17 Feb 22
Illegal gold diggers taint with pollution Alter do Chão, a popular Amazon tourist destination
After analyzing satellite images recorded between July 2021 and January 2022, the Federal Police (PF) issued a report and concluded that the “muddy” looking water identified in Alter do Chão village, in the municipality of Santarém (PA), in January, is a consequence of illegal gold digging and deforestation in the region.
The pollution from the illegal mines near Alter do Chão usually didn’t reach the village, but that changed with the advance of deforestation.
Corroborating the opinion of the Federal Police, the MapBiomas project, coordinated by the Climate Observatory, had already indicated that the mud from the mines of tributaries of the Tapajós River, such as Jamanxim, Crepori, and Cabitutu, were be behind the turbid water of Alter do Chão, known as the “Amazon Caribbean” for its crystal-clear waters. “It is possible to see the sediments coming down from the other rivers that are ravaged by illegal gold diggers now advancing through Tapajós,” said the MapBiomas team in a press release.
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