In Colombia, flying over the Puinawai reserve, near the Brazilian border, reveals the scope of the damage, as trees are cut and brush torn out to get to the precious metal.
But there is other, less immediately obvious damage as well. To extract one gram of gold, miners have to use two to three grams of another metal: mercury, which then pollutes surrounding soils and streams and threatens those living nearby with "proven cases of infertility and skin and stomach damage," according to Fernandez Jeri.
This deforestation and pollution has destroyed some indigenous lands in Peru, forcing inhabitants to leave their seclusion and search out new food sources, resulting in conflicts with other tribes.
http://news.asiaone.com/news/world/amazon-slowly-eaten-away-gold-rushs-illegal-mines
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