The environmental problems in Venezuela More pressing to solve are the contamination of water and air, the dangerous accumulation of solid waste from cities, the degradation of soils and deforestation.
Likewise, forest fires, visual and sonic pollution, wildlife trafficking and illegal mining are very serious problems that are increasing and are not being effectively addressed.
Deforestation is one of the main environmental problems of Venezuela
These problems are mainly caused by the increase of urban and rural populations, the violation of environmental standards, industrialization and the indiscriminate exploitation of mineral resources.
But the state policies for the protection and preservation of the environment are not addressing reasonably these multiple problems that increase every day.
On the contrary, the state decided to eliminate the Ministry of People's Power for the Environment, which weakened its hierarchy by subordinating it to a recently created Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Ecosocialism unit.
The 10 main environmental problems of Venezuela
1- Water pollution
It is one of the main pollution problems that the country has at all levels. Water pollution is observed in the sea and beaches, in lakes, rivers, lagoons and other water sources.
The cause of this problem is mainly the water served and not treated of industries and homes in the cities.
One of the most polluting industries is hydrocarbons, which generates permanent pollution with the frequent oil spills in the sea.
The area most affected by oil spills is the southeast coast of the Gulf of Venezuela.
To this problem should be added the dumping of industrial waste and products of the petrochemical industry on the beaches and coasts of the Falcón state.
Additionally, the oil industry deposits its industrial waste in other bodies of water, such as Lake Maracaibo, also contaminating fresh water.
The bombing of oil pipelines by the guerrillas in Colombia was until recently a source of contamination of the Venezuelan rivers, downstream.
Tourists and inhabitants of coastal areas are also guilty of pollution by depositing plastic and glass containers and other solid waste on beaches and rivers.
Official studies indicate that, in addition to Lake Maracaibo, the most polluted rivers and lakes in the country are: Guaire and Tuy in the capital region, the lake of Valencia and the tributary rivers, and the Tocuyo and Aroa rivers and their valleys.
The Neverí, Unare, Manzanares and Guarapiche rivers, with their tributaries in the eastern region of Venezuela, are also contaminated.
2- Air pollution
The emissions of toxic gases by the industries settled in the capital region and the central region, as well as other areas in the country, pollute the air in Venezuela.
Despite being a major source of pollution, no measures are taken to counteract this problem. Among the most polluting industries in the air are also the oil and petrochemical industry.
Other industries established in industrial cities such as Valencia, Maracaibo, Caracas and Puerto Ordaz are also generating environmental pollution on a daily basis.
No less polluting are the emissions of the millions of private vehicles and public transport that circulate daily in the country.
Many of these cars have the exhaust system in poor condition, so the pollution is greater.
The most densely populated cities, especially in the capital region and in the central region, almost daily are covered by a dense layer of smog.
3- Soil pollution
This problem occurs mainly in the agricultural areas of the country, located in the Andean, western central and plains regions.
Wide fertile territories that are being used for agricultural purposes are contaminated or degraded with pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers.
The indiscriminate use of these substances deteriorates the quality of the soil progressively, until leaving them unused and sterile.
The resistance to these poisons that develop some pests that invade the crops makes farmers use stronger chemicals every time.
This accelerates the degradation of the soil, the damage to the environment and the human being itself, due to the contamination of food and water.
4- Accumulation of solid waste
This is a serious problem in Venezuela today, due to the increasingly recurrent failures in urban collection and cleaning services.
In most of the country's cities, large and small, hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage are accumulating, generating atmospheric and visual pollution.
There are also no solid waste treatment plants for disposal or recycling, so there are hardly any landfills.
Most of these open garbage dumps are already depleted and pollute the environment.
There is no environmental culture in the country, nor plans in execution to encourage the maintenance of cleanliness in cities by the population.
5- Visual pollution
Derived from the problem of the daily accumulation of solid waste in cities and surrounding areas, part of the visual contamination that Venezuela suffers is generated.
Millions of tons of garbage affect the landscape in streets and urbanizations of cities, but also in rural areas.
When sanitary landfills are closed or saturated with garbage, the waste is illegally discharged into green areas.
Political propaganda and commercial advertising fixed on walls, walls and fences are another source of visual pollution in cities and roads.
Lately, due to the abandonment of the government, the progressive deterioration of the terrestrial roads, the public and private infrastructure, the urban furniture, among other aspects have been generated. This has contributed to increase this type of pollution.
6- Deforestation
The destruction of forests and jungles, of protected natural areas such as national parks and reservoirs of flora and fauna, is another environmental problem that affects the country.
Due to current oil and mining exploitation, large areas of forest and forest in Venezuela are being deforested and destroyed almost irreversibly. This is happening alarmingly in the states of Bolivar and Amazonas.
In the same way, other green areas are being deforested for agricultural or urbanistic purposes, causing serious damage to the ecosystems and the native flora and fauna.
7- Illegal mining
Parallel to deforestation is the pollution caused by illegal mining in the southern region of the country.
Armies of legal and illegal miners are generating real ecocides in large territories rich in mineral resources (gold, diamonds, coltan, among others).
Apart from the damage it causes to the environment, mining exploitation is a source of violence in these territories controlled by mafias by 85%, according to estimates of the Chamber of Mining.
For example, in 2006, the legal production of gold in Venezuela was 14.7 tons, and in 2015 this figure was reduced to less than one ton.
8- Sound pollution
The lack of regulation or application of norms that regulate noise, especially in cities, is another of the environmental problems suffered by the country.
The noise caused by cornets or horns of vehicles at peak hours and during traffic jams is deafening. Also in the industrial areas close to the urbanizations.
No less polluting are the sound equipment with music at full volume in discotheques located in residential areas, in private homes or in vehicles at night and day.
9- The traffic of wild species
The traffic of species has become a serious threat to the environment because of the impact it has on wild ecosystems.
Entire populations of birds and exotic mammals of forests and jungles are being hunted and removed from their habitat for commercial reasons.
This has as a consequence that many of these species can not reproduce again and die in captivity.
If we add to this the deforestation and the contamination of water and air, the outlook for these species is bleak.
10- The forest fires
In the summer months forest fires proliferate in the country that end with thousands of hectares of natural forest and pollute the air. These disasters alter the environment and destroy ecosystems.
Some of these fires are provoked, others are caused by high temperatures, dry foliage and trash that is abandoned in forests and mountains.
Therefore, it is recommended not to throw cigarette butts on or leave fires poorly turned off.
References
- Environmental problems in Venezuela (PDF). Retrieved on February 1, 2018 from hundreds.ula.ve
- Environmental problems in Venezuela. Consulted of monografias.comç
- Mata, Miguel; Tur, Flor Isabel and Guerra, Milagros: Venezuela. Environmental education in primary education (PDF). Recovered from educoas.org
- Before the elimination of the Ministry of the Environment. Viewed from unimet.edu.ve
- Illegal mining in Venezuela, an underworld of chaos and violence. Consulted by clarin.com
- Parks of Venezuela - National Parks. Consulted of parquesnacionales.com.ve