed that 53 impairment due to exposure to chemicals like
specimens of 15 fish species had concentrations of mercury (López-Bravo et al., 2016: 96-98). Trasande
heavy metals that exceeded the standards recom- et al., (2016) report women of reproductive age
mended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). with mercury levels up to six times higher than
Perhaps even more worrying is the presence of those recommended by the WHO (cited in IPEN,
mercury in the waters. Their research revealed 2017: 3). Parkinson’s disease, a disorder affecting
worrying trends, such as the biomagnification of the nervous system and associated with mercury
mercury within fish populations in the Pastaza use, is a new disease for the Shuar and has be-
basin. Fish such as the dourada (Brachyplatystoma come increasingly common among the Indigenous
rousseauxxi), the South American silver croaker population (Sorgato, 2022).
(Plagioscion squamosissimus) and the gilded catfish There are also serious irreversible neurological
(Zungaro zungaro) showed elevated levels of mer- impacts on foetuses. Mercury’s ability to move with-
cury in their tissues. The research explains that in the mother’s body exposes the foetus. Cognitive
floodplain lakes have become sites of heavy metal thinking, memory, attention, language, fine motor
accumulation and toxicity because they provide skills and especially visual skills can be affected
favourable conditions for anaerobic bacteria and (WHO, 2017). Poulin and Gibbs (2008: 26) estimate
have a higher concentration of naturally leached the incidence rate of mild intellectual disability to
metals. This data is similar to that of other studies be 17,37 per 1.000 infants born in a subsistence
assessing bioaccumulation in turtle and caiman fishing population in the Amazon.
species within the Amazon biome. There are children known to be directly in-
volved in gold mining activities (Soliz Torres et al.,
In the Ecuadorian Amazon, a noteworthy 2012) and who develop nervous system and diges-
study by the Arcoíris Foundation (2008) consisted tive system problems, as well as kidney damage,
of a specialised medical evaluation of 50 people associated with mercury (IPEN, 2017). The presence
from the Shuar ethnic group, between the ages of children in artisanal mining activities is decreas-
of 21 and 50, who work in artisanal mining. ing, although it has not been eradicated, despite
They took samples to determine lead levels in the fact that the Ecuadorian Constitution prohibits
their blood and mercury in their urine. Analyses “work by children under the age of 15. Policies to
concluded that 48% of the population sampled eradicate child labour will be implemented over
showed cognitive impairments (IQ, memory, time” (2008 Constitution, Article 82).
 29 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 12. Madre Dios.

Source: Diego Pérez SPDA.

In line with the discussion at the beginning and native communities, due to their type of diet
of this chapter, the Foundation for Conservation (Figure 13). Illegal alluvial mining alters riverbeds
and Sustainable Development (2023) states that and increases erosion and sedimentation, damaging
in Peru, illegal mining often takes the form of water quality for the communities that directly and
alluvial mining in bodies of water (Figure 12). As a indirectly use these sources (Fernández et al., 2022).
result, watersheds “are converted into gold wash- On the other hand, according to a study by the
ing sites, amalgamation residues are dumped into Centre for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (Vega et
rivers, the mercury in its liquid state is deposited al., 2018), fish have elevated mercury levels in areas
in bodies of water, transforming into methylmer- where mining operations are present (Madre de
cury” (INDAGA, 2021: 67). Thus, approximately 3.000 Dios). Specifically, they found that fish in tailings
tonnes of mercury have been dumped in the last ponds exceed the permissible limits of mercury by
20 years (INDAGA, 2021: 68). Mercury contamination 37%, and in other areas, like the Manú National
of rivers, fish and people particularly affects local Park, by 14%.
 Figure 13. Medio Putumayo-Algodón,
Loreto. Source: Diego Pérez, SPDA.

A recent study concluded that Madre de Dios In 2018, several cases of mercury poisoning
is home to some of the most mercury-contami- were reported among Indigenous Nahua people
nated wild bird species in all of South America, in the Peruvian Amazon (Hill, 2018). A study
with birds that eat fish having the highest mer- conducted by the Royal Society of Chemistry
cury concentrations (Pisconte et al., 2024). According on the Madre de Dios River in Peru reveals that
to the study, the most contaminated species are mercury contamination has moved downstream
the green kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana), the and may be harming communities located 560
green-and-rufous kingfisher (Chloroceryle inda) kilometres away from mining areas, in part due
and the Amazon kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona). to the consumption of mercury-contaminated
Likewise, illegal mining has been shown to have fish (Diringer et al., 2015).
an impact on fish and giant otters (river otters). For
the latter species, it is noted that “with reduced In Venezuela, mercury and cyanide are
availability of fish, river otters need to work harder the main and most dangerous toxic substances
to find food, which could therefore affect these associated with mining (Figure 14). However, the
populations” reproduction.” (Sierra, 2021). former is directly used in illegal mining, while the
latter is used by industries run by the government

30
Figure 14. Former tailings pond with gasoline,
oil and mercury residues. Campo Alegre Community,
Source: SOSOrinoco.

sector (usually in partnership with private actors) The paradox is that the use of mercury has
to process gold sands, mostly from mill tailings, been legally banned in mining activities since 1991
from which part of the gold has already been ex- (Venezuela, 1991) and was banned again in 2016
tracted with mercury. (Venezuela, 2016b). It is possible that some of the
It is worth noting that all the mercury used in mercury “legally” imported by Venezuela is put
Venezuela comes from outside its borders, as the to use in mining activities, but a large quantity
country does not produce mercury. Records show must surely enter through smuggling (SOSOrinoco,
that from 2000 to 2019 Venezuela acquired around 2021b). Estimates based on the quantities of mer-
23 tonnes of the metal, mainly from Mexico, Spain, cury used by artisanal and small-scale mining in
Germany, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, the United the country indicate that an average of 15 tonnes
States, the Netherlands and the Dutch Antilles per year (between 7,5 and 22,5 tonnes) are being
(Chatham House, 2021). Colombia also reports hav- used (UN Environment, 2017).
ing exported more than 76 tonnes to Venezuela in Mercury contamination in Venezuelan Guayana
the period from 2013-2017 (Colombia-MINCIT, 2018), has been a recognised public health problem for
which shows how difficult it is to estimate the actual more than 25 years (ARA Network, 2013). The growth
amount of mercury legally entering the country. of mining and the intensive use of mercury in

31
 32 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

recent years have aggravated one of the country’s and Orinoco-Apure confluences, where 13 out
most invisible public health problems (SOSOrinoco, of 18 species analysed showed elevated mercury
2021c). A 2005 assessment in El Callao, Bolivar concentration values (Lasso et al., 2010). A similar
state, found that the level of mercury poisoning risk was found in the Cuyuní river watershed,
in gold miners and millers, as well as in the sur- where mercury levels in sediment, water and
rounding communities, is one of the worst in the aquatic biota were found to be hazardous (Farina
world. The total concentration of mercury in urine et al., 2009).
was 104,59 μg Hg/g creatinine, reaching levels in In Gran Sabana, Bolivar state, hair samples
some cases ranging between 1.221 and 3.260 μg from 49 Indigenous Pemón people recorded mer-
Hg/g creatinine. More than 90% of the millers cury concentrations exceeding the WHO limit
had urinary mercury levels above the alert level, of 2 µg/gr in hair. Most of the study participants
with signs of severe intoxication and neurologi- worked in both mining and agriculture. The re-
cal damage observed in a large majority of those search highlights that the group of children under
directly involved in the smelting process, as well 18 “showed mercury concentrations above the
as in people living near the mills (Veiga et al., 2005). WHO limits of biological tolerance” (Ramirez, 2021).
At the time of the study there were 28 mills in There is also evidence that mercury can accu-
the region. Just six years later, this number had mulate in some edible plant species essential to the
increased to 150 (Zerpa, 2011). diet of local populations in Venezuelan Guayana,
Zerpa (op. cit.) notes the high incidence of such as cassava and chilli peppers (Adjorlolo-Gasokpohn
health problems caused by mercury poisoning et al., 2012; Pérez-Vargas et al., 2014), increasing the risks
among the inhabitants of El Callao, where chronic of mercury poisoning over the long term.
allergies, lung damage, renal, respiratory and car- While there has been no systematic measure-
diac failure, problematic pregnancies, children ment of this type of contamination – and in fact,
with Down Syndrome, autism and other forms such measurement is blocked by the government
of cognitive impairment, as well as children with – the evidence suggests that all the watersheds
motor disabilities, deafness and other physical where gold mining occurs are affected by mercury:
disabilities are common. namely, Ocamo, Padamo, Siapa, Ventuari, Atabapo,
In Caura National Park, hair samples from Autana, Cuao, Sipapo, Guayapo, Caura, Paragua,
girls and women from five Indigenous Ye’kwana Caroní, Uey, Venamo, Yuruan and Yuruari (Farina
and Sanema communities showed mercury values et al., 2009; Estraño, 2015; SOSOrinoco, 2019, 2021b).
between 5,82 µg/g and 45,41 µg/g in hair samples.
These high values (the maximum concentration
allowed according to the WHO is 2 µg/g) are as-
sociated with those found for methylmercury in
fish, which reached up to 1,8 µg/g, well above the
safe limit for occasional fish consumers (0,5 µg/g)
according to the WHO. (Perez et al., 2012).
Risk to local populations from fish consump-
tion has been reported for the Ventuari-Orinoco
 33 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Deforestation

Illegal mining in the Amazon region affects Almost all of this illegal activity (95%) is located in
all countries, causes deforestation, pollution and three Indigenous territories: Kayapó, Munduruku
loss of biodiversity and violates human rights. and Yanomami (Figure 17).
Recently, the Amazon Mining Watch platform,
which brings together the efforts of researchers From 1985 to 2017, a total of 95.750 hectares
and journalists, determined that at least 13.100 were deforested in the department of Madre de Dios,
km2 in the region have been transformed to carry Peru, due to mining activities alone. Just between
out mining and that this phenomenon of expan- 2009 and 2019, 64.586 hectares were deforested,
sion has accelerated since 2018.10 As this report an area that the Foundation for Conservation and
has shown, the location of mining sites does not Sustainable Development (2023) identified as equiva-
respect boundaries, but rather occurs within pro- lent to 90.456 football fields.
tected areas, invades Indigenous territories and Since October 2023, there has been a loss of ri-
undermines riverbeds through the use of dredges. parian forests, floodplains and beaches in the Nanay
Below are two figures (15 and 16) that show the river basin in the Loreto region. In the Marañón
main mining sites in the region and the protected river basin, deforestation has a peculiarity: 206
areas affected by mining activity. hectares have been deforested, of which 164,5
hectares belong to defunct mining concessions
MapBiomas & RAISG (2023) have document- and 41,9 hectares to illegal mining sites (Novoa,
ed a net forest loss of 2.618.000 hectares for the 2024, slides 13, 31).
Colombian Amazon between 1985 and 2022, The department of Huánuco has also been
corresponding to 5,9% of natural vegetation. In affected by deforestation due to illegal mining.
the same period, anthropogenic land uses such Between 2020 and 2023, 558 hectares have been
as mining increased by 2.938,6% while forestry deforested, of which 78,3 hectares belong to defunct
areas rose by 1.900 hectares. mining concessions or other undesignated areas,
which have been linked to illegal mining (Novoa,
Illegal mining is one of the main causes of 2024, slides 16, 31).
deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon region, with Mining in Venezuela is one of the main causes
a particularly damaging impact on Indigenous of vegetation loss south of the Orinoco (Figure 18).
territories. In Brazil, mining on Indigenous lands SOSOrinoco (2021d) reports that between 2000
increased by 495% between 2010 and 2020; illegal and 2020, there was a 520.900 hectare reduction
mining on Indigenous lands increased from 7,45 in forest area in the Orinoco Mining Arc, equiva-
km² in 1985 to 102,16 km², an increase of 1.217%. lent to 677.000 football fields. More than 44% of
this area (230.121 hectares) was lost over the last
five years of that period. This assessment is sup-
10
See: https://pulitzercenter.org/blog/amazon-mining-watch-ex-
pands-use-ai-monitor-illegal-gold-mining ported by Finer and Mamani (2022) who describe
 34 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 15. Legal and illegal mining hotspots

in the Amazon. Source: MAAP, 2024.

accelerating deforestation as dramatic. According mining reached 65.985 hectares in the states of
to SOSOrinoco (2021d), this deforestation is directly Amazonas and Bolivar (SOSOrinoco, 2024b).
related to the expansion of illegal mining activity, In Venezuela, mining causes the fragmentation
which tripled its impact on vegetation between 2015 and even loss of entire habitats, as in the case of
and 2020. SOSOrinoco’s quantified these impacts moriche palms (the Mauritia flexuosa palm com-
by calculating the “mining footprint,” showing that munities) in Canaima National Park (SOSOrinoco,
in April 2024 the surface area affected by open-pit 2023). Other effects include the displacement of
 35 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 16. Illegal mining in protected areas

of the Amazon. Source: MAAP, 2024.

fauna, which has been shown by an increase in an aquatic insect species. So not only was a change
the distance and time spent by Indigenous people in species composition reported, but also a loss of
hunting in areas close to the mines (Lugo-Morin, diversity, largely as a result of disturbances caused
2007; SOSOrinoco, 2021). An interesting example was by mining (Lasso et al., 2009b).
reported in the Cuyuní River. It was observed that
hydrological changes and changes to the substrate
type, caused by mining, led to the replacement of
Figure 17. Deforestation in Yanomami Territory, Mucajaí River.
Source: Chico Batata / Greenpeace in Mongabay, 2020.

Figure 18. Mining on the banks of the Caroni, Venezuela.

Source: SOSOrinoco.
 37 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Effects on the Social Fabric and Health Crises

Environmental destruction directly affects the The presence of miners creates violent con-
way of life of the Yanomami in Brazil, who de- flicts, exposes communities to disease and causes
pend on natural resources for their subsistence and living conditions to deteriorate. The Yanomami face
cultural practices. The loss of traditional territories physical threats, loss of territory and an increased
and the pollution of rivers have had devastating con- incidence of infectious diseases due to the invasion
sequences for Indigenous people’s food and ritual of their lands (Pastoral Land Commission, 2023). Finally,
practices (Martins, 2022). According to the Federal mining’s expansion into Indigenous territories in
Public Prosecutor’s Office of Roraima, mortality, the Brazilian Amazon is directly linked to increased
malaria and malnutrition rates have worsened violence by “garimpeiros.” As it grows and expands
since 2020, with a disproportionate impact on into new areas, mining uses heavily armed groups
Indigenous children. The National Prosecutor’s associated with criminal gangs to secure territorial
Office reports that almost 6.000 Yanomami and control. This prevents the rightful owners of the
Ye’kwana were denied healthcare for more than a land from being able to move freely within their
year. On January 20, 2023, the Brazilian Ministry territory. Illegal mining has been devastating for the
of Health declared a Public Health Emergency of Yanomami, Ye’kwana and Munduruku Indigenous
National Importance in the Yanomami Indigenous peoples, leading the IACHR to issue precaution-
Territory (YIT) - a mechanism that has only been ary measures and the Inter-American Court of
triggered two other times by the Zika virus epi- Human Rights to subsequently grant provisional
demic and the COVID-19 pandemic. This health measures in July 2022, which were then upheld
emergency is undoubtedly correlated with the socio- by a December 2023 ruling.
environmental impacts of illegal mining, based on Mining is a major driver of social disintegration,
the number of health facilities established - six by introducing alcohol, drugs and firearms into
health units, responsible for 72 communities and Indigenous communities, for example. Indigenous
more than 4.000 Indigenous people - in the regions organisations report on how, in different areas of
most affected by the “garimpo.” their territories, illegal miners use an engagement
In the Yanomami Indigenous Territory of Brazil, strategy focused on youth recruitment, based on
illegal mining continues in Kayanau, Paapiu, Alto promises of goods, weapons and alcohol. Without
Mucajaí, Apiaú, Palimiú, Homoxi, Xitei, Parafuri, understanding the real consequences of this “al-
Alto Catrimani and Waikás. The main factor imped- liance,” the Indigenous people recruited by the
ing the work of health teams is a lack of security. invaders then go on to defend the invaders” inter-
In 2023, 215 deaths were recorded, according to ests, in opposition to their own community leaders,
the Yanomami Land Emergency Operations Centre. who are responsible for collective counselling and
Illegal mining on Yanomami lands not only compro- efforts to maintain social cohesion. These disagree-
mises the environment, but also seriously violates ments often lead to conflict and to episodes of
the human rights of Indigenous peoples. individual or generalised violence. Once an armed
 38 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Figure 19.
Community agents
from the Amazonas
department
participating in a
practical microscopy
exercise at the
second intercultural
health meeting in
Leticia, Colombia.
Source: Mongabay,
2023.

