Illegal gold digging rises 3350% in Yanomami Indigenous Land and causes unprecedented destruction

A new report by the Hutukara Associação Yanomami (HAY) provides an overview of the devastation and violence caused by the advance of illegal gold digging in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory (TIY), located between the states of Roraima and Amazonas.

The report “Yanomami Under Attack: Illegal Gold Digging in the Yanomami Indigenous Land and Proposals to Combat it” points out that there was a record growth in destruction caused by mining activity in the TIY in 2021. Compared to 2020, it grew 46%, the highest rate since 2018, when the organization began monitoring. Between 2016 and 2021, the illegal mining grew 3350%.

The report also indicates a vertiginous growth in cases of malaria and child malnutrition among the residents of the territory, as highlighted by InfoAmazônia, which heard Junior Hekurari, president of the District Indigenous Health Council (CONDISI).