Lanz complains that while the TO-5 detachment of the Venezuelan Army as a checkpoint half way up the Rio Caura, garimpieros (illegal miners) are making a mockery of army patrols by taking a back route along the Rio Yuruani which, he claims, is overrun by more than 300 illegals acting with impunity to devastate the rain forest reserve while ineffective regional and national authorities do nothing at all.
"It is quite impossible for such a large number of garimpieros to go unnoticed," Lanz says. "At the La Paragua military checkpoint the TO-5 military are supposed to control the transit of these 'fly-by-nights' since there are hundreds who smuggle drums of oil, gasoline, food, engines, spare parts, dredging hoses etc ... all of them circumventing the military controls with obvious impunity."
The upper Rio Caura is reportedly NOT the only focus of environmental degradation and Lanz said that there are more than 100 powered dredges in the Canaima National Park which are undermining parts of the Rio Caroni river bank close to the old San Salvador de Paul mine workings.
Admittedly, there is what is described as "excellent control" by TO5 in El Manteco, where they've managed to reduce illegal mining almost completely. Aviation fuel is available at the El Pao de Fortuna airport which serves the Pantaleta mine but Lanz says that local authorities need to coordinate municipal efforts to make sure there are efficient and effective controls to safeguard the nation's natural resources.
"There is a need to develop an operational plan, whereby civil society, universities, NGOs, regional and local executive and the armed forces come together to outline concrete actions to ensure the effectiveness of controls that should not be flouted."
As regards the prevalence of illegal mining, Lanz says "isolated actions will NOT resolve the unregulated and illegal use of pristine and biologically sensitive nature."
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