Environmental issues in Venezuela
Encyclopedia
Environmental issues in Venezuela include natural factors such as earthquakes, floods, rockslides, mudslides, and periodic droughts.
It ranks among the top 10 of the world’s most ecologically diverse countries. However, it has suffered great environmental degradation
. Venezuela
has the third-highest deforestation
rate in South America
at 1.1 percent. The Guri Dam
, one of the world’s largest, flooded a massive forested area and is now being filled with silt deposited by runoff from deforested areas. Environmental issues include sewage pollution into Valencia Lake, located not far to the west of Caracas
; oil and urban pollution of Maracaibo Lake, located in northwestern Zulia State; deforestation; soil degradation; and urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean
coast. Current concerns also include irresponsible mining operations that endanger the rain-forest ecosystem and indigenous peoples. Successive governments have attempted to develop environmental regulations. However, only 35 percent to 40 percent of Venezuela's land is regulated thus far, 29 percent as part of about 100 national parks.
Venezuela has ratified 14 international conventions regarding environmental protection and sustainable development, while also taking forward-looking steps internally to protect and preserve the country’s natural wealth. Venezuela has 43 national parks and 36 natural monuments, and Venezuela is the country in Latin America with the largest proportion of protected lands with over 55 percent of it total territory. (Parks and monuments are only 17 percent of that total; the remaining protected areas are outside those parks and monuments.)
It ranks among the top 10 of the world’s most ecologically diverse countries. However, it has suffered great environmental degradation
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
. Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
has the third-highest deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
rate in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
at 1.1 percent. The Guri Dam
Guri Dam
The Guri Dam is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela on the Caroni River. Its official name is Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar...
, one of the world’s largest, flooded a massive forested area and is now being filled with silt deposited by runoff from deforested areas. Environmental issues include sewage pollution into Valencia Lake, located not far to the west of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
; oil and urban pollution of Maracaibo Lake, located in northwestern Zulia State; deforestation; soil degradation; and urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
coast. Current concerns also include irresponsible mining operations that endanger the rain-forest ecosystem and indigenous peoples. Successive governments have attempted to develop environmental regulations. However, only 35 percent to 40 percent of Venezuela's land is regulated thus far, 29 percent as part of about 100 national parks.
Venezuela has ratified 14 international conventions regarding environmental protection and sustainable development, while also taking forward-looking steps internally to protect and preserve the country’s natural wealth. Venezuela has 43 national parks and 36 natural monuments, and Venezuela is the country in Latin America with the largest proportion of protected lands with over 55 percent of it total territory. (Parks and monuments are only 17 percent of that total; the remaining protected areas are outside those parks and monuments.)