The Atrato River’s troubles come largely from illegal gold mining. Despite the overwhelming level of mercury pollution caused by all this mining activity, the Colombian government has done little to stem the contamination, according to this decision. In fact, a shocking 90 percent of the mercury used during mining is simply discarded into the river.
Colombia aims to base its economy on mining, unfortunately. This priority automatically puts the environment and indigenous populations at a disadvantage, given that the mining process relies on mercury to extract the desired gold.
Sadly, many who rely on the river don’t even know that the fish they regularly take from its waters are laden with mercury poisoning.
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