Vanishing Forests: Deforestation in Venezuela 2016-2021
Forests are ecosystems of enormous ecological, social and economic importance. However, deforestation is growing at a dizzying pace across the world. This destruction is generating devastating effects on human societies by losing the contributions of these ecosystems, including their role in the fight against climate change. Deforestation in Venezuela is a problem that dates back a long time, resulting in a significant decrease in the forest area of the country. In the last 20 years, the expansion of gold mining, together with the Complex Humanitarian Emergency, seems to have accelerated this process. The objective of this report is to contribute to the knowledge of the current situation of deforestation in the country and its effects on human rights. To this end, the researchers collected information obtained from Global Forest Watch, which provides deforestation data from remote sensing. Other sources of information were also used to contextualize the situation. The most relevant findings were: 1. Venezuela has a high rate of deforestation, a trend that has accelerated in the last five years. 2. Deforestation affected natural forests -those with very little intervention- to a greater extent. 3. Venezuela’s deforestation rate is relatively low compared to other Amazonian countries, but it is the country that lost the most natural forests in the entire region. 4. The main causes of deforestation are shifting cultivation, Deforestation for obtaining basic resources, and forest fires. The latter seems to be becoming increasingly important. 5. The effects of small-scale mining on forests are not easy to estimate
