World Heritage Watch Report 2022

• "It is worth noting that mining is prohibited within CNP-WHS (as in all national parks in Venezuela) and is an unacceptable activity within the international standards of Protected areas (IUCN)... However, after 4 years of monitoring, SOSOrinoco has witnessed and documented how this activity continues to expand, affecting ecologically important natural formations, plunging the Pemón people into violence and polluting rivers and indigenous communities with mercury."
• "Mercury is used to separate gold from mineral particles during crushing, grinding, and washing the gold ore," [due to] "the speed and low cost with which gold is extracted." However, "the mercury that does not [get used] is discharged into the ground without any type of control or restriction, [progressively contaminating] water resources. In fact, it is estimated that the dragging effect and accumulation of mercury in water bodies can reach distances of up to 120 km from the site of use."
• "The accumulation of sediments rich in quartzites and sandstones in the Caroní and Carrao Rivers, seriously endanger the operation of the Guri hydroelectric plant, the major provider of electricity for most of the country, since these sediments cause a decrease in the incoming flow and have a high erosive power on the blades and other components of the hydropower turbines."