conflict develops between communities, the situa- are present in the untouchable zone of the Río
tion can last for several years, generating a vicious Puré National Park; it prevents effective health
cycle that causes not only the loss of human lives, cordons from being established to safeguard the
but also a situation of permanent insecurity, as seen health of Indigenous peoples in isolation or ini-
in certain parts of the Yanomami and Munduruku tial contact. This national park was created in
territories in Brazil. large part to protect the Indigenous Yuri and
Passe Peoples in isolation (PNN, 2004). However,
For years, Indigenous Amazonian peoples in mining has been proven to occur in the park’s
Colombia have called for the implementation of untouchable zone, which is defined as “a zone in
their own healthcare models, with differentiated which the environment must be kept free from
approaches, for example through the Indigenous even the slightest human disturbance so that
System of Intercultural Health (SISPI) (Figure 19). natural conditions are preserved in perpetuity”
Nonetheless, the national government has not and which is intended for the protection of the
shown sufficient political will to support these Yuri and Passe Peoples.
models with adequate regulations, meaning that Illegal mining negatively impacts Amazonian
Indigenous knowledge and healing systems con- Indigenous Food Systems, resulting in violations
tinue to be systematically ignored or invisibilised. of cultural rights and Indigenous peoples” very
This becomes all the more serious in situations identity and survival. Fish play a fundamental role
like the COVID-19 pandemic or when miners in Amazonian Indigenous Food Systems, which
 39 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

include knowledge, techniques and strategies for mining activity. Mines in the states of Bolivar and
managing the elements that make up their diets, Amazonas are transmission hotspots and a centre of
which are based on reciprocity and balance with spread to other regions of the country and to neigh-
all natural beings. bouring countries. Antimalarial drug shortages
and a weakened vector control programme have
Furthermore, it is important to highlight the contributed to the malaria epidemic’s explosion
spiritual significance of gold ore for Indigenous since 2015. Venezuela reported more than 500.000
peoples in Colombia. As Guío (2016) points out, cases and 456 deaths in 2017, accounting for 53%
for Indigenous communities, gold is usually found of malaria cases across the continent (WHO, 2018).
in aquatic sites that have spiritual owners or guard- Although the number of annual cases recorded
ians and is mainly used to cure illnesses. For this in 2022 was reduced to 154.284 and 126 deaths
reason, the healing powers of traditional Indigenous (WHO, 2023), Venezuela is still the country with
medicine have been affected by gold mining, riv- the highest percentage of cases in the Americas,
erbed clearing and the dumping of substances. accounting for 28% of the total.
Although in 2016 the Americas were de-
The proliferation of mining and the collapse of clared the first continent free of measles in 2016
health care services in Venezuela are the main (Pan American Health Organisation and World Health
causes of increased incidence of infectious dis- Organisation [PAHO/WHO], 2016), a new outbreak began
eases. The populations of the Venezuelan Guayana/ in Venezuela in June 2017, namely in mining areas
Amazon region are at higher risk of contracting south of the Orinoco River, from where it spread
preventable diseases, due to low vaccination rates in to the rest of the country, and then to Colombia,
their territories. Furthermore, mining accidents are Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina, as a
extremely frequent and often fatal, while mercury result of the migration flow of Venezuelans car-
use is indiscriminate and widespread. Incomplete rying the virus (Marcano and Valverde, 2020). The
and biased records and the lack of epidemiologi- abandonment of prevention programmes and low
cal information render this situation invisible in immunisation rates have led to the resurgence of
Venezuela (Coalition for the Rights of the Amazon, 2023). this disease (Lima Martínez, 2020). Venezuela recorded
The collapse of the public health system, the a total of 7.054 confirmed cases and 84 deaths
lack of access to medicines, medical supplies and between 2017 and 2019 (PAHO/WHO, 2020b). Of the
sufficient qualified personnel, increasing levels of total number of deaths, 62 were Indians from the
poverty and malnutrition and the humanitarian Venezuelan Guayana (74% of deaths).
emergency have further aggravated the deprivation Diphtheria had been eradicated in Venezuela
faced by the inhabitants of Venezuela’s Guayana since 1990, but it resurfaced in 2016 in the munici-
region. The few health services operating in the pality of Sifontes (Bolivar). The disease is associated
region are particularly hard to access in a context with the epicentre of the country’s largest hotspot
where mobility has been affected by fuel shortages for illegal mining and mainly affects Indigenous
(Amazon Rights Coalition, 2023). communities (SVSP-RDEN, 2016). Limited availability
The spike in malaria cases over the last 12 years of medicines and almost zero vaccination cover-
is associated with an unprecedented increase in age were key factors in the disease’s resurgence
 40 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

(SVSP-RDEN, 2016b). The intense mobility of the prostitution, sexual exploitation, trafficking of
mining population facilitated the spread of the women, children and adolescents and an increase
outbreak to the rest of the country. A total of 1.790 in femicides and gender-based violence (Coalition for
cases and 294 deaths were confirmed between the Rights of the Amazon, 2023).
2016 and 2020 (PAHO/WHO, 2020). Among the social impacts caused by illegal
Living conditions in mining areas are marked mining on internal aspects of the social fabric are
by a lack of access to clean water, sanitation, electric- cultural changes Indigenous peoples face. These
ity or health care, with people living in makeshift changes are due to replicating the criollo miners”
camps in unsanitary conditions. Severe damage lifestyle, family separation, school dropouts, inter-
to ecosystems and biodiversity and the adoption nal migration and displacement, increased rates of
of mining as an economic activity, particularly intra-family and intra-community violence (often
in Indigenous communities, have impacted food linked to alcohol consumption, drug use and teen-
production and availability, leading to problems age depression), increased cases of sexual abuse
with nutrition. Indigenous populations have high of girls and teenagers in Indigenous communi-
rates of malnutrition and deaths from malnutrition ties, prostitution of girls, teenagers and women,
and face food insecurity associated with mining. increased situations of violence and struggles for
While the income that families earn from mining territorial control, population control by security
allows them to buy food and drinks, changes in forces and armed groups, forced recruitment of
traditional diets are leading to the emergence of children and teenagers to work in mines or as
chronic diseases such as diabetes. The contamina- part of armed groups, human trafficking and
tion of rivers and fish also has an impact on people’s smuggling for labour exploitation, sexual slav-
food and health. Illegal mining seriously affects ery, etc. (SOSOrinoco, 2022b). The fact that many
fishing, which is not only an economic alternative, people leave their communities has resulted in
but also a way of life culturally integrated with broken families and households supported by
river flows and changes that respond to a holistic single women, older adults or even abandoned
system of socio-productive, spatial and natural children and teenagers, which has weakened the
interaction (Martens-Ramírez, 2013). processes of cultural transmission, including lan-
The insufficient number of educational in- guages. Cases of disappearances or deaths due
stitutions, the deterioration of infrastructure, the to mining accidents or mining-related violence
reduction of school hours, low salaries for teachers also cause irreparable damage to families and
and the massive impoverishment of the population communities (SOSOrinoco, 2022b).
are some of the factors that contribute to the lack of
access to education. Teachers abandon their classes
to work in the gold mines in order to make ends
meet, as do thousands of children and teenagers
who, together with their families, have taken up
mining to escape the economic crisis, leaving them
completely excluded from the education system.
Mining promotes child labour and exploitation,
 41 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Direct Victims

According to the UN Office on Drugs and from mining operations; (ii) acts of sexual vio-
Crime (UNODC) figures, Indigenous populations lence against Indigenous women and girls; (iii)
in Brazil experienced a more than 20% increase threats to Indigenous leaders, some of whom play
in homicidal violence between 2009 and 2019. a very important role within the community; (iv)
Furthermore, Indigenous peoples have suffered non-voluntary displacement of some Indigenous
an accelerated increase in the exploitation of their communities under threat from the increasing
protected lands, especially by squatters, unauthor- presence of garimpeiros and the results of their
ised loggers and garimpeiros. Mining on Indigenous activities; (v) the spread of diseases, especially as
lands expanded by 625% between 2011 and 2021, a result of COVID-19 infection, in a population
with a significant increase since 2019 (UNODC, with particular immunological vulnerability
2023). By 2020-2022, the Alto Alegre municipal- and (vi) the pollution of rivers that serve for
ity in the state of Roraima, one of the gateways Indigenous peoples” subsistence, especially with
to Yanomami Land, ranked 18th in terms of the mercury - a product of gold mining - and defor-
average rate of intentional violent deaths, with 77,5 estation, seriously impacting the health and food
per 100.000 inhabitants. From 2018 to 2021, this security of the proposed beneficiaries [...]....[...]
municipality also recorded the highest number The Tribunal notes with great concern reports
of Indigenous people murdered, with a total of that garimpeiros are reportedly demanding
80 victims during that period. The homicide rate sexual acts from Indigenous women and girls
among Indigenous people in the municipality was in exchange for food, acts that are particularly
141,7 per 100.000 people in 2021 (Brazilian Forum egregious given the reported levels of child mal-
on Public Security, 2024). nutrition among the Indigenous population, as
In October 2023, the Inter-American Court well as reports of acts of sexual violence, some of
of Human Rights held an oversight hearing and which are alleged to have occurred “constantly”
on-site visit to the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the same area [...].
in Brazil (I/A Court H.R., 2022, 2023). In its decision
in December of the same year, the Inter-American As previously mentioned, studies in Bolivia
Court of Human Rights explained that: have identified hair mercury levels in the main
Amazonian basins that far exceed the 1 ppm
[…] the Yanomami, Ye’kwana and Munduruku limit. There is concern for Indigenous peoples
Indigenous Peoples are subject to a significant in a highly vulnerable situation. The Bolivian
increase in so-called illegal mining activity on Ombudsman’s Office (2022) warns that segments
Indigenous lands, among others, carried out by of the Leco, Esse Ejja, Tsimane and Cavineño
third parties not authorised to enter their terri- Indigenous peoples along the Beni and Madre de
tory, which is causing: (i) homicides of Indigenous Dios rivers, “present negative demographic trends
adults and children, as well as deaths resulting and risks in their population growth; that they
 42 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

are in a highly vulnerable situation; and that they social, cultural and environmental impacts, pro-
are potentially at risk of suffering mercury and/or viding studies showing that they had extremely
methylmercury poisoning” (p. 116). highlighting high mercury concentrations according to World
the case of the Esse Ejja Indigenous people who Health Organisation criteria.
“are at risk of physical and cultural extinction Indigenous peoples have achieved important
due to evidence of mercury contamination in victories in the exercise of autonomy and gover-
their population” (p. 124). nance, including collective titling of Indigenous
Another instance of violence and serious territories, regulatory advances throughout the
human rights violations is the trafficking and national legal system’s hierarchy, landmark rulings
smuggling of girls and adolescents for commer- by the country’s highest courts and influence in
cial sexual exploitation in gold mining areas, just the management and administration of protected
as in the case of Venezuela. According to Mercado areas. Nonetheless, illegal mining of gold and other
(2022), in 2020, during the pandemic year, 1.335 metals (in the hands of illegal armed actors) has
cases of human trafficking and smuggling and continued to grow as likely the greatest threat to
related crimes were recorded. Underage victims their human rights and those of other local com-
accounted for 191 of those cases, a little more than munities, as well as to the biocultural diversity of
14 The department of La Paz, which accounts for this Amazonian sub-region.
72% of Bolivia’s gold production, tops the list with The Colombian government (2023), citing Cordy
169 of the 523 complaints related to human traf- et al., (2011), has recognised that there are many
ficking and smuggling and related crimes. In 2019, health victims of mercury, including: “(1) women
out of 338 cases, 13 involved human trafficking, of reproductive age; (2) children; (3) older adults;
six involved pornography, 107 involved pimping (4) people who work, without proper personal
and 212 involved commercial sexual violence. protection, in gold mining or any of the activities in
The growth of gold mining activity has led to the which mercury or its compounds are handled; (5)
naturalisation of sexual violence, multiplying cases people who burn mercury amalgams or live near
of rape, teenage pregnancy, statutory rape, etc. sites where these activities take place; (6) people
who consume fish and food from contaminated
In Colombia, areas of illegal gold mining sites; (7) people who consume water from con-
largely coincide with Indigenous and Afro- taminated sites; and (8) those who store mercury
descendant communities’ ancestral territories, at home.” In this sense, not only are Indigenous
both titled and untitled (MinMinas, 2023). In 2019, populations victims, but also those linked to gold
authorities from the Yaigojé Apaporis, Pira Paraná, mining or who live in surrounding areas: the float-
Mirití Paraná and Tiquié Indigenous territo- ing population from the interior of the country
ries, which make up the core of the Jaguares de and foreigners who irregularly cross the border
Yuruparí Macroterritory, filed a writ of protec- with Brazil and Peru, who in some cases are also
tion in 2019 against numerous Colombian state Indigenous people.
institutions, which will soon be decided by the It is important to highlight the indissoluble
Constitutional Court (case file T-7. 983.171). The relationship between Indigenous peoples and wa-
authorities raised the alarm about numerous ter. Not only do they practice rituals similar to
 Figure 20. Protest over mining
in Indigenous territory, Ecuador.
Source: Pachamama Foundation.

“baptism,” but they also assign spiritual caretakers on a complaint brought by the Indigenous Shuar
or guardians to each culturally important aquatic Arutam people of Ecuador (Figure 20) and found
site, where they strive to maintain a sense of bal- the Ecuadorian state in breach of Convention 169
ance in the territory and to protect the energies due to: a lack of consultation with the Indigenous
present there (Guío, 2016). Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) concerning two large-
scale mining projects, San Carlos - Panantza and
In March 2024, the Governing Body of the Warintza, in their traditional territories in the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) ruled province of Morona Santiago, which led several

43
 44 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

communities” evictions in a climate of violence; and Reforestation Concessionaires and had

the lack of spaces for PSHA participation in the a reforestation concession in La Pampa, an
development and adoption of the national min- area with high rates of illegal mining. He was
ing policy; the lack of recognition and protection murdered in 2015 in the district of Inambari,
of PSHA territorial rights; and the failure to take Tambopata, Madre de Dios. It is worth noting
measures to protect PSHA members” safety during that he had been speaking out against illegal
the COVID-19 pandemic (ILO, 2024). miners” invasion and threats since 2007.
• Roberto Pacheco. Roberto was vice-presi-
In Perú, according to reports by the La dent of the Management Committee of the
República newspaper (Chumpitaz, 2024), more than 35 Tambopata National Reserve and, like Alfredo
Indigenous people and three community members Vracko, was also a forest concessionaire in
have been assassinated for defending their right to the buffer zone of the Tambopata National
their territory, a right which is indisputably con- Reserve. He had received death threats from
nected to other rights such as the right to a healthy invaders since 2012, including from illegal
environment. Against this background, the execu- miners. In that context, he requested protec-
tive branch and some autonomous constitutional tion orders to protect his life in 2017, but they
bodies have issued regulatory decrees with the were denied. Roberto Pacheco was killed in
goal of preventing the risk faced by human rights 2020 outside the buffer zone of the Tambopata
defenders and protecting them. In spite of this, National Reserve.
the murder rate and the risks they face continue • Juan Julio Fernández. Juan Julio had a forestry
to increase. concession for forestation and reforestation in
According to information provided by the the buffer zone of the Tambopata National
Ministry of Justice, as of February 2024, more Reserve. He reported being targeted and threat-
than 300 high-risk situations were documented, ened by illegal miners since 2011. In March
80% of which were linked to the protection of the 2022 he was murdered in La Pampa, Nueva
environment, territorial rights and/or Indigenous Arequipa sector, Inambari, Tambopata.
peoples” rights. Specifically, more than 60% of
these situations occurred as a result of defend- Once again, this information shows that there
ing these rights against the expansion of illegal is a direct relationship between the expansion
natural resource extraction activities, including of illegal mining and the increase in threats to
illegal mining. According to the report Killing of environmental defenders in Peru. It is therefore
Environmental Defenders in the Peruvian Amazon necessary to stress that, as long as national pro-
(Montoya et al., 2024), since 2015, at least three human tection measures focus exclusively on emergency
rights defenders have been murdered as a result situations without addressing structural causes,
of their opposition to illegal mining in the Madre threats will continue to exist in the region.
de Dios region:
Virtually all the Indigenous peoples in
• Alfredo Vracko. Alfredo was president of Venezuela’s Guayana/Amazon region have
the Madre de Dios Federation of Forestry been affected by illegal mining, although the
 45 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

