The rafts, equipped with pumps, were anchored together in rows that almost stretched across vast Madeira.
Autazes:
Hundreds of dredging rafts run by illegal miners have gathered in a gold rush on the Madeira River, a major tributary of the Amazon, floating for hundreds of miles as state and federal governments dispute who is who. responsible for stopping them.
A fleet of rafts equipped with pumps were anchored together in long rows that almost stretched across vast Madeira, and a Reuters witness spotted plumes of gas that showed they were sucking the riverbed for gold.
“We counted no less than 300 rafts. They were there for at least two weeks and the government did nothing,” said Brazilian Greenpeace activist Danicley Aguiar.
The gold rush, started by rumors that someone had found gold there, began when world leaders gathered for a United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, where Brazil claimed will strengthen the protection of the Amazon rainforest.
However, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has weakened environmental enforcement since coming to power in 2019, turning a blind eye to invasions of protected indigenous and public lands. by loggers, ranchers and illegal gold miners.
The Madeira flows about 2,000 miles (3,300 km) from its source in Bolivia through rainforest in Brazil and into the Amazon River.
The dredging rafts have drifted downstream from the Humaita area, where there has been an increase in illegal gold mining, and were last seen about 400 miles (650 km) away in Autazes, a city district southeast of Manaus .
A spokesman for Brazil’s environmental protection agency Ibama said the illegal dredging in the Madeira River was not the responsibility of the federal government but the state of Amazonas and the environment agency IPAAM.
The IPAAM said in a statement that river rafts are under federal jurisdiction, so the National Mining Authority (ANM) is responsible for licensing and federal police to see if a crime has been committed. Whether or not is up to the federal police. The IPAAM says traffic and pollution in the river is a Navy area.
The ANM said it was not in their sights as it only oversees legal mining, while criminal activity is a matter for the police and courts.
The Federal Police say they are looking at the best way to tackle the problem and prevent environmental destruction.
“It’s free for all,” said Aguiar of Greenpeace Brazil.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
