Illegal gold mining activity has risen sharply over the last
five years in Brazil’s indigenous Yanomami reservation in the heart of the
Amazon rainforest, a Reuters review of exclusive data from satellite images
shows.
The Yanomami are the largest of South America’s tribes that
remain relatively isolated from the outside world. More than 26,700 people live
within a protected reservation the size of Portugal, near the Venezuelan
border.
However, the land beneath the pristine forest they have
inhabited for centuries contains valuable minerals - including gold.
The lust for gold has attracted wildcat prospectors in
recent decades, who have destroyed forests, poisoned rivers and brought fatal
diseases to the tribe.
Today, the Yanomami and local officials estimate there are
more than 20,000 illegal miners on their land. They say the numbers have
increased since the 2018 election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who
has vowed to develop the Amazon economically and tap its mineral riches.
Bolsonaro’s office did not respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
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