type and intensity of impact varies considerably (CODEHCIU), between 2019 and June 2020, a total
from place to place. The invasion of miners and of 345 extrajudicial executions were documented in
armed groups violates Indigenous territorial rights, Bolivar State (CERLAS et al., 2020). 77 reports of miss-
which are already fragile due to the lack of delimi- ing persons in mining areas in Bolivar state were
tation and protection by the state. In some areas, documented between 2012 and 2020 (CODEHCIU,
Indigenous people have been forced to form self- 2020). Relatives of victims of forced disappearance
defence groups or Indigenous Territorial Guards. report not having received support from state se-
Between 2016 and 2023, at least 28 Indigenous curity forces and having been ordered to give up
people were killed or disappeared in the context the search.
of conflicts surrounding mining activity. In 2012, According to the Observatory for the Defence of
it was reported that Brazilian garimpeiros allegedly Life, between 2013 and 2021, 80 environmental and
massacred the Yanomami community of Irotatheri, territorial rights defenders, victims of violence and
in the Upper Orinoco (Amazonas). However, the repression, were registered in Venezuela. Bolivar
official investigation was inconclusive, and the and Amazonas states together accounted for 54 cas-
report’s veracity could not be proven. es, 64% of the total (Restrepo et al., 2021). On June 30,
Since 2017, the municipalities of El Callao, 2022, the Indigenous rights defender and Uwottüja/
Sifontes and Roscio in Bolivar state have shown ex- Piaroa territorial guardian, Virgilio Trujillo Arana,
tremely high rates of violent deaths, associated with was murdered, an act that remains in impunity.
increased mining activity. The state of Amazonas More than 30 Uwottüja/Piaroa leaders in Amazonas
has also recorded high homicide rates (Venezuelan have received threats, forcing several of them to
Observatory of Violence, 2017 to 2023). Increased violence move to the state capital, other areas of Venezuela
and alleged crimes against humanity are related or even out of the country (Observatory for the Defence
to the establishment of parastate systems in min- of Life, 2023). These events have been widely docu-
ing areas which are controlled by irregular armed mented and internationally recognized in reports
groups and guerrilla groups (ELN and ex-FARC), by the United Nations High Commissioner for
as well as the actions of police and military forces, Human Rights (United Nations, 2020), the Independent
carrying out operations and actions in violation of International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela
human rights. The irregular actors are in charge of (United Nations, 2022) and others.
territorial control and the imposition of order in The case of Lisa Henrito, a Pemón Indigenous
the mines. To guarantee security, they establish a leader from the Gran Sabana (Bolívar), stands out
series of “rules” and macabre punishments, includ- among the cases of harassment and stigmatization
ing beatings, shooting in the hands, amputations of environmental defenders. She was harassed
and death, usually carried out to make an example and stigmatized for her work as an activist for
(Human Rights Watch, 2020). Indigenous women’s organisations that demand
Between 2012 and June 2020, at least 38 an end to militarization and mining exploitation
massacres occurred in mining areas in southern in their ancestral territories (Amnesty International,
Venezuela. In 25 of these massacres, at least 217 2018). Alejandro Lanz, environmental activist in
people were killed (CERLAS et al., 2020). According to Bolivar state and director of the Venezuelan Centre
the Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship for Environmental Research, was the victim of
 46 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

threats and attacks, which forced him to remain death threats against Magno Barros and members
silent and give up his work. of his family via a live phone call during his morn-
Restrictions to freedom of expression and ing show (IPYS, 2021).
attacks against journalists, civil society and the There is also an increase in femicides, gender-
media have been systematically promoted by the based violence, sexual violence, early pregnancies
Venezuelan State, generating a climate of censor- and an increase in sexually transmitted infections.
ship, fear, intimidation and information silence. Mining contexts are deeply hostile to Indigenous
The government has approved a set of laws based women, whose situation is made even more complex
on the notions of terrorism, fear and hate, which by the lack of access to justice, the language gap
further limit the exercise of freedom of expression, and reporting mechanisms (Pacheco, 2019).
the right to information and the right of access to According to reports from several organ-
public information (IPYS, 2022; OAS, 2022; OHCHR, isations, Indigenous women are abused, raped
2023; IACHR, 2024; Espacio Público, 2024). The recent and face labour and sexual exploitation. Cases
approval of the Law for the Control, Regularization, have even been reported where virgin girls are
Performance and Financing of Non-Governmental auctioned off in exchange for payment in gold
Organisations and Non-Profit Social Organisations, (OEP, 2022). Indigenous girls and women have
known as the “anti-NGO law,” represents a new been reported to be present in brothels located
tool to limit civic space, putting community, hu- near the mines, known as currutelas (Moya et al.,
manitarian and human rights organisations at risk 2022). In the gold mines of the state of Amazonas,
in Venezuela (Piquer, 2024). there is evidence of trafficking of Indigenous girls,
Several journalists have been victims of ha- adolescents and women in slavery-like condi-
rassment and threats for publishing information tions. Sieges by armed groups and poverty have
on illegal mining, corruption schemes and irregu- forced Indigenous women and their families to
lar armed groups. Clavel Rangel had to leave the leave their territories. Forced displacement also
country for his safety, while Marcos Valverde was entails a greater risk of falling victim to different
subject to harassment, in both cases due to judicial types of violence, including being subjected to
persecution against him (IPYS, n.d.). In 2016, David sex trafficking (OEP, 2022).
Natera Febres, director of Correo del Caroní, was A survey of 36 Indigenous women in the states
sentenced to four years in prison for defamation of Amazonas, Bolivar and Delta Amacuro found
and libel (IPYS, n.d). Bram Ebus, a Dutch journalist, that 97% had been victims of violence. They also
was detained by the GNB in 2017, when he was reported having been victims of institutional, ob-
investigating the Orinoco Mining Arc (IPYS, 2017). stetric and sexual violence. Seventy percent of the
Luis Alejandro Acosta was detained in 2023, for women participating in the study reported being
disseminating reports on security forces” actions subjected to more than one type of violence (ACCSI
in the eviction of illegal miners from Yapacana et al., 2023).
National Park (Amazonas). Acosta received proba- Accidents occur frequently in illegal mines,
tion orders, including a ban on publishing content leaving a tragic toll of dead, injured and disabled
about Yapacana, which amounts to judicial pre- people. Work in the mines is extremely danger-
censorship (IPYS, 2023). Alleged ELN members made ous and unsafe, since it does not comply with any
 47 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Delta 1, a mining town six hours from Puerto Maldonado, where gold is
traded and where fuel, food and clothing are supplied for illegal mining
activities, Madre de Dios, Peru. Source: Diego Pérez, SPDA.

safety measures. According to information gath- (SOSOrinoco, 2023b, 2024).However, many events
ered by SOSOrinoco, between 2017 and February do not even come to light publicly, so there is sig-
2024, 57 mining accidents occurred in the states of nificant underreporting. On the other hand, the
Bolivar and Amazonas, leaving 131 people dead, Venezuelan State has not taken any kind of mea-
one missing and an undetermined number injured sures to prevent this from continuing to happen.
 48 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Actors: Organised Crime, Companies

and the State
Organised Crime

In Bolivia, the presence of organised crime Regions where minerals are extracted are
linked to gold mining is not significant, although particularly favourable for criminal organisations.
this does not mean that it does not exist. However, They offer the opportunity not only to launder
there are persistent and frequent conflicts between drug money, but also to dominate strategic drug
illegal cooperative miners, involving weapons, trafficking territories through the establishment
resulting in violence and deaths. For more than of a suitable logistical structure for gold extraction
a decade, there has been recurrent violence over and transport. This has turned the Amazonian
the control of deposits (Gandarillas et al., 2014). The garimpo network into a logistical attraction for
deregulation achieved by the cooperative mining drug trafficking. In Roraima (one of the states
sector has meant that there is no public authority where the Yanomami territory is located), mem-
capable of resolving the many mining conflicts; bers of criminal factions work in areas ranging
force is the main mechanism for resolving disputes from security for the garimpos to management of
over mining deposits. sexual exploitation, and even the administration
of gold mining itself.
In Brazil, there is growing concern about The Forum also notes the increase in various
what is called the “narcogarimpo.” Drug traffick- conflicts, saying: “One of the effects of criminal drug
ing, mainly from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is trafficking organisations” presence in the garimpos,
already a reality in the Amazon, according to the according to reports from the regions investigated, is
“Brazilian Forum on Biodiversity.”“11 In October an increase in the flow and calibre of firearms, making
2023, the study Cartographies of Violence in the the region more dangerous and monitoring activities
Amazon, published by the same Forum, mapped riskier. The growth in the number of firearms recorded
the presence of criminal factions in at least 178 of from 2018 to 2022 in the Amazon region was signifi-
the 772 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon cantly higher than the national growth (91% versus
(23% of the municipalities), covering 57,9% of the 47,5%, respectively), indicating an increased flow of
region’s population. Furthermore, in 80 of these weaponry.” Data indicate that arms seizures in
municipalities, territorial disputes between two or Roraima increased by 593,4% from 2018 to 2022.
more factions were identified. Members of the criminal gang known as the
First Capital Command (PCC) are increasingly
11
Brazilian Public Security Forum. The new gold rush in the Amazon:
involved in mining operations in the Yanomami
illegal mining and violence in the forest. Available at https://publi- region, which is the largest Indigenous territory
cacoes.forumseguranca.org.br/items/5fd55da7-e834-4a38-810e-
1bbe9a651c8e. Accessed on 18 Sep. 2024. in the world, home to approximately 30.000
 49 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Indigenous people. Drug trafficking and sexual In June 2024, the website Mongabay reported
exploitation are also increasingly common, with on the activities of the organised crime group Los
the PCC being a key player in the region. The Lobos inside the Podocarpus National Park. To
PCC is suspected of providing security, financing work its illegal operations, the organised crime
gold mining and using illegal mining to laun- group has arranged for the entry of about 2.200
der drug proceeds. According to the UN,12 “The Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Colombian and Venezuelan
Urariocera River is a key corridor on Yanomami nationals, who work illegally in a dozen mining
lands that facilitates illegal mining, where organised sites in the interior. To supply materials and ensure
criminal groups illegally “tax” miners, shop owners the exit of the product, corridors have been devel-
and local residents. The expansion of illegal gold oped through which food, petrol, drugs and even
mining in Yanomami territory has had devastating sex workers (Torres and Collyns, 2024) are provided.
consequences for the communities” health.” There, money is useless, because everything is
In Ecuador, drug trafficking is the main paid for in gold, leading the camp’s inhabitants
form of organised crime. It is also reportedly to call it “Little Dubai.”
linked to illegal mining activities. According to According to Rivera-Rhon and Bravo (2023), the
National Police reports, organised crime groups state provides ineffective law enforcement and a
have focused their interests on gold mining, limited guarantee of rights. Thus, organised crime
with operations in the provinces of Esmeraldas, groups can easily infiltrate, supplying services
Carchi, Sucumbíos, Morona Santiago, Zamora that should be guaranteed by the state. Mutual
Chinchipe, Napo and Azuay. For them, it is benefits exist for the actors involved. This is why
important to control the provinces bordering these economies thrive in environments with low
Colombia and Peru in order to be able to traffic levels of development and high unemployment
gold and illegal mining materials such as mer- (Rivera-Rhon and Bravo, 2023).
cury. In addition, organised crime groups obtain
weapons and explosives across the borders (Novik, Another effect of the presence of organised
2023). In addition, they profit from 10 per cent crime groups in Ecuador’s Indigenous territories
of the material that is extracted, thereby financ- is the persecution of community leaders opposed
ing their illicit activities and laundering assets. to mining activities. The Mongabay report (2024)
They have taken control of almost all stages of mentions self-censorship, extortion, intimidation
the gold supply chain. According to reports by and even possible assassination. Journalists face a
the National Police, members of the organised similar situation. For the organisation “Periodistas
crime group, Choneros, earned up to one million Sin Cadenas” (Journalists Without Chains), anyone
dollars a month from crimes related to illegal who tries to report on the realities of this field
mining (Diario Universo, 2024). may face threats and censorship. They can report
on the pollution caused by mining, but they can-
not directly name those responsible (Periodistas Sin
12
UNODC. The Nexus Between Drugs and Crimes that Affect the En-
Cadenas, 2023).
vironment and Convergent Crime In the Amazon Basin. Available at The State Security Council (COSEPE) declared
https://www.unodc.org/res/WDR-2023/WDR23_B3_CH4_Amazon.
pdf. Accessed on 18 Sep. 2024. illegal mining a threat to national security and
 50 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

described it as a criminal structure,” because it is Forces (FAES) of the Bolivarian National Police
linked to arms trafficking, explosives and money (PNB) (Cerlas et al., 2020).
laundering (Novik, 2023). The Council expressed sup- SOSOrinoco (2022) identified a total of 13
port for legal mining concessions and announced GAOs in Amazonas and Bolivar between 2008
that it will use security forces in strategic areas to and 2022, although only a fraction are still ac-
support the industry. tive today. GAOs serve as operators in charge
There is also a Colombian guerrilla presence of territorial control and law enforcement; they
in the Punino area. The guerrillas intimidate the regulate access and supervise and monitor every-
communities and protect the miners. In February one entering or leaving the mines. They establish
2024 there was reportedly a confrontation between a set of rules, as well as macabre punishments
Ecuadorian military and guerrillas guarding the for non-compliance. In other cases, transgres-
mining camps in Punino (cited in Tarazona, 2024). sors simply “disappear,” or are found mutilated
A journalistic investigation affirms that or dismembered (Human Rights Watch, 2020). The
Brazilian organised crime groups operate the il- proliferation of armed groups has led to violent
legal mining business in Peru, in Loreto, Ucayali clashes between criminal gangs, Colombian guer-
and Madre de Dios (Pedroso, 2024). Likewise, in rilla groups, state security forces and the National
Putumayo, on the border with Colombia, splin- Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, all of whom
ter groups of the Colombian guerrillas allegedly are in conflict over the control of mining areas
operate the drug trafficking and mining business (SOSOrinoco, 2022).
(Pedroso, 2024). The GAOs derive economic benefits from all
the activity within the mining areas. One of their
Mining in southern Venezuela has become main sources of income is the practice of extortion
imbued within a large organised criminal network in exchange for protection, known as ““vaccination.”
that reaches all levels of political and military The GAOs also engage in other illicit businesses that
power. One of the key actors in this complex may or may not be linked to the mining economy,
web are the Organised Armed Groups (GAO). such as drug trafficking, trafficking of minerals
Mining areas are mainly under the control of and mercury, smuggling of arms, fuel and food,
or disputed by these GAOs, which include the timber extraction, trafficking for labour and sexual
so-called “mining unions,” “systems,” criminal exploitation, etc. (SOSOrinoco, 2022).
gangs or “pranatos,” mega-gangs and Colombian
guerrilla groups like the ELN and FARC dissi-
dents. One of the common characteristics of the
GAOs is their high firepower, which surpasses
state security forces” capacities (SOSOrinoco, 2022).
Nonetheless, state security forces are the armed
actors involved in the majority of massacres and
extrajudicial executions, particularly the army, the
Scientific, Penal and Criminalistic Investigation
Service Corps (CICPC) and the Special Action
 51 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Mining Companies and Cooperatives

