Abstract
Starting in 1978, a vigorous conservation policy was established in Estado Amazonas, then the still remote and isolated southernmost part of Venezuela, covering approximately 175 750 km2. At present, four national parks, 17 natural monuments and one biosphere reserve exist in the Venezuelan Amazon, including approx. 92 000 km2; furthermore, since January 1978 all commercial logging activities, and since June 1989 all commercial mining activities have been legally banned in the Venezuelan Amazon. With more than 50% of the entire state now under protection and a population density still as low as 0.6 inhabitants/km2, one would assume that the environmental future of this region looks very bright. There are, however, a number of serious problems menacing this optimistic view: in the first place, the local population, both indigenous and immigrated, does not sincerely support this protection policy, especially with reference to the prohibition of mining and logging activities, which is considered to undermine the economic development of the region; second, none of the protected areas have been provided with a management plan, and the national authority in charge of the reinforcement of these protected areas is hopelessly understaffed, although not lacking funds; third, the establishment of guerrilla in many areas bordering Estado Amazonas on the west has caused increasing corruption of local authorities favoring illegal invasions by miners and other traders into the relatively quiet Venezuelan hinterland, often included in one of the protection categories mentioned above. During the last decade, there has been considerable interest from the international community to reinforce Venezuela's protection capacities in Estado Amazonas; especially, the World Bank, the European Union, the Spanish and German cooperation agencies have offered substantial support towards this goal. The success of these efforts, however, will depend mainly upon the political willingness of the new government to transform the many decrees now on paper into reality, and to resume seriously the role of regional leader in environmental concern which it held 20 years ago.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AEROSERVICE (1972)Levantamiento radar de Venezuela sur. 3 vols, maps 1:250,000. MOP-CODESUR, Caracas
Berry PE,Huber O andHolst BK (1995) Floristic analysis and phytogeography. In: Steyermark JA,Berry PE andHolst BK (gen eds) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana, Vol 1 Berry PE, Holst BK and Yatskievych K (eds) Introduction, pp 161–191. Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis/Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
Bortoli J (1995)La administración de las áreas bajo régimen especial: los Yanomami y el Parque Nacional 'Parima-Tapirapecó'. In: Heinen HD,San José JJ andCaballero Arias H (eds) Nature and Human Ecology in the Neotropics. Scientia Guaianae 5: 411–421
Brewer-Carías C (ed) (1988) Cerro de la Neblina: resultados de la expedición 1983-1987. FUDECI, Caracas
Caballero H andCardozo JI (1995)El manejo de las áreas protegidas en territorio Yanomami: consideraciones socio-culturales. In: Heinen HD,San José JJ and Caballero Arias H (eds) Nature and Human Ecology in the Neotropics. Scientia Guaianae 5: 395–410
de Bellard E (1996)Expediciones científicas de FUDECI a la Serranía de Tapirapecó del Estado Amazonas (1988-1989). Boletín de la Academia de Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales 171/172: 149–188
Gabaldón M (1992)Parques nacionales de Venezuela. In: Amends S and T ( eds) Parques nacionales y conservación ambiental 1. Instituto Nacional de Parques, Caracas
George U (1988)Inseln in der Zeit. Venezuela-Expeditionen zu den letzten weissen Flecken der Erde. GEO, Hamburg
Gondelles R (1992) El régimen de áreas protegidas en Venezuela. Fundación Banco Consolidado, Caracas
Huber O (1994) Recent advances in the phytogeography of the Guayana region, South America. Mémoires de la Société de Biogéographie (3. Série) 4: 53–63
Huber O (1995) Conservation of the Venezuelan Guayana. In: Steyermark JA,Berry PE andHolst BK (gen eds) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Vol 1, Berry PE, Holst BK and Yatskievych K (eds) Introduction, pp 193–218. Portland, Oregon
Huber O (in press) Parques nacionales, monumentos naturales y reservas de la biósfera del edo. Amazonas (Venezuela). CD version. SURAPA, Santa Fe de Bogotá
Huber O,Steyermark JA,Prance GT andAlès C (1984) The vegetation of the Sierra Parima, Venezuela-Brazil: some results of recent exploration. Brittonia 36: 104–139
Jordan CF (ed) (1989) An Amazonian Rain Forest: The Structure and Function of a Nutrient Stressed Ecosystem and the Impact of Slash-and-Burn Agriculture. Man and the Biosphere 2. UNESCO, Paris
Klinge H,Medina E andHerrera R (1977) Studies on the ecology of Amazon caatinga forest in southern Venezuela. 1. General features. Acta Científica Venezolana 28: 270–276
Madi I (1998) Conspiración al sur del Orinoco. Copy Press, Caracas
Maguire B (1955) Cerro de la Neblina, Amazonas, Venezuela: a newly discovered sandstone mountain. Geographical Review (New York) 45: 27–51
MARNR (1992)Areas naturales protegidas de Venezuela. Serie Aspectos Conceptuales y Metodológicos DGSPOA/ACM/01. MARNR, DGSPOA, Caracas
Medina E,García V andCuevas E (1990) Sclerophylly and oligotrophic environments: relationships between leaf structure, mineral nutrient content, and drought resistance in tropical rain forests of the upper Río Negro region. Biotropica 22: 51–64
OCEI (1993a) Censo indígena de Venezuela 1992. Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática, Caracas
OCEI (1993b) El censo 90 en Venezuela. Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática, Caracas
Perera MA (1990)Actividad cauchera e impacto ambiental en el Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. Revista Española de Antropología Americana 20: 221–250
Stark NM andJordan CF (1978) Nutrient retention by the root mat of an Amazonian rain forest. Ecology 59: 434–437
Steyermark JA (1986) Speciation and endemism in the flora of the Venezuelan tepuis. In: Vuilleumier F andMonasterio M (eds) High Altitude Tropical Biogeography, pp 317