The covid-19 pandemic had an unexpected effect: the proliferation of illegal gold mining in the upper Amazon basin. With jobs lost, thousands of people have swarmed the shores of the Amazon River tributaries, particularly the lower Anzu River, in search of gold, destroying vast stretches of previously untouched riverside rainforest in the process.
Illegal mining activity in Napo province has doubled between 2021 and 2022 |
The rainforest along the Anzu River is being transformed into rubble |
The cyanide and mercury from tailing ponds flows directly into the river |
Local authorities and environmentalists have been unable to stop the miners and there are no protected areas specifically targeting the riverside ecosystem of the lower Anzu River where the gold rush is taking place. Young people are leaving schools to dedicate themselves to illegal mining and landowners are giving miners access to their rainforest for a fee. Given the rapid increase in these problems, environmental groups have requested the government to declare the area under environmental emergency.
Graphic 1. Increase in mining activity (hectares/year) between 1996 and 2020 in Napo province, Ecuador. Data from MapBiomas 2022.
Miners hide in the jungle during military controls and resume activities days later |
The military successfully displaced miners from one river, but now they have flocked to the Anzu |
The creation of Pitalala Reserve seeks to slow down the advance of the gold miners beginning with the protection of an untouched 30 hectare rainforest plot. Khamai Foundation has the opportunity to acquire this plot of land before the miners do, but only if we act quickly as the current landowners are in an urgent need to sell and are under pressure from the miners. With your support, we seek to achieve the following goals:
1. Secure the rainforest from the miners by creating a protected area
2. Create an eco-tourism project to maintain and expand the reserve
3. Provide an alternative income source to gold mining in the Río Anzu area
The creation of Pitalala Reserve will not only save an important rainforest area from gold mining, it will also help stop the loss of biodiversity. For example, protecting 1 hectare of Amazon rainforest in Ecuador actually helps save the following number of animal species:
150
Amphibians
121
Reptiles
204
Mammals
596
Birds
499
Fish
100,000
ArthropodsHelp us keep this stretch of the Anzu River safe from gold mining destruction |
Help us make Pitalala Reserve a stronghold from where gold mining can be replaced with ecotourism |
25% of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest has been cleared■Original extent: 78,678 km2 ■Remaining: 66,728 km2 -200 km2 per year Location of Pitalala Reserve. |
 I also wanted to support you because you have plans to provide alternative income sources for local people instead of gold mining, thus helping the human community along with flora and fauna. Someday I dream of visiting Ecuador and experiencing the rich biodiversity there! Anna Stunkel, artist and naturalist, United States |
I happily supported this project because you are on the front line of this “war” defending these rare and precious places and species. I wish Europe could help more because those places are everyone's heritage. Sometimes I wish I could be there, helping even more physically, doing something more concrete. But for now, I will try to keep donating constantly, especially knowing that there are some people like you that actually can make a difference. Alessandro Degli Angioli, Italy |