There are currently no transnational companies new institutional framework for mining allowed
involved in Bolivian gold mining. Orvana Mineral companies to take control of territories using dif-
Corp, the last one to exist, ceased its activities in ferent mechanisms, including through the use of
2019. The main (legal and illegal) mining actors force, criminalisation of social protest, processes of
across the country are what are known as “mining pre-censorship, evictions and the closure of schools
cooperatives” (Villegas Nava, 2024). There are more and churches, among others. One example of this
than 2.000 of them, of which more than 1.300 type of company would be the one that operates
are gold mining cooperatives. Although they are the Fruta del Norte mine, the first large-scale un-
legally designated “cooperatives,” in most cases they derground mine in Ecuador, which would usher in
do not operate according to the technical defini- the “golden era” of large-scale mining in Ecuador.
tion, but rather as single-person companies with In November 2019, it inaugurated gold exports,
large amounts of capital. However, they are well mainly to Europe. The mine, operated by Lundin
organised as a sector with strong structures and Gold, has sparked a lot of controversy.
mobilisation capacities, as a result of the legacy of Soliz, Yépez and Sacher (2018) provide a de-
the mining unions, which were historical actors in scription of the main impacts identified in their
Bolivia. Their organisation allows them to operate research, emphasising the human and natural
with very high political and social effectiveness and rights violations within the communities found in
power. This has allowed them to create a system of the Fruta del Norte Project’s area of influence. It is
exceptions for mining cooperatives over the past clear that Fruta del Norte’s mega-mining funders
two decades, allowing them to operate free of many did not need to use physical violence to dispossess
regulations and without being labelled as “illegal.” and control the territories, as had happened in
They do not have consolidated mining contracts, other mega-projects in the Cordillera del Condor
operate only on the basis of applications, do not mountain range.13 Instead, Soliz points out that in
comply with labour regulations and receive tax the case of Lundin Gold it was, “through a kind
breaks (which allow them to avoid paying royalties of subtle dispossession.”14
and taxes). In addition, they are granted environ- Before the arrival of mining companies, these
mental exceptions and exemptions. However, most communities were able to guarantee their social
of the cooperatives do not have environmental reproduction, based on sovereign and autonomous
permits, and if they do have them, they do not productive processes. Now they are subject to the
meet their conditions. unilateral control of the mining company, which

In Ecuador, Rafael Correa’s government cre-

13
As was the case in the Mirador Project in Tundayme, where commu-
ated a regulatory framework to favour investment nities opposed to the project were violently repressed. The justice
by transnational mining companies, facilitating system defended the interests of the mega-miners.
14
Interview with Professor Fernanda Soliz of the Simon Bolivar Andean
concessions for tens of thousands of hectares. This University, 22 April 2020.
 52 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

controls mobility and monopolises road, river and national and transnational companies, are devastat-
air space use, replacing the state in regulation, pro- ing natural areas, polluting rivers and dispossessing
vision of services and definition of the possibility communities of their ancestral territories and
of movement. The mining company also controls livelihoods.
productive activities, restricting the use of the for-
est and the river, which limits the communities” The involvement of national and foreign compa-
ability to survive. They cannot fish, they cannot nies in mining activity in Venezuela was defined
hunt, they cannot use firewood, they cannot raise by what is known as the Gold Nationalisation Law
animals and they cannot pan for gold; in other (Venezuela, 2011), which abolished the concept of min-
words, they live under a barrage of prohibitions ing concessions. Before then, concessions existed
and limitations. and mining companies were active, although by
Report DNA6-0017-2020, issued by the that time almost all transnational mining companies
Comptroller General’s Office (2020) for the period had left the country. Since then, extractivism has
2015-2018, found several irregularities in Fruta been predominantly carried out by “small-scale
del Norte. According to the report, the Ministry of miners” or “informal miners” (SOSOrinoco, 2021c).
Environment approved the environmental impact In 2015, a new law was passed that introduced
study and management plan without complete some changes, the most significant of which was
information on water and sediment sampling. In the incorporation of what are known as strategic
the special review, the Comptroller concluded that minerals (diamonds, copper, silver, niobium-tanta-
the copper and iron concentration values in the lum or coltan, etc.), the benefit of which also came
Machinaza River, one of the tributaries passing under state control (Venezuela, 2015). According to
through the concession, exceeded 230% and 805%, this legal framework, primary, related and ancillary
respectively, compared to the values determined activities for the exploitation of gold and other
in the baseline environmental study of the mining strategic minerals can only be carried out by: 1) the
project. This is just one of several irregularities or Republic, directly or through its public institutions,
violations identified. or companies owned by it, or subsidiaries thereof;
In Ecuador, the small-scale and artisanal min- 2) joint ventures, in which the Republic, or any of
ing sector has not been included in public policy the aforementioned public bodies, has control over
design for 14 years, most notably about artisanal its decisions and holds more than fifty-five percent
and subsistence mining. A process of targeting of (55%) of its shares (Venezuela, 2011); 3) strategic alli-
artisanal and subsistence miners began, together ances formed in which the Republic, or any of the
with the creation of a legal framework to control aforementioned public bodies, has control over its
their sector. The government seems to use a political decisions and holds more than fifty-five percent
strategy to discredit this sector in order to build (55%) of its shares (Venezuela, 2011); or 4) strategic
a favourable opinion towards large-scale mining. alliances formed between the Republic and pro-
Both legal and illegal, formal and informal duction entities, socio-productive organisations,
mining in Ecuador have been shown to cause sig- companies and other forms of production permit-
nificant damage to the environment and Indigenous ted by law, which are oriented towards small-scale
communities. Mining activities, carried out by mining (Venezuela, 2015).
 Barranquilleros going in to look for gold while machinery
stands idle, Mapiri River, Bolivia. Source: CEDIB.

In 2016 the government created the “Orinoco company that were part of joint ventures with the
Mining Arc Special Economic Development Zone” Venezuelan state: CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd.,
to promote, expand and facilitate mining, especially Yankuang Group Company Ltd. and the Congolese
gold, diamonds, coltan and “rare earth” mining, in a Afridian. There is little information on these com-
111.843,70 km2 area located south of the right bank panies” mining activity due to official secrecy, but
of the Orinoco River (Venezuela, 2016). This decree was according to government sources, the nation’s gold
a milestone in the explosion of the “gold rush” that suppliers are small-scale miners, which demon-
has spread to areas beyond the polygon defined by strates little if any activity by the mining companies
the mining arc, affecting national parks, Indigenous involved (SOSOrinoco, 2021c).
lands and other protected areas (SOSOrinoco, 2021c). According to statements made by the then
The Venezuelan state agencies operating in Minister of Ecological Mining, by May 2019, 946
the mining sector are the Venezuelan Mining strategic alliances had been signed between the
Corporation (CVM), the Compañía General de ministry and small-scale miners. In addition, there
Minería de Venezuela, C.A. (Minerven) and the are a number of gold processing plants in the min-
Military Limited Company of Mining, Oil and Gas ing arc that the government has established directly
Industries (CAMIMPEG). By 2019, there were 17 or in partnership with private companies. By 2020,
projects operating in the mining arc through joint at least 13 cyanide leaching hydrometallurgical
ventures and strategic alliances with the private plants had been established, which the government
sector in Venezuela and countries such as Turkey, considers the central driving force of the mining
Canada, Palestine, China and Congo. Other cases arc strategy, as they capture and centrally process
that have been made public since the mining arc gold-bearing material, which previously went to
was announced are two Chinese and one Congolese other regions (SOSOrinoco, 2021c).

53
 54 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

The State

In the early 1970s (20th century), the “Indian In 2011, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Roraima
Statute” in Brazil granted Indigenous Peoples ex- recommended that the DNPM cancel the mining
clusive rights over extractive and other activities on titles that had previously been granted and reject
their territories (Law 6001/73, Art. 44). Subsequently, pending applications for research or extraction in
the Federal Constitution reinforced this prohibition Indigenous territories throughout the country. Only
by stipulating that third parties could not explore through legal regulation determining how mining
mineral resources on Indigenous lands (Art. 231, § should be carried out in Indigenous territories will
7). Nevertheless, in 2004, because of conflicts aris- the DNPM be able to authorise new applications for
ing from illegal garimpo on Roosevelt Indigenous research and extraction on Indian lands under the
Territory in Rondônia, President Lula signed a new regulations. One third of Roraima’s surface area
decree establishing a Working Group to examine (7,2 million hectares) is covered by different types
the situation and combat illegal garimpo, both by of mining claims. The majority of these areas (4,8
non-Indigenous and Indigenous people, until a million hectares) and of these applications (778) are
law regulating it was passed (Socio-environmental located in 26 Indigenous Territories, mainly in the
Institute, 2012). Yanomami Indigenous Territory and in the Raposa
The lack of effective federal oversight allowed Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory. The resource
serious illegal mining situations to take hold. The with the highest number of applications is gold,
garimpo’s expansion in the Yanomami Indigenous followed by cassiterite, lead, tantalum and tanta-
Territory was undoubtedly the biggest gold rush lite, tin, platinum, titanium, copper, manganese,
in Roraima’s history and one of the most signifi- niobium and tungsten, etc. Alto Alegre, Amajari,
cant in Brazil’s recent history. In the late 1980s, Iracema, Mucajaí and Caracaraí are home to most
when the garimpo was at its peak, approximately of the areas (73%) in high demand for mining. In
45.000 people were involved in gold mining in the addition to precious, industrial or strategic min-
Yanomami Indigenous Territory, and the high level erals, a large number of applications relate to the
of air activity made Boa Vista airport the second extraction of raw materials for construction, such
busiest in Brazil. It is estimated that more than as sand, gravel and clay, mainly in Boa Vista.
400 tons of gold were extracted and smuggled
abroad, contributing no revenue to Roraima, which In Bolivia, in the field of gold mining in
only faced environmental and social impacts on general, there is an almost total absence of regula-
its Indigenous communities. tory enforcement. In general “there are no regular
According to the National Department of inspections, environmental monitoring or fiscal au-
Mineral Production (DNPM, in the Ministry of dits, nor an effective sanctioning framework, while
Mines and Energy), hundreds of applications have in many areas tacit tolerance of non-compliance
been filed for mineral extraction or research on with legal standards has become the norm” (Joschka
Indigenous Territories, 778 of which are in Roraima. J, et al., 2022, p.6). On the trading side the situation
 55 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

is comparable or even more critical, as “basically carried out without any state control whatsoever.
all mid-level gold traders operate in violation of In this country mining is classified according to
the existing legal framework [...] these actors do the degree of exploitation (Decree 1666 of 2016):
not run a high risk of criminal prosecution and subsistence, small, medium and large-scale min-
are (at least tacitly) tolerated by the state.” While ing. The classification of mining as illegal or not
the final dealers or exporters of gold operate for- causes controversy and is usually referred to as
mally, the total illegality of intermediate dealers exploitation that does not meet the legal require-
“encourages exporters to misrepresent the origin ments for exploitation, that is, mining without a
and provenance of gold sales.” concession contract (according to constitutional
The state’s actions in response to this fact provision, the subsoil is the property of the state)
are minimal and insufficient, or non-existent. and without the required environmental permits
For example, the Ombudsman’s Office report or licences. By issuing Law 1658 of 2013, Colombia
(2022b) on the case of mining activity in the Leco adopted a specific legal framework to control and
Charopampa Indigenous community, in the vicin- prevent the effects of amalgamated mercury, pro-
ity of the Madidi protected area, shows that mining hibiting its use throughout the national territory
sector authorities (the Ministry of Mining and the in “all industrial and productive processes.”
Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority) In recent years, the national government has
argue that the lack of legality of the mining opera- deployed several strategies to tackle or curb illegal
tions is the reason why they fail to control and mining, largely based on military and police op-
monitor mining activity; in other words, authori- erations. One example was “Operation Artemisa,”
ties use illegality as an argument for their failure implemented during the government of Iván Duque
to enforce the law. Municipal and departmental (2018-2022). This brought with it a substantial in-
authorities have filed several complaints about il- crease in the army’s footprint in the Amazon (Paz,
legal mining (Opinion, 2023) and courts have ruled 2019). Militarised approaches to environmental
for intervention to control illegal mining (ANF 2023), conservation result, on the one hand, in the elimi-
yet the Bolivian government does not carry out nation of the possibility for local environmental
sufficient enforcement management initiatives to flourish or develop (plac-
It is of even greater concern that, in order to ing citizens at risk from illegal armed actors), and
face the economic crisis, which has resulted in on the other hand, in the highly probable violation
low international reserves, the government has of the human rights of those weakest in illegal
decided to become a domestic gold buyer without economies, namely the Indigenous or campesino
taking any measures to improve gold traceability, people who are either logging or providing their
while instead contributing to illegal trade in Bolivia labour to extract gold (Gudynas, 2019).
(Campanini, 2023). An example of the deterrent effect of an active
state presence in the region (other than the military)
In Colombia, 65% of mining operations is the case of the National Natural Parks (PNN) post
are illegal (Ministry of Mines and Energy, 2022), mean- built in Puerto Franco in 2016 to control access to
ing that they do not have any plan or strategy to the Puré and Bernardo-Hilo rivers, protecting the
mitigate their negative impacts; operations are intangible zone of isolated Indigenous peoples. As
 56 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Puentes (2022) reports, from its construction until it Small-Scale Mining,” which sought to implement
was burnt down in 2020, this post not only served Article 7 and Annex C of the Minamata Convention,
scientific and biodiversity monitoring purposes, but organising strategies and actions that require a high
also managed to contain the movement of illegal degree of complex inter-institutional coordination,
actors. After the post was burnt down and 15 park with specific programming for the period 2024-
rangers were threatened, the National Natural Parks 2026. Nonetheless, this plan is largely focused
have not returned and illegal mining has prolifer- on mining formalisation and does not address in
ated, as was reported in the Socio-environmental a broadly participatory manner how to manage
Impacts section. affected sites, nor all the impacts and effects that
Likewise, the monitoring instrument known illegal mining continues to cause in territories like
as the Single Registry of Minerals Traders,15 imple- the Amazon.
mented by the national government in 2015, has On the other hand, the Colombian govern-
proven to have serious shortcomings. ment included gold and its derivatives in the list of
For example, the Socio-Legal Centre for “Minerals of Strategic Interest” for energy transition,
Territorial Defence (SIEMBRA, 2024) has raised the which suggests a high probability that socio-envi-
alarm about the registry’s flawed design, showing ronmental conflicts associated with gold mining
how people who are not even involved in mining will worsen. For example, there is a correlation
are on the registry and legalise gold that they have between the granting of mining concessions (and
not mined, in exchange for payments from those applications for mining concessions) and the in-
who do mine gold and from buyers that falsify crease in informal mining in the sub-region. In the
paperwork. case of the Yaigojé Apaporis Indigenous Territory,
Furthermore, the ratification of the Minamata speculation and expectations about a multina-
Convention on Mercury enabled Colombia to take tional company’s presence in the adjacent town
appropriate cross-sectoral measures to address the of Taraira has led to an increase in the arrival of
impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining. Based informal miners from different parts of the country
on these commitments, the Colombian national and from abroad. Furthermore, the consequences
government issued the Single National Mercury are extremely serious, as the idea is beginning to
Plan in 2018, with a five-year timeline, with the take root (even within Indigenous communities,
hope that by 2023 the Ministries would have imple- especially among young people) that the only op-
mented initiatives like mercury-related studies or portunities for employment or economic gain are
the identification, classification and monitoring of through mining.
each stage of the mercury cycle. However, none of While the Colombian state has implemented
the planned activities were fully implemented by different strategies to deal with or contain mining
2023 as envisaged. expansion, its efforts have been unsuccessful when
Last year, the national government issued the evaluated in terms of decreasing the number of
“National Action Plan on Mercury in Artisanal and dams or dragons in Amazonian rivers or reducing
the number of new extraction points, which do
not distinguish between Indigenous territories or
15
Regulated by Resolution 171 of 19 June 2018 of the Ministry of
Mines and Energy. protected areas.
 Illegal gold mining near the native Boca Pariamanu
community of the Indigenous Amahuaca people,
Madre de Dios, Peru. Source: Diego Perez/SPDA.

In the case of Ecuador, 2008 saw a change and “artisanal” mining. By 2020, about 11.500 to
in the way mining activity was conceived. Through 20.000 miners were working legally, directly and
the new Constitution and what is known as the indirectly, in these two types of mining (MAAE,
“Mining Mandate (2008), a process to modernise the 2020:13); 10% of them were women. By 2014, 78% of
sector was proposed, with its products regarded as gold extraction came from small-scale mining and
“strategic resources,”16 leading to new forms of state 22% from artisanal mining (Ministry of Mining, 2016:
presence in mining areas as well as mechanisms for 40). The state’s intention is to control and moder-
granting mining concessions to public and private nise this type of mining so that, through miners”
transnational companies, in order to promote the associations, they can move towards “medium-
industrial exploitation of metallic minerals on a scale mining.” The state’s presence as an agent for
medium and large scale. the control and regulation of this type of mining
In Ecuador, the Organic Law Reforming the has been insufficient, leading to the proliferation
Mining Law defines and regulates both “small-scale” of illegal mining activities where inhabitants face
exploitation and precarious labour conditions (in-
16
Article 313 of the Constitution, in accordance with Art. 1 of the Mining
cluding child labour), without regard for the fact
Law, provides that: “The state reserves the right to administer, regulate, that there are no plans to remediate the environ-
control and manage strategic sectors, in accordance with the principles
of environmental sustainability, caution, prevention and efficiency (...)”; mental damage.

57
 58 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Online media outlet Plan V (2016) reported and elimination. This sets it apart from other
that illegal gold was being exported from Peru, conventions which establish clear objectives re-
as though it were produced by small-scale and garding the goal they seek to achieve.
artisanal mining in Ecuador, since they do not pay In 2020, the Ecuadorian government pre-
royalties or taxes and are exempt from environ- sented the “National Action Plan on the Use of
mental requirements. The report indicates that, Mercury in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining
according to the Mining Charter, between 2010 in Ecuador, in accordance with the Minamata
and 2014, 30,6 tonnes of gold were produced but Convention on Mercury” (PAN). This document
62,4 tonnes were exported, demonstrating the im- focuses on strategies and courses of action, re-
portance of creating gold traceability mechanisms. sponsible parties and institutional coordination
Ecuador made a global commitment to reduce to reduce the use of mercury. 19 This National
mercury emissions released into the environment Action Plan is less ambitious in its outcomes than
as part of the Minamata Convention,17 which is a the previously existing National Action Plans.
binding legal tool that went into effect on 16 August While in 2013 the aim was to eliminate mercury
2017. Led by the United Nations Environment from small and artisanal mining activities, the
Programme (UNEP), the Convention sets forth National Action Plan seeks to “reduce and, as far
as its central goal: “to protect human health and as possible, eliminate the use of mercury [...]” by
the global environment from the anthropogenic 2030. This conveys the impression that this is not
emissions and release of mercury and mercury an urgent issue and implies tacit approval of its
compounds.” (UNEP, 2019:10) continuation, contradicting Ecuadorian legislation
The Convention includes provisions on public that dictates an express ban on mercury.
health information, environmental education, field In parallel, Ecuador activated the Global
identification of contaminated sites, engagement Opportunities for Long-term Development of
and capacity building and promotion of policies artisanal and small-scale gold mining (GEF GOLD)
aimed at mercury reduction. It calls on Party States programme. This programme, aligned with the
to develop policies regarding the full mercury Minamata Convention objectives and the SDGs,
cycle, from extraction to final waste management,18 aims to facilitate small-scale mining operations‘
knowing that the largest percentage of mercury access to new gold extraction methods that al-
release comes from artisanal and small-scale gold low artisanal miners to dispense with mercury,
mining. However, the Convention does not adopt promoting miners’ rights, safety and access to
national quotas to quantify mercury reduction, markets.20
nor does it set deadlines for mercury elimina- On the other hand, it is important to consider
tion, either in primary mercury extraction or the right of Indigenous peoples and nationalities to
mercury’s use in mining, allowing each country free, prior and informed consultation. In Ecuador,
to adopt its own measures for mercury reduction

19
E This document replaces other action plans such as the “zero mer� -
17
Ecuador signed the Minamata Convention on 10 October 2013 and cury” strategy.
ratified its decision on 29 July 2016 (MAE, 2013). 20
Interview with Luis Tapia from the Global Opportunities for Long-term
18
It covers mercury’s life cycle: supply, use, emission, release, trade, Development of artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector (GEF
handling and disposal. GOLD). 17 April 2020.
 59 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

several Indigenous organisations have criticised However, it was not until 2012 that the fight
the information sharing and citizen participation against illegal mining began at the national level,
mechanisms, which allow mining companies’ pres- through Legislative Decree 1100 and a package
ence in their territories, and which do not comply of six laws.
with the peoples’ demands nor with international Subsequently, the Executive Branch issued
conventions, such as ILO Convention 169 on more regulations that sought to define a common
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent approach to eradicating this problem. However,
Countries. The Convention is based on respect at the national level we only have a more than
for Indigenous peoples’ cultures and ways of life 10 year old strategy that has been in the process
and recognises their rights over lands and natural of being updated since the beginning of 2023.
resources, as well as their right to decide their Furthermore, it must be noted that a national
own development priorities. strategy, such as the current one on illegal mining,
For example, these processes have been is limited in scope in terms of its implementa-
manipulated and, in many cases, ignored by tion and aim, the actors and levels of government
the mining companies, as in the case of the involved, its mainstreaming, its goals and even
Federation of Indigenous Organisations of Napo its budget.
(FOIN). They argue that the participatory mech- On the other hand, since 2012, Peru has
anism is flawed in form and substance, since adopted measures to control and oversee the dis-
prior to its implementation, the companies, tribution, transport and trade of chemical inputs
supported by the state, promoted community that may be used in illegal mining. Thus, in March
conflicts, causing a rupture in the social fab- 2012, Legislative Decree 1103 was issued. This
ric. Likewise, they promote the persecution of new regulatory framework has been developed
social leaders 21 and community division and since then, based on the signing and ratification
displacement, which is far from good faith and of the Minamata Convention. To this end, two
the goal of reaching an agreement. FOIN reports national implementation plans were approved
that local authorities play an important role in through Executive Power regulations (Supreme
facilitating the expansion and exploitation of Decree 010-2016-MINAM and Supreme Decree
mining in the territories. 004-2019-MINAM). The latter national plan aimed
to ban mercury production from primary extrac-
Illegal mining has been on the rise in Peru tion and to establish a procedure for authorising
for two decades. Faced with this problem, mea- the export and import of mercury in Peru, among
sures initially focused on two regions: Madre other objectives.
de Dios - through Emergency Decree 010-2012, With respect to progress in implementing this
which sought to regulate gold mining - and Puno Convention, by 2024 the Ministry of Environment
- by approving measures to prohibit illegal min- reported that it had completed 42% of the activi-
ing in Puno through Legislative Decree 1099. ties established in the National Implementation
Plan for the Minamata Convention on Mercury
21
For example, the case of Shuar leader José Esach, who has been (MINAM, 2024b). In addition, it created a registry of
persecuted since 2016 because of his opposition to mining in south-
ern Ecuador. authorised users for mercury trade (Mamani Dávila,
 60 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

2022). According to the International Trade Centre implies that the crime is an offence based on
(ITC), since the Minamata Convention went into results; there can be no attempted offence (the
effect, legal imports of mercury into Peru have execution of the activity and its adverse results
decreased considerably, from 111 tonnes in 2012 to must be proven).
8 tonnes in 2019 (Merino Natorce, 2021; MINAM, 2020). The legal classification of the crime, as well as
However, the reality is that this input is es- the crime’s preparation, requires rigorous measures
sential to illegal mining for gold amalgamation to overcome the presumption of innocence of the
(Actualidad Ambiental, 2023). Mercury smuggling accused. Proving that the act was committed and
routes have been identified from Bolivia to Peru, that it produced an adverse result is a difficult task
along which between 410 to 795 tonnes of mer- for which no official information is available. To
cury smuggled illegally per year, according to the date, there has been no transparent reporting of
Artisanal Gold Council of Canada (Castro, 2022). how illegal mining cases are handled by prosecu-
Such figures are in line with the amount of gold tors or law enforcement.
produced illegally - using only exports reported to Other sources reveal that the prosecution’s
the state between 2014 and 2023 as a parameter evidence-gathering and investigation are often
(Berríos et al., 2024). incomplete,22 and do not include adequate proof
There have also been reports of the sale of of all the elements involved in the crime. On the
sodium cyanide, a substance also used for illegal other hand, members of the Public Prosecutor’s
mining, without the appropriate permits. Thus, for Office report a possible lack of prosecutorial staff
example, in 2017 the National Superintendence of and confirm they have not participated in opera-
Customs and Tax Administration identified a total tions carried out (Malaver Mendoza, 2024) about crimes
of 330 tonnes of cyanide linked to illicit traffick- that may be common at the national level, with
ing of chemical inputs destined for illegal mining. the relevant consequences.23 Likewise, it has been
These were linked to around five companies in- reported that there were approximately 7.200 in-
corporated in Lima and were intended for illegal vestigations for this crime across the country from
mining activities in the department of La Libertad 2019 to 2023, of which about 60% were still in
(Luna Amancio and Castro, 2022). the preliminary stage (IIMP, 2024a). In other words,
Another way of controlling this activity is more than half of the prosecution’s cases show no
through legal classification of the crime. Thus, major progress, while a considerable part of the
in the Peruvian criminal legal framework, illegal rest of the cases are stalled in the judiciary.
mining has been classified as a criminal offence With regard to the few known illegal mining
under article 307-A of the Peruvian Criminal Code convictions, there are some common denominators:
since 2012. This class of crimes is punishable as a
pollution offence. Therefore, the offence is punish-
able as long as it is proven that damage, alterations 22
As is evident, for example, in the ruling on the case of Appeal 464-
2016, Pasco, which was taken under review by the Supreme Court
or harm to the environment, environmental qual- because the Prosecutor’s Office did not prove the environmental
damage caused by the illegal mining activities, which is required for
ity or environmental health has occurred or may the crime to be established.
occur as a consequence of carrying out mining 23
Consequences such as the inability to carry out interdiction process-
es, the inability to oversee police activities, or the facilitation of possi-
activities without the appropriate permits. This ble acts of corruption.
 61 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

· The prosecutor’s office and the police directly determining its operational continuity over time
apprehended the convicted persons during (Plenary Agreement No. 08-2019/CIJ-116).
the raids and operations they carried out. This category led to the creation of Specialised
· The circumstances under which they were Prosecutor’s Offices against Organised Crime. Since
arrested coincide with the fact that they were 2016, as a result of Legislative Decree 1244, these
operating mining-related machinery. offices have been responsible for investigating
· Civil reparations are set at sums ranging from criminal organisations linked to illegal mining.
USD 300 to a maximum of USD 6.000 in cases This involves the application of new investigative
of joint responsibility, i.e. serious cases that techniques commensurate with the complexity
must be borne by more than one person. of criminal organisations, including intercep-
tion of communications, undercover operations,
In this respect, it should be noted that in the undercover agents and special agents, telephone
cases analysed, the people convicted were engaged interceptions, video-surveillance and tracking, and
in mining activities as direct operators of machinery, surveillance operations and controlled delivery of
rafts and dredges. In other words, they were the goods.25
smallest players. None of them has been identified However, both journalistic and prosecutorial
or accused of being the leader or person respon- reports have confirmed the presence of national
sible for the mining activities identified, much less criminal organisations in mining activities, whether
has it been demonstrated that their income could by leading, integrating or complementing min-
support the financing of such activities.24 ing through extraction, trade or related activities.
However, there is much less effectiveness in Public officials and civil servants are even involved
terms of sanctioning those who finance and run (IIMP, 2024b). It has also been found that criminal
mining activities. Those actors are identified dur- organisations involved in drug trafficking reinvest
ing police and prosecutorial operations, but those the money they make in illegal mining, as it is
operations either yield zero results from the iden- highly profitable and facilitates money laundering
tification (no one is apprehended) or they only (Pedroso, 2024).
apprehend those who were hired by the mining Given the obvious involvement of organised
financiers and managers to carry out their criminal crime in illegal mining activities, the criminal
activities. justice system has failed to offer a commensu-
Increasingly, illegal mining operations have rate response in terms of prosecution, let alone
been found to have strong links to national and punishment. An analysis of the cases published
international organised crime. In Peru, a criminal by government agencies shows that to date, only
organisation is defined as one that, due to its broad in La Libertad, in the district of Pataz, have po-
“operational capacity and organisational complexity,” lice and prosecutors made a preliminary start on
activates “illegal economies or processes of production
of illegal goods and services typical of organised crime,” 25
It must be noted that in July 2024, the Congress of the Republic
approved Bill 5981, which weakened the organised crime definition,
specifying that it only applies to felonies with sentences of more than
24
Which can be inferred from the fines set based on day wages, which six years. Although this modification does not have an impact on the
in many cases were calculated on the basis of minimum wages or prosecution of illegal mining, it does have an impact on the related
low incomes. crime of illegal logging.
 62 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

identifying alleged criminal organisations (Public regional governors (17) and mayors (84) - con-
Prosecutor’s Office, 2024 b). victed for the crimes of bribery, conflict of interest,
However, according to the information re- abuse of office and embezzlement. In addition to
leased, these investigations have not been replicated the above, the National Corruption Observatory
in Amazonian departments that have a high rate of of the Office of the Comptroller General of the
illegal mining such as Madre de Dios, Amazonas, Republic (2024b) reports that the level of corrup-
San Martín, Ucayali, Puno, and Cusco (FCDS, 2023; tion in public bodies related to the mining sector
IIMP, 2024a), regions where the rate of corruption is is as follows: 83% in the Ministry of Energy and
alarmingly high. Mines and 58% in the Geological, Mining and
Indeed, regions such as Madre de Dios, Metallurgical Institute.
Amazonas, San Martín, Ucayali, Puno and Cusco
have 74%, 72%, 66%, 79%, 70% and 79% of cor- Thus, in Peru, there are disparate measures
ruption, respectively, according to the Corruption that mimic a strategy to eradicate this activity. The
Risk and Professional Misconduct of Public current regulations do not present a solid public
Officials Index (INCO).26 This situation forced policy that links all sectors and levels of govern-
the legal system to classify these behaviours as ment, and there are budgetary shortcomings that
crimes. Nevertheless, corruption rates have not affect the effectiveness of any applicable measures.
decreased and, on the contrary, public officials Secondly, regulations are in place to prosecute the
have been documented participating in illegal crime of illegal mining and link it to organised
activities, such as illegal mining, illegal logging crime charges; however, findings reveal that these
and drug trafficking.27 measures are inadequately implemented, targeting
According to information provided by the the bottom link in the criminal chain, the operator,
Public Prosecutor’s Office (2024a), from January thereby maintaining impunity. These measures
to October 2022, 1.540 people were convicted of prove even weaker when faced with another dis-
corruption, of which 69% were civil servants and torting structural element: corruption. Indeed,
public officials - including police officers (112), there is evidence of linkages between authorities
and illegal mining. These actions facilitate access
26
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (2024a) defines to inputs and the transfer of extracted minerals.
INCO as “a metric developed by the Deputy Manager’s Office of the
Anti-Corruption Observatory (OBANT) of the Office of the Comptroller
General of the Republic of Peru (CGR), with the goal of contributing
to the research and understanding of the phenomenon of corruption
In Venezuela, following the collapse of the
and professional misconduct in the Peruvian public sector. It is based oil industry, the government stepped up mineral
on official and objective data collected, mainly through direct obser-
vation, and prioritises the findings of governmental oversight through exploitation in the south of the country by cre-
its oversight and related services.”
27
See: INDAGA. National Observatory of Criminal Policy (2022). ating the mining arc in 2016 (SOSOrinoco, 2021c).
Illegal Logging in the Peruvian Amazon. Lima: MINJUS/USAID,
p. 182. https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/3095185/
The mining arc was not approved by the National
Documento%20-%20La%20tala%20ilegal%20en%20la%20Am- Assembly, which declared it unconstitutional, and
azonía%20peruana.pdf.pdf. Also: Solis, E. & Fabián, G. (2024).
Dynamics of organised crime and corruption. Approaches to a did not comply with environmental and socio-
Depiction based on the Supreme Court’s Pronouncements from
2018 to 2022. IDEHPUCP. https://idehpucp.pucp.edu.pe/publica-
cultural impact studies and prior consultation with
ciones/dinamicas-del-crimen-organizado-y-la-corrupcion-aprox- Indigenous peoples (Provea, 2016). Different sectors in
imaciones-a-una-caracterizacion-a-partir-de-los-pronunciamien-
tos-de-la-corte-suprema-del-2018-al-2022/ the country have strongly contested the declaration
 Total transformation of the banks and course of the Mapiri
River, Mapiri Municipality, Bolivia.
Source: Alessandro Cinque/Alianza de Oro/WeWorld.

of the mining arc, challenging its legal validity, as constitutional, environmental, Indigenous and
different legal precepts and procedures regarding land-use planning law. Likewise, all mining in
land management, protection of Indigenous peoples, the state of Amazonas is illegal.
the environment, labour rights and taxation prin- In terms of efforts to mitigate mining impacts,
ciples were ignored (García Viloria, 2016). all signs suggest that environmental and biodiver-
The Maduro government’s intention was to sity protection issues are not on the Venezuelan
attract investment to develop the mining industry, public agenda or that the Venezuelan environ-
but when expectations were not met, it turned mental authority is negligent. A report prepared
into a free-for-all for informal mining without by the Office of the Comptroller General of the
any environmental or fiscal control, throughout Republic puts it in the following terms: “The pres-
the south of the country. There is minimal formal ence of unchecked mining activities in the Areas
mining activity in the mining arc and the rest Under Special Administration, causing irrevers-
of the mining areas are dominated by informal, ible damage to the environment, is due to the
small and medium-scale mining, mostly ille- fact that the bodies in charge of their conserva-
gal or of dubious legality, particularly for gold tion and preservation are not complying with the
(SOSOrinoco, 2022d). provisions of Article 47 of the Organic Law on
Much of the informal mining, both inside and the Environment, which states that the National
outside the mining arc, takes place in protected Environmental Authority, upon the presumption
areas like national parks, natural monuments, etc. or imminence of negative impacts on the envi-
All of this mining is illegal and incompatible with ronment, must prohibit or, as the case may be,
the management goals of these areas, contravening totally or partially restrict ongoing activities that

63
 64 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

involve ecosystems, natural resources or biologi- The Venezuelan government turned to

cal diversity, without this giving rise to rights to mining, especially gold mining, because of its
compensation (Venezuela, 2010).” profitability and relatively low investment, im-
There have been a series of belated and piece- mediate marketability and low traceability. This
meal military operations to counteract illegal source of resources is managed by a corrupt
mining in protected areas. In 2018, the General network that contributes revenue not to the na-
Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) tional treasury, but to the actors who control the
implemented the Tepuy Protection Plan in Canaima scheme. This obvious illegality is the product of
National Park (SOSOrinoco, 2020). Afterwards, opera- a de facto political decision. Therefore, we can
tions Roraima 2022, Autana 2023 and Neblina 2024 assert that the apparent chaos and illegality define
in Amazonas and Bolívar states were carried out the fundamental nature of the mining arc as a
by the National Bolivarian Armed Forces’ Strategic “policy,” which responds to a factual need that
Operational Command, with the participation cannot be recognised in the realm of legal formal-
of the Amazonas and Bolívar Integrated Defence ity (SOSOrinoco, 2021c). The regime’s real mining
Operational Zones (ZODI). policy has at least three fundamental components:
These and other operations to evict illegal a) the control of production by organised crime
mines in the south of the country have led to groups who ensure that resources reach political
violent clashes against miners and Indigenous agents; b) the disregard and violation of previous
communities, resulting in more deaths, human mining concessions in order to promote infor-
rights violations and environmental impacts. Most mality; c) the general oversight and command
of the operations have been carried out exclusively of the system in the hands of the active military,
by the military, without the participation of en- making use of the Armed Forces’ institutional
vironmental authorities, the Public Prosecutor’s means (SOSOrinoco, 2021c).
Office or other entities (SOSOrinoco, 2023e). The Therefore, the mining arc is based on infor-
NGO FundaRedes points out that “Far from act- malisation at all levels: it has no formal structure or
ing appropriately to eradicate illegal mining and geographic boundaries, no environmental regula-
other criminal activities committed on these lands, tions, no legal permits, no official oversight, and
without causing collateral damage to humans or no ethical consideration of its impacts (SOSOrinoco,
the environment, the state orders operations that 2021c). It is estimated that between 70% and 90%
have a negative impact, [and] leave irreversible of gold leaves the country illegally, in operations
consequences [...]” (FundaRedes, 2023). involving high-level government officials and fam-
Military operations appear to mainly serve ily members close to the president’s entourage
as a propaganda exercise to clean up the govern- (Transparencia Venezuela, 2019).
ment’s image, as they are not part of any coherent
state policy, plan or programme to eradicate illegal
mining or mitigate its impacts. Nor have there
been any efforts to determine who is responsible
for the lucrative business of illegal mining and
mineral smuggling.
 65 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

States’ Human Rights and

Environmental Protection Obligations
with Respect to Mining
The previous chapters have outlined the socio- discussed. This section addresses the standards
environmental impacts of gold mining in various on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
areas of the Amazon in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, environment, and their interconnection with other
Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. This chapter brings human rights. It also outlines the key obligations
together some of the international human rights that the state must respect and ensure in the face
and environmental protection standards that have of gold mining, particularly illegal gold mining.
been breached by state authorities in the countries

Illegal mining in the Paragua River. Bolívar State, Venezuela. Source: Rodolfo Gerstl.
 66 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

The Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable

Environment

a. On environmental protection in Among the international legal instruments on

international law the environment, the Johannesburg Declaration
of 2002 also stands out. In its paragraph 13, it
In 1972, the Stockholm Declaration on the recognises the deterioration of the environment
Human Environment made environmental issues and the loss of biodiversity, the pollution of air,
one of the international community’s concerns. water and seas, as factors that affect the dignity
Among other fundamental aspects, principle 6 of human life.
of this declaration includes the need to put an On 18 October 2021, the UN Human Rights
end to the release of toxic substances, so that Council recognised the right to a clean, healthy
they do not cause serious or irreparable damage and sustainable environment as a human right31
to ecosystems.28 and, in July 2022, the General Assembly issued
In 1987, the United Nations (UN) Commission a resolution recognising this right in the same
on Environment and Development presented terms.32
the report ‘Our Common Future’ to the General In 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
Assembly. In this report, it recognised “[...]en- human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
vironmental trends that threaten to radically environment developed guidelines on human
alter the planet, that threaten the lives of many rights and the environment, called “Framework
species upon it, including the human species[...]”29 Principles on Human Rights and Environment.”
(emphasis added)30. The document recognises that ‘[...] Environmental
The 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment harm interferes with the full enjoyment of human
and Development recognises in its Principle 4 that rights [...].”33
“[i]n order to achieve sustainable development, In the regional sphere of the Americas, the
environmental protection must be an integral part Inter-American Democratic Charter of 2001 es-
of the development process and cannot be consid- tablishes in its preamble that “a safe environment
ered in isolation.” Also in 1992, the Convention is essential to the integral development of the hu-
on Biological Diversity expressed concern about man being, which contributes to democracy and
“the significant reduction of biological diversity political stability.”34 In turn, its Article 15 upholds
as a result of certain human activities.” (em-
phasis added) 31
Human Rights Council, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights
Council on 8 October 2021. 48/13 The human right to a clean,
healthy and sustainable environment. A/HRC/RES/48/13.
32
UN General Assembly. The human right to a clean, healthy and sus-
tainable environment. 26 July 2022. A/76/L.75.
28
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Stockholm 33
Special Rapporteur on the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and
Declaration on the Human Environment. 16 June 1972, principle 6. sustainable environment. Framework Principles on Human Rights
29
World Commission on Environment and Development. Report of the and the Environment. 24 January 2018. A/HRC/37/59
World Commission on Environment and Development, August 1987. 34
IACHR, Basic Documents on Human Rights in the Inter-American Sys-
A/42/427. para. 7. tem, Inter-American Democratic Charter, 11 September 2001. See:
30
Ibid. http://www.oas.org/OASpage/esp/Documentos/Carta_Democratica.htm
 67 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

the need to implement “implement policies and The Inter-American Commission on Human
strategies to protect the environment, including Rights (IACHR) has stressed that a healthy en-
application of various treaties and conventions, to vironment is a fundamental right for ensuring
achieve sustainable development for the benefit the existence not only of humanity but of all
of future generations.” forms of life on earth.38 The IACHR has systema-
The American Declaration on the Rights of tised the state’s obligations to prevent, mitigate
Indigenous Peoples establishes in its Article 19 and guarantee rights impacted by the inadequate
that Indigenous peoples “have the right to live in management of natural resources, especially in
harmony with nature and to a healthy, safe, and relation to Indigenous and tribal peoples. From
sustainable environment, essential conditions among the various declarations on the matter, we
for the full enjoyment of the rights to life and highlight the following thematic reports:
to their spirituality, cosmovision, and collective
well-being.”35 Despite this, this report shows il- • Indigenous Peoples, A fro-Descendent
legal mining’s devastating effects on Indigenous Communities and Natural Resources:
peoples and their territories. Human Rights Protection in the Context of
In the Inter-American Human Rights System Extraction, Exploitation, and Development
(IAHRS), the Additional Protocol to the American Activities;39
Convention on Human Rights in the Area of • “Human Rights Situation of Indigenous and
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of Tribal Peoples of the Pan-Amazon Region;”40
San Salvador) recognises the right of all people to
live in a healthy environment.36 The OAS General
Assembly has established some parameters for 38
IACHR. Environmental defenders in Northern Central America. 16
December 2022. para. 25.
evaluating progress towards this right, based on 39
This report summarises Inter-American standards in relation to
the following elements: the quality and sufficiency Indigenous territorial rights, such as reasonable benefit-sharing;
the requirements that must be met when conducting a socio-en-
of water sources; soil quality; biodiversity; pro- vironmental impact assessment; and the assumptions of consent,
that is, the right to veto large-scale investment projects. It also ex-
duction of pollutant waste and their management; plains the obligation to adapt the domestic regulations and public
and the status of forest resources.37 policies of extractive companies’ states of origin in order to pre-
vent, mitigate and redress human rights violations committed by
their subsidiaries in third party countries. See IACHR, “Indigenous
Peoples, Afro-Descendent Communities and Natural Resources:
35
OAS General Assembly, American Declaration on the Rights of In- Human Rights Protection in the Context of Extraction, Exploita-
digenous Peoples, adopted at the second plenary session, 14 June tion, and Development Activities,” OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 47/15, 31
2016, AG/RES. 2888 (XLVI-O/16). December 2015. For an explanation of the report’s content, see
36
OAS General Assembly. Additional Protocol to the American Conven- Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), Infographic Summary of
tion on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural the IACHR Report “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendent Com-
Rights “Protocol of San Salvador.” Signed in San Salvador, El Salva- munities and Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection in the
dor on 17 November 1988, Article 11. Context of Extraction, Exploitation, and Development Activities,”
37
OAS Assembly, “Adoption of the Follow-up Mechanism for the Im- 30 March 2017, available at: http://www.dplf.org/ sites/default/
plementation of the Protocol of San Salvador,” Resolution AG/RES. files/informe_cidhddhh_extractivas_digital.pdf.
2823 (XLIV-O/14), 4 June 2014. The OAS Working Group in charge 40
This report states that “most of the major impacts on the environ-
of defining indicators of progress for implementation of the Protocol ment in the Amazon region stem from extractive and development
of San Salvador has referred to states’ obligations under article 11 activities, as well as from livestock farming, drug trafficking, and illegal
of the Protocol, which can be summarised as: to guarantee without logging” and stresses that “those hardest hit are the Indigenous and
discrimination a healthy environment and basic public services to all tribal peoples, who are highly dependent on the ecosystems they in-
persons and to promote the protection, preservation and improve- habit, due to the decline in the availability of natural resources.” See,
ment of the environment. See, Working Group on the Protocol of San IACHR, “Human Rights Situation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of
Salvador, “Indicators of Progress: Second Grupo of Rights,” OEA/ the Pan-Amazon Region,” OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.176/19, 29 Septem-
Ser.L/XXV.2.1, GT/PSS/doc.9/13, 5 November 2013. para. 26. ber 2019, paras. 272-276.
 68 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

• “Business and Human Rights: Inter-American of environmental harm. Under the former, states
Standards.”41 must act when there are plausible indicators that a
given activity may result in irreversible damage to
In its Advisory Opinion 23/17 on environment the environment, even in the absence of scientific
and human rights, the Inter-American Court of certainty. In turn, the principle of prevention im-
Human Rights explained that: plies the duty to regulate, supervise and monitor
potentially environmentally damaging activities,
[...] In its collective dimension, the right to a healthy to prepare a contingency plan and to mitigate the
environment constitutes a universal value that is effects of environmental degradation.
owed to both present and future generations. That
said, the right to a healthy environment also has b. A non-toxic environment as an integral
an individual dimension insofar as its violation part of the human right to a clean,
may have a direct and an indirect impact on the healthy and sustainable environment
individual owing to its connectivity to other rights, and its relationship to biodiversity.
such as the rights to health, personal integrity,
and life. Environmental degradation may cause In 2022, the Special Rapporteur on the hu-
irreparable harm to human beings; thus, a healthy man right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment is a fundamental right for the exis- environment noted that low- and middle-income
tence of humankind.42 countries are the most affected by diseases caused
by pollution.43 The report highlights mining as
This advisory opinion analyses the special one of the industries that produce “prodigious
vulnerability of certain population groups to en- volumes of pollution and toxic chemicals.”44 It
vironmental damage, namely: children, women, further stresses that: “pollution and toxic sub-
people living in poverty, Indigenous peoples, people stances are [...] one of the five main drivers
with disabilities and “communities that depend on of the catastrophic decline in biodiversity,
natural resources” for their survival. with particularly negative impacts on pollina-
OC-23/17 adheres to two cardinal principles tors, insects, freshwater and marine ecosystems
of international environmental law - the precau- (including coral reefs) and bird populations”45
tionary principle and the principle of prevention (emphasis added).
With regard to pollution arising from the use
of toxic waste, the I/A Court H.R. has warned that:
41
One of the most innovative points in this latest report is the mention
of “ratifying and applying the provisions of the Regional Agreement
on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice [...] air and water pollution can have adverse ef-
in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, adopt-
ed in 2018, known as the Escazú Agreement.” See, IACHR, “Report fects on the existence of a healthy and sustainable
on Business and Human Rights: Inter-American Standards,” OEA/
Ser.L/V/II, 1 November 2019.
42
I/A Court H.R. The Environment and Human Rights (State Obliga- 43
Human Rights Council. See The right to a clean, healthy and sus-
tions in Relation to the Environment in the Context of the Protec- tainable environment: non-toxic environment - Report of the Special
tion and Guarantee of the Rights to Life and to Personal Integrity: Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the
Interpretation and Scope of Articles 4(1) and 5(1) in Relation to enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 12
Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights). January 2022. A/HRC/49/53. para. 5.
Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 of 15 November 2017. Series A No. 44
Ibid. para. 9.
23. para. 50. 45
Ibid. para. 13.
 69 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

environment, as the deposit of pollutants can affect their use, discharge or release; eliminate pol-
aquatic ecosystems, flora, fauna and soil and alter lution; rehabilitate contaminated areas; and
their composition, as well as have consequences for detoxify affected people’s bodies.49 Illegal min-
people’s health and living conditions. In this sense, ing’s indiscriminate use of toxic substances such as
air and water pollution can affect rights such as mercury and cyanide invariably leads to extremely
to a healthy environment, life, health, food, and high levels of pollution beyond the area where the
a dignified life when it causes significant damage extraction takes place. The pollution caused by
to the basic goods protected by these rights [...].46 these metals persists for generations and has seri-
ous consequences for fauna and flora in general,
This report explains the effects of the release but particularly for aquatic species, amphibians
of heavy metals from illegal mining on water, soil, and birds, which are part of the food chain of lo-
plants and animals and on human health. A clear cal communities and, often, other localities and
example of these effects is the case of the Ecuadorian urban centres.
Amazon, where lead and mercury were found in
the urine of people involved in artisanal mining,
resulting in impaired motor functions and cognitive-
motor alterations.
Despite the existence of international agree-
ments to control, regulate and eliminate toxic
substances, such as those used in gold mining
(including illegal mining), their effectiveness is
reduced by low levels of monitoring and insufficient
environmental safeguards on the part of several
states.47 In this regard, the Special Rapporteur has
stressed that the “application and interpretation of
the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment in the context of pollution and toxic
substances should be guided by the principles of
prevention, precaution, non-discrimination and
non-regression [...].”48
As the Special Rapporteur highlighted, states
must prevent exposure to toxic substances; stop

46
I/A Court H.R. Case of Inhabitants of La Oroya v. Peru. Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November
27, 2023. Series C No. 511. para. 119.
47
Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the is-
sue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe,
clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The right to a clean,
healthy and sustainable environment: non-toxic environment. 12 Jan-
uary 2022. A/HRC/49/53. para. 18.
48
Ibid. para. 54. 49
Ibid. para. 86.
 70 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Human Rights Obligations in the Context

of Gold Mining

From the standards of “international human 4. prevent, investigate and sanction illegal ac-
rights law” (IHRL), several state obligations arise in tivities, especially where they involve risks
relation to extractive activities, in order to prevent of pollution and violence.
environmental damage and to protect and guar- 5. guarantee access to justice and full reparation
antee human rights. Among these obligations, we for human rights violations that may occur in
highlight the following: the context of extractive activities.53

1. adopt a regulatory framework for the protection Under IHRL in general, and ISHR standards in
of human rights, regulate high-risk activities, particular, criteria have been developed for indirect
sanction environmentally harmful activities attribution of responsibility to states for the acts
and create private liability regimes, etc.50 This of private parties based on the following assump-
obligation also entails the duty to enforce their tions: i) support, acquiescence54 or tolerance55 and
domestic law.51 ii) the link between the international violation and
2. prevent, mitigate and halt negative impacts on the state’s authority.56 While direct attribution of
human rights, including establishing alert or responsibility occurs when the acts or omissions
emergency mechanisms for hazardous activi- of state agents per se constitute an international
ties, informing the local population of risks wrong, indirect attribution occurs when the acts
and taking preventive action.52 or omissions of the state favour the violation per-
3. supervise and oversee natural resource ex- petrated by private parties.
ploration and exploitation activities with due One of the main constraints to the fulfilment
diligence. of state obligations described in this section is the
intersection of criminal groups and corruption net-
works with ramifications in activities that go beyond
50
IACHR, “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendent Communities and
Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection in the Context of Ex-
traction, Exploitation, and Development Activities,” OEA/Ser.L/V/II, 53
Ibid., Paras. 64-70
Doc. 47/15, 31 December 2015. Para. 65. 54
I/A Court H.R. Case of Hacienda Brasil Verde v. Brazil. Preliminary
51
Ibid., Para. 69. Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgement of 20 Oc-
52
The IACHR has indicated that the obligation of prevention is en- tober 2016. Series C No. 318, para. 320; Ríos et al., v. Venezuela.
forceable prior to the authorisation of the activity or the granting of Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgement
the corresponding permits, as well as during the implementation of 28 January 2009. Series C No. 194.
and life cycle of the project through monitoring and oversight mea- 55
I/A Court H.R. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia. Mer-
sures. To identify risks, they must implement assessments, in which its, Reparations and Costs. Judgement of 31 January 2006. Series C
an environmental approach is not sufficient, as extractive activities’ No. 140, Para. 126.
impacts must be assessed by states bearing in mind how the ac- 56
IACHR, Extrajudicial Executions. Guatemala. Provisional Measures
tivity will affect human rights. The IACHR has further highlighted Report 39/00 of 13 April 2000, para. 227. (“The judiciary demonstrat-
that the “[...] specific obligation to adopt measures of prevention ed its inability and lack of cooperation in fulfilling its role in the iden-
becomes relevant in cases where a plan or project poses a real and tification, prosecution and punishment of those responsible. When
imminent danger for a specific individual or group of individuals. It such a practice, attributable to the state or with respect to which the
may be a matter of rights to life or personal integrity resulting inter state acquiesced, can be established, and the particular case can be
alia from environmental contamination [...].”Cit., Ibid., Para. 65, 76, linked to that practice, that link defines the nature and scope of the
89, 93 and 94. claims, and helps to establish the veracity of the alleged facts.”).
 71 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

illegal mining to include drug trafficking, human regions where there is little state presence and where
trafficking, illegal logging and illegal fishing.57 This organised crime exercises a more pronounced ter-
report shows how complex criminal structures are ritorial control. In addition, in areas with higher
acting in concert with or with the permissiveness levels of poverty, the immediate profits made from
of judicial, military and police officials, who benefit illegal gold mining make it difficult to regularise
from these activities through acts of corruption, artisanal mining programmes and to replace il-
as part of these systemic structures of impunity.58 legal mining with socially and environmentally
In Brazil and Peru, for example, the co-optation of sustainable alternatives.
authorities across all spheres of local and national One of the most important components of the
government by criminal structures linked to illegal analysis of the ISHR bodies on states’ obligations
mining has been documented. with respect to private parties’ actions has to do
These corruption networks and transnational with the duty of prevention, enforceable under
organised crime constitute real operational systems certain circumstances, such as whether the state
in which authorities, politicians and, often, busi- had or should have had knowledge of a situation
ness elites interact, with very sophisticated rules of real and imminent risk, or whether reasonable
of operation and division of labour, making it a measures were adopted to avoid the occurrence
titanic task to control and eradicate them. States of the verified risk.60 Such an obligation must be
must take all necessary measures to dismantle fulfilled with particular diligence with regard to
corruption structures that favour illegal mining, activities that involve risks to people’s lives, integrity
focusing on the rights of the victims of this phe- and health, whether they are workers involved in
nomenon. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the activity or third parties who are also exposed
a recent UN Human Rights Council resolution to risks.61
which stresses “that the promotion and protection In its OC 23/17, on environment and human
of human rights and the prevention of and fight rights, the IACHR held that states must adopt mea-
against corruption are mutually reinforcing, and sures to prevent significant environmental damage,
that human rights developments at the national both within and outside their territories, where
level play a key role in the fight against corruption “significant” is defined as any damage that could
at all levels.”59 lead to a violation of the right to life and personal
Another element that hampers compliance integrity. In turn, the IACHR has established the
with the state obligations described in this section is obligation to adapt the internal laws and public
the transnational nature that often underlies illegal policies of extractive companies’ states of origin
mining. The report describes how this phenom-
enon has expanded dramatically in cross-border 60
See, for example, I/A Court H.R. Case of González et al., (“Cotton
Field”) vs. Mexico. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgement of 16 November 2009. Series C No. 205, para.
284; and Case of the Hacienda Brasil Verde Workers v. Brazil. Pre-
57
See https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/I%C- liminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgement of 20
C%81ndice-global-de-crimen-organizado-2023.pdf October 2016. Series C No. 318, para. 323.
58
See https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ 61
See, for example, I/A Court H.R., Case of the Workers of the Fire-
El-Crimen-Organizado-y-la-Miner%C3%ADa-Ile- works Factory in Santo Antônio de Jesus, op. cit. paras. 283 and
gal-de-Oro-en-Am%C3%A9rica-Latina.pdf 288, in which the Court ordered the Brazilian State to report on de-
59
UN Human Rights Council, The negative impact of corruption on the velopments in the deliberation of a bill pending before the Federal
enjoyment of human rights, A/HRC/53/L.29, 6 July 2023. Senate, concerning the regulation of fireworks production and trade.
 72 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

in order to prevent, mitigate and redress human obligation includes identifying actual or potential
rights violations committed by their subsidiaries in negative impacts in supply chains and business
third party countries.62 It should be stressed that relationships.66
most of the illegally mined gold in the countries According to the Fact Coalition report cited
covered in this report is destined for developed above, activities such as illegal mining “cleared
countries, where it is used as a raw material for swaths of the Amazon forest, poisoned local com-
the manufacture of different products like jewellery munities and Indigenous groups with mercury, and
and, in some cases, is transformed into a financial made these countries less safe: fuelling narcotraf-
instrument. ficking, violence, and corruption.”67
As Fact Coalition highlighted in its report
‘Dirty Money and the Destruction of the Amazon,’
environmental crimes are the third most significant
criminal activity worldwide, in terms of annual
value.63 As such, destination countries for ille-
gal gold have responsibilities under international
law to prevent, oversee and sanction companies
registered or domiciled under their jurisdiction
whose actions in third party countries contribute
to human rights violation.64
In this regard, several European states have
adopted corporate due diligence laws for compa-
nies to identify risks and prevent human rights
violations resulting from the activities of groups
or individuals in their supply chain.65 According
to the OECD, in this context, the due diligence

62
IACHR, “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendent Communities and
Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection in the Context of Ex-
traction, Exploitation, and Development Activities,” OEA/Ser.L/V/II,
Doc. 47/15, 31 December 2015. For an explanation of the report’s
content, see Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), Infographic
Summary of the IACHR Report “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descen-
dent Communities and Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection
in the Context of Extraction, Exploitation, and Development Activi-
ties,” 30 March 2017, available at: http://www.dplf.org/ sites/default/
files/informe_cidhddhh_extractivas_digital.pdf.
63
Fact Coalition (2023). Dirty Money and the Destruction of the Ama-
zon. Available online at: https://thefactcoalition.org/wp-content/up-
loads/2023/10/Feb-08_Spanish-Full_FACT-Report.pdf
64
The Environment and Human Rights (State Obligations in Relation to
the Environment in the Context of the Protection and Guarantee of
the Rights to Life and to Personal Integrity: Interpretation and Scope
of Articles 4(1) and 5(1) in Relation to Articles 1(1) and 2 of the Ameri- 66
OECD. OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business
can Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 of 15 Conduct, page 25.
November 2017. Series A No. 23. Para. 77 67
Fact Coalition (2023). Dirty Money and the Destruction of the Ama-
65
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Principle 11 and zon, page 9. Available online at: https://thefactcoalition.org/wp-con-
Sherpa, Vigilance Plans Reference Guidance, first edition, page 23. tent/uploads/2023/10/Feb-08_Spanish-Full_FACT-Report.pdf
 73 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

State Obligations with Respect to the Use,

Regulation, Monitoring and Control of Mercury and
Other Toxic Substances Used in Illegal Mining

International law contains several conventions risks to human health and the environment and
that address the pollution, production, use and trade ensuring public participation and validation of
of toxic substances, such as mercury and arsenic, the results.70 Furthermore, it encourages States
and the obligations of states with respect to these Parties to develop and implement strategies and
substances. The Minamata Convention on Mercury programmes to identify and protect at-risk popula-
(2013), in force since September 2017, stands out tions that are particularly vulnerable to exposure
among these instruments. This Convention seeks to mercury and mercury compounds, develop and
to “[...] protect human health and the environment implement educational and preventive programmes
from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mer- on occupational exposure to mercury and mercury
cury and mercury compounds [...].”68 compounds, promote health care services for the
To achieve this goal, the Convention estab- prevention and care of populations affected by
lishes a number of obligations for the prohibition, exposure to mercury and mercury compounds,
regulation and control of exports and imports of and strengthen institutional capacity to achieve
mercury and mercury-added products, as well as these objectives.71
the control and reduction of mercury and mercury Among its obligations, the Minamata Conven­
compound emissions, releases, interim storage and tion highlights the obligation to provide information
wastes, including imposing measures to restrict and raise awareness of the health and environmental
the use of mercury or mercury compounds. In effects of mercury and mercury compounds.72 It
addition, the Convention requires States Parties also says that states shall endeavour to cooperate
to discourage the establishment of facilities that in the “[...] modelling and geographically repre-
intentionally use mercury or mercury compounds, sentative monitoring of levels of mercury and
unless the State Party can satisfactorily demon- mercury compounds in vulnerable populations
strate that the manufacturing process provides and in environmental media, including biotic
environmental and health benefits and there are media such as fish, marine mammals, sea turtles
no mercury-free alternatives available that would and birds […].”73
achieve the same effect.69 Article 8 of the Convention imposes mea-
The Minamata Convention establishes states’ sures to control emissions from activities,
obligations to develop strategies to identify and as- including smelting and calcination processes
sess sites contaminated with mercury or mercury used in the production of metals such as indus-
compounds, incorporating an assessment of the trial gold. To this end, the regulation establishes

68
Minamata Convention on Mercury, text and annexes. Article 1. 70
Ibid. Article 12
Available online at: https://minamataconvention.org/sites/default/ 71
Ibid. Article 16
files/2021-06/Minamata-Convention-booklet-Sep2019-SP.pdf 72
Ibid. Article 18.
69
Ibid. Article 5. Para. 7. 73
Ibid. Article 19.
 74 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

that States Parties shall adopt a national plan, in the world, including illegal exports of mercury
with measures aimed at controlling emissions, to neighbouring countries that have established
as well as expected targets, goals and outcomes.74 import controls.
For new sources of mercury emissions, States It is important to note, as indicated in this re-
Parties shall require the use of best available port, that despite the importance of the Minamata
techniques and best environmental practices to Convention, it does not require the adoption of
reduce emissions.75 national quotas for mercury reduction, nor does
In addition to the reduction of emissions, the it set deadlines for its elimination.
Convention provides for obligations to control, and Other international conventions establish
where possible, reduce releases of mercury and obligations regarding pollution caused by tox-
mercury compounds to land and water, requir- ic substances. In this regard, principle 7 of the
ing States Parties to include measures to control Stockholm Declaration includes the obligation
releases, as well as goals, objectives and expected of states to take measures to prevent pollution of
outcomes in their national plan. the seas by substances which endanger human
Article 7 of the Convention places an obli- health, damage living resources and marine life,
gation on States Parties that have artisanal and or which may impair or interfere with legitimate
small-scale gold mining and processing within uses of the sea.
their territories to take measures to “[...] reduce, The Framework Principles on Human Rights
and where feasible eliminate, the use of mercury and and the Environment address states’ substantive
mercury compounds in, and the emissions and releases obligations regarding pollution and toxic substanc-
to the environment of mercury from, such mining and es. With respect to these obligations, the Special
processing [...].” This Article imposes an obligation Rapporteur on the human right to a safe, clean,
to report to the Convention Secretariat if artisanal healthy and sustainable environment emphasised
gold mining and processing in its territory are that states “[...] must not cause pollution or exposure
more than insignificant and, if so, to develop and to toxic substances that violates the right to a clean,
implement a national action plan and to submit a healthy and sustainable environment; protect this
review every three years of the progress made in right from being violated by third parties, [...]; and
meeting these obligations. take positive actions to fulfil this right.”76
Every country included in this report, with The same Rapporteur has stated that “[f]rom
the exception of Venezuela, has ratified or acceded a human rights perspective, achieving a non-toxic
to the Minamata Convention. Nonetheless, this environment is a legally binding obligation rather
report reveals the indiscriminate use of mercury than a policy option.”77 In this regard, the Special
for illegal mining in all the countries analysed. It Rapporteur has highlighted that
highlights the special case of Bolivia, which de-
spite being a State Party to the Convention, has
become one of the largest mercury trading hubs 76
Human Rights Council. See The right to a clean, healthy and sus-
tainable environment: non-toxic environment - Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the
enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 12
74
Ibid. Article 8, para. 3 January 2022. A/HRC/49/53. Para. 50.
75
Ibid. para. 4 77
Ibid, Para. 47.
 Tuyuca community on the Tiquié River, Vaupés, Colombia.
Source: Juan Gabriel Soler, Gaia Amazonas Foundation.

States should apply a human rights-based approach In summary, the international legal framework
to all laws, regulations, policies and actions gov- sets out unequivocal obligations for states to regu-
erning the production, import, sale, use, release late and control the production, use and marketing
and disposal of substances that may harm human of toxic substances used in illegal mining. These
health or the environment, in order to eliminate obligations include the duty to diligently prevent,
negative impacts on human rights. A rights-based monitor and control any polluting activity, from
approach should also govern clean-up, remedia- a human rights-based approach.79
tion, restoration and, where necessary, relocation
of affected communities. [...]78
79
IACHR, Thematic Report on “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendent
Communities and Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection in
the Context of Extraction, Exploitation, and Development Activities,”
78
Ibid, Para. 48 OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 47/15, 2015, pp. 48 and ss.

75
 76 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Procedural Obligations of States in the Context

of Activities that Have an Environmental Impact,
Including Extractive Activities

Special Rapporteur on the human right to a The Escazú Agreement establishes the obli-
safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment gation of States Parties to guarantee the right of
refers to the Framework Principles on Human every person to live in a healthy environment82
Rights and the Environment, which enumerate and procedural rights that facilitate that guarantee.
the states’ procedural obligations that stem from This report will refer to the procedural obligation
international treaties or binding judgments is- of the state to guarantee access to environmental
sued by human rights courts. In this regard, the justice in the context of illegal mining activities,
Rapporteur emphasised procedural obligations to as well as the obligations of the state with respect
ensure effective, informed and equal participation to environmental defenders.
of the public in decision-making and to ensure Regarding the right of access to justice in
prompt and affordable access to justice and effec- environmental matters, Article 8 of the Escazú
tive remedies for all people.80 Agreement establishes the obligation of the States
The above-mentioned procedural obligations Parties to guarantee access to justice in environ-
have been further developed by the Regional mental matters pursuant to the guarantees of due
Agreement on Access to Information, Public process, ensuring access to judicial and adminis-
Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters trative bodies to challenge and appeal decisions,
in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as actions and omissions related to access to environ-
the Escazú Agreement, which includes most of mental information, participation in environmental
these procedural obligations in the context of the matters and any action, decision or omission that
countries in our region. could affect the environment. Among the guar-
The aim of the Escazú Agreement is to guar- antees of access to justice, Article 8 sets out the
antee the full and effective implementation of the obligation to implement reparation mechanisms,
rights of access to environmental information, pub- remove barriers to access to justice and address
lic participation in environmental decision-making the needs of vulnerable groups and people.
processes and access to justice in environmental The UN Special Rapporteur has stressed
matters in the region, contributing to the protection that one of the main procedural obligations in
of the right of every person of present and future this area is to investigate cases of serious pollu-
generations to live in a healthy environment and tion or discharge or emission of toxic substances
to sustainable development.81 and to impose sanctions when violations occur.83

82
Ibid. Para. 4.
83
Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the is-
sue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe,
80
Ibid, Para. 49. clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The right to a clean,
81
Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation healthy and sustainable environment: non-toxic environment. 12 Jan-
and Justice, Article 1. uary 2022. A/HRC/49/53. Para. 52.
 Deforestation caused by mining ponds
on the banks of the Madre de Dios River,
Bolivia. Source: Mattes Tempelmann.

The Special Rapporteur has also indicated that: any human rights violations that have been caused
by non-compliance with environmental standards,
[...] it is indispensable that the state monitor compli- including redress and reparation.”85
ance with environmental norms and, if necessary, On the other hand, Article 9 of the Escazú
sanction or limit the actions of private individuals; Agreement establishes the obligation for States Parties
otherwise, the human right to a healthy environ- to guarantee a safe and enabling environment for
ment [...].84 individuals, groups and organisations that promote
and defend human rights in environmental mat-
In addition to the Escazú Agreement, access ters, so that they are able to act free from threat,
to justice in environmental matters has been de- restriction and insecurity. To achieve this, states
veloped through various international agreements must take measures for the recognition, protec-
and international jurisprudence. Principle 10 of the tion and promotion of the rights of environmental
Rio Declaration states that: “[...] Effective access to defenders, including the right to life and personal
judicial and administrative proceedings, including integrity, as well as for the prevention, investigation
redress and remedy, shall be provided.” Similarly, and punishment of attacks, threats or intimidation
the 1982 World Charter for Nature, in its paragraph against environmental defenders. Of the six coun-
23, recognises the right of any person affected by tries analysed in this report, only Bolivia, Colombia
environmental damage or degradation to access and Ecuador have ratified the Escazú Agreement.
means of redress. The obligation contained in Article 9 of the
In its Advisory Opinion 23/17, the I/A Court Escazú Agreement is particularly relevant in the
H.R. indicated that “[i]n the context of environ- Amazonian context, where at least 296 environ-
mental protection, access to justice allows the mental defenders have been killed between 2014
individual to ensure that environmental standards and 2022.86
are enforced and constitutes a means to remedy
85
Ibid. Para. 234.
86
Global Witness (2023). Standing firm: the land and environmental de-
84
Ibid. fenders on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Page 18.

77
 78 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Differential Impacts of Illegal Mining on Indigenous

Peoples and Other Groups Particularly Vulnerable to
Illegal Mining

The information contained in this report This report describes concrete impacts on
demonstrates the impact of illegal mining on Indigenous peoples’ habitat and enjoyment of
historically disadvantaged groups or individuals, their human rights, who depend on natural
such as Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant resources for their physical and cultural subsis-
communities.87 Similarly, illegal mining has a dis- tence. In addition, it shows how indiscriminate
proportionate impact on people who are exposed gold mining often destroys the social fabric of
to greater risk because of their gender, age,88 or the community, generating internal conflicts,
because of their activity or profession, such as en- displacement, threats, assassinations and other
vironmental defenders and journalists.89 serious human rights violations.
Environmental defenders, especially journal-
87
I/A Court H.R., Case of the Indigenous Community Yakye Axa v. Par- ists and social communicators, are particularly
aguay. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 17 June 2005.
Series C No. 125; I/A Court H.R. Case of the Miskito Divers (Lemoth exposed to reprisals by illegal mining groups
Morris et al.) v. Honduras. Judgment of 31 August 2021 Series C No.
432, among other decisions.
and state agents involved in mining. In this
88
IACHR, Thematic Report on “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendent
Communities and Natural Resources: Human Rights Protection in
the Context of Extraction, Exploitation, and Development Activities,” ras. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 10 October 2013.
OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 47/15, 2015, pp. 133 and ss. Series C No. 269. I/A Court H.R. Case of Yarce et al., v. Colombia.
89
IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
Americas, para. 42; I/A Court H.R., Case of Luna López v. Hondu- 22 November 2016. Series C No. 325.

Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest. Source: Pachamama Foundation.

 79 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

regard, the joint statement on the climate cri- The report also exposes the impact on social
sis and freedom of expression issued by the rights, such as the right to health, due to the spread
freedom of expression mandate holders of the of epidemic diseases and high concentrations of
UN, the IACHR, the African Commission on mercury, not only among gold miners and millers,
Human Rights and the OSCE notes that “[s]tates but also among the people living near gold mining
should protect journalists and environmental activities, with special impact on women of repro-
and other human rights defenders from threats, ductive age, children and the elderly. In several
harassment, stigmatization and violence, in- of the regions examined in this report, there are
cluding by establishing effective protection high levels of chronic diseases, high-risk pregnan-
mechanisms, condemning attacks on them, and cies, congenital malformations, cerebral palsy and
fostering a culture of respect for the rights to cognitive and physical disabilities, all of which are
freedom of expression, association and peace- aggravated by the collapse of health services, drug
ful assembly.” 90 shortages and the lack of a comprehensive policy
to care for people contaminated by mercury and
other heavy metals.
90
The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and
Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Violations of the right to health intersect
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Rep- with violations of the right to access to drinking
resentative on Freedom of the Media, the Organisation of American
States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, and water and the right to food security, due to food
the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Infor- shortages directly related to the environmental
mation in Africa (2024). Joint Declaration on the Climate Crisis and
Freedom of Expression. Para. 2, subparagraph b. Available online at:
impacts of gold mining, including instances of
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/ex- malnutrition and food contaminated by mercury,
pression/statements/20240503-statement-freedom-expression-cli-
mate-change-EN.pdf as previously mentioned.
 Indigenous Yanomami of Alto Ocamo, Amazonas state, Venezuela.
Source: Cristina Vollmer.

In some countries, illegal mining is carried out reported in mining areas of the Amazon. As a result,
in a context of abuse and sexual and labour exploita- school dropout rates can reach alarming levels,
tion, human trafficking, situations of semi-slavery forcing underage students to work in the mines
at the expense of these groups, exacerbating the in order to survive, which makes them targets
situation of vulnerability when different intersec- for child exploitation, prostitution and traffick-
tional factors converge. In the case of children and ing of children and adolescents, contrary to the
adolescents, the right to education is also affected, basic international principles for the protection
as insufficient educational institutions, deteriorat- of children’s rights.
ing infrastructure, shortened school hours, and a
shortage of teachers due to low salaries and mas-
sive impoverishment of the population have been

80
 81 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Conclusions

• Illegal gold mining has a devastating im- who denounce this phenomenon. This re-
pact on biodiversity and human rights in port documents several examples of threats,
the Amazon. Illegal gold mining even takes stigmatisation, assassinations and even
place in protected natural areas, reserves disappearances in the context of illegal
and Indigenous territories. mining.

• Corruption, impunity and lack of environ- • Several Indigenous leaders have been per-
mental oversight encourage illegal mining, secuted and assassinated in the Amazon.
especially in cross-border areas and where Proper delimitation and titling of Indigenous
organised crime exerts or disputes territo- territories and state support for the moni-
rial control with the state. toring of their natural environment are
essential to prevent violence against peoples
• It is essential to create more effective mech- and communities exposed to the scourge of
anisms for regulation, transparency and illegal mining.
social monitoring of the trade in mercury,
an essential input for illegal mining. This • The degradation of the Amazon biome caused
includes stronger enforcement of compli- by illegal mining compromises compliance
ance with the Minamata Convention on with the objectives of the Convention on
Mercury. Biological Diversity (CBD), which seek to
ensure the conservation and sustainable
• Every country included in this report, with use of biological diversity, and the fair and
the exception of Venezuela, has ratified the equitable sharing of the benefits derived
Minamata Convention. However, in all of these from its use.
countries, there is evidence of a rapid expan-
sion of mercury contamination and a lack of • There are serious information gaps on envi-
adequate socio-environmental safeguards to ronmental contamination, bioaccumulation of
address this phenomenon. mercury and impacts on social and cultural
rights in the Amazon.
• Illegal mining has led to increased violence
against Indigenous peoples, environmental • Unlike other minerals, gold has a monetary
and territorial defenders and journalists value and a liquidity that is easily converted
 Illegal mining in the Paragua River. Bolívar State, Venezuela.
Source: Rodolfo Gerstl.

into a financial asset. Because of these char- laundering must exercise their extraterritorial
acteristics, illegal gold has become one of the human rights obligations.
main alternatives for laundering the proceeds
of illicit activities, such as illegal logging and • In areas with higher levels of poverty, the
drug trafficking. immediate-term profits generated by illegal
gold mining make it difficult to regularise
• Given the difficulties in tracing gold’s origin, artisanal mining programmes and to replace
there is a need to strengthen due diligence illegal mining with socially and environmen-
processes on companies that trade in gold, tally sustainable alternatives. This complexity
as well as on the inputs and equipment used demands a human rights-based approach to
in illegal gold mining. The home countries any policy and programme to combat and
of companies in the supply chain for these prevent illegal mining.
inputs or whose activities facilitate illegal gold

82
 83 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

Recommendations

To the six countries reviewed:

• Implement effective measures to prevent illegal • Develop and promote environmental conser-
mining and other associated activities that vation policies that include mechanisms for
cause significant environmental damage and the effective participation of Indigenous com-
endanger the life, health and integrity of peo- munities in decision-making and management
ple, Indigenous peoples and local communities. of their territories.

• Initiate investigations with due diligence, in • Prioritise the delimitation and collective titling
order to prosecute and punish those responsible of Indigenous territories exposed to illegal
for socio-environmental damage resulting from mining, and support communities’ own moni-
illegal mining and create or strengthen contin- toring and conservation of their lands and
gency and mitigation plans for such damage. natural resources.

• Strengthen transnational cooperation for the • Strengthen cross-border cooperation, through

protection of the Amazon, by integrating lo- comprehensive strategies that address the eco-
cal and governmental actors in strategies that nomic, social and environmental aspects of
combine environmental monitoring with the illegal gold mining, promoting sustainable
enforcement of sanctions for illegal extractive development alternatives for local communities
activities. and strengthening environmental governance
systems.
• Strengthen the institutional capacities of en-
vironmental protection agencies and improve • Implement a regional system to identify illicit
the presence of the state in hard-to-reach trafficking routes and points of entry of mer-
areas by improving and/or creating special- cury into mining activities and apply a human
ised units for monitoring and enforcement rights-based approach to laws, regulations,
in Indigenous territories and protected areas. policies and actions governing the import,
This should be accompanied by measures to sale, use, discharge and disposal of mercury.
combat corruption, ensuring transparency and
accountability in environmental monitoring • Strengthen cooperation between Amazonian
and protection efforts. countries to improve the implementation of
 84 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

the Minamata Convention, developing cam- • Promote the informed participation of people
paigns for mercury substitution and phasing and communities affected by illegal mining in
mercury out of extractive activities. the planning and implementation of measures
to mitigate and repair the damage caused by il-
• Develop and implement environmental moni- legal mining, ensuring that such measures have
toring and remediation programmes focused on a human rights-based and culturally relevant ap-
mercury-affected areas, prioritising Indigenous proach when Indigenous peoples are concerned.
peoples’ territories, with due consent. These
programmes should include actions to restore • Create, strengthen and implement plans
degraded ecosystems and protect the rights for clean-up, remediation and restoration
of communities, as well as strengthen local of areas contaminated as a result of illegal
health systems to address conditions related mining, based on a human rights-based
to mercury exposure. approach and cultural relevance.

• Establish effective protection and security • Strengthen existing cooperation forums

mechanisms for environmental defenders in such as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
the Amazonian territory, including the di- Organisation and the Andean Community of
rect participation of communities in defining Nations, as well as comply with the decisions
protection measures. Furthermore, a regional of these bodies regarding initiatives on mer-
early warning system should be created to cury monitoring, illegal mining, Indigenous
register and respond to cases of violence and peoples’ rights and gender mainstreaming.
attacks against defenders, facilitating coordi-
nation between governments and civil society
organisations. To consumer countries and the home
countries of companies that profit
• Promote intercultural dialogue with the from illegal mining
Indigenous governments of the Amazon to
address illegal mining, based on greater rec- • Implement measures such as due diligence
ognition of their autonomy and proposals laws, which oblige companies to carry out
for territorial planning and environmental corporate due diligence to verify that socio-
management. environmental damage and human rights
violations are not taking place in their pro-
• Establish more efficient mechanisms for regu- duction and supply chains.
lation, transparency and social control over
the trade in mercury, a key input for illegal • Countries whose financial systems can be
mining. This includes stricter monitoring of used to shelter or launder the proceeds of il-
compliance with the Minamata Convention on legal mining should issue and enforce laws to
Mercury, to which several countries reviewed prevent, control and sanction the laundering
in this report are States Parties. of the proceeds of illegal mining.
 85 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

To international human rights For the Conference of the Parties

bodies: (COP) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity:
• Prioritise addressing human rights violations
caused by illegal mining and incorporate this We urge the Conference of the Parties to de-
issue into each of its monitoring, promotion velop a specific action plan to address the threats
and protection activities. of illegal mining in the Amazon, with an approach
that prioritises the protection of biodiversity and
• Call on governments in the region, in par- the rights of Indigenous communities. This plan
ticular Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, should include:
Peru and Venezuela, to develop and imple-
ment specific regulations and sound public 1. Strengthening regional cooperation.
and security policies with a human rights 2. Development of specific guidelines on the
perspective to monitor, sanction and eradi- protection of environmental defenders in ter-
cate illegal mining. ritories with high biodiversity, ensuring that
States Parties adopt effective prevention and
• Demand destination countries for illegal protection policies, and promote a safe envi-
gold or countries whose companies are part ronment for those who defend biodiversity
of the supply chain for this illicit activity and community rights.
comply with extraterritorial human rights 3. Inclusion of illegal mining as a priority threat.
obligations of.
With these actions, the COP can make a sig-
• Coordinate efforts with other organisations nificant contribution to the protection of one of
and technical secretariats, such as the OAS the most important and diverse ecosystems on the
Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, planet, ensuring that the Convention’s objectives
the United Nations Office on Drugs and are met and that the rights of the communities that
Crime and the United Nations Environment depend on these environments for their cultural
Programme, to implement multilateral com- and material survival are protected.
mitments to combat illegal mining, mercury
trafficking and other related criminal activi-
ties in the region.

• Promote culturally relevant approaches and

initiatives by governments in the region
that guarantee the effective participation of
Indigenous peoples and local communities,
in accordance with human rights standards.
 86 Illegal Gold Mining: Impact s on Human Right s and Biodiversit y in the Ama zon – Six Countries Repor t

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 Illegal Gold Mining:
Impacts on Human Rights
and Biodiversity in the Amazon
Six Countries Report

Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB)

Fundación Pachamama (Ecuador)
Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)
Fundación Gaia Amazonas (Colombia)
Hutukara Associação Yanomami (Brazil)
Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP)
People in Need (PIN)
Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA)
SOSOrinoco (Venezuela)

Editorial coordination:
Editorial coordination:
SOSOrinoco SOSOrinoco
Proofreading:
Proofreading:
SOSOrinoco SOSOrinoco
Maps: MAAP Maps:andMAAP
SOSOrinoco
and SOSOrinoco
Photographs:
Photographs:
Centro deCentro
Documentación
de Documentación
e Información
e Información
Bolivia (CEDIB),
Bolivia Fundación
(CEDIB), Fundación
Pachamama Pachamama
(Ecuador),(Ecuador),
FundaciónFundación
Gaia Amazonas
Gaia Amazonas
(Colombia),(Colombia),
Hutukara Hutukara
Associação Yanomami
Associação (Brasil), Sociedad
Yanomami Peruana de
(Brasil), Sociedad Peruana de
Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), SOSOrinoco
Derecho Ambiental (Venezuela)
(SPDA), SOSOrinoco (Venezuela)
Design and Final and
Design Art: Final
TEP Art: TEP
Printed in Bogotá D.C., Colombia
Edited in Caracas,
by EnterVenezuela
Editores S.A.S.
2024
Edited in Caracas, Venezuela
2024

Photo on the front and back cover: Mining ponds on the banks of the Madre de
Dios River, Bolivia (2023). CIPCA Pando.
Photo on the other side of the front and back cover: Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest.
Pachamama Foundation.