Illegal mining activities are rampant in Venezuela’s Orinoco Mining Arc. The unlawful use of high-pressure pumps to strip away topsoil and toxic mercury to extract gold not only accelerates deforestation in the Amazon rainforest but also causes mercury pollution to seep into water sources and soil. This disrupts the ecological chain of the watershed, threatens regional biodiversity, and severely erodes the natural environment upon which indigenous peoples have depended for generations.
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