The Destruction of Venezuela’s Amazon Is Going Virtually Unnoticed
New reports highlight the scope of the crisis, but the international community has yet to respond.
For good reason, the Amazon is under a global spotlight. But this spotlight, focused on Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia, treats the accelerating destruction of Venezuela’s Amazon as an afterthought. Leading international organizations, environmentalists and scientists tend not to address this vital region in their discussions or programs. If they seek to avoid the dreaded “tipping point” in the Amazon’s destruction, they must acknowledge what is occurring in Venezuela. Around 60% of Venezuela’s territory—550,000 square kilometers—belongs to the Amazon biome, accounting for 8%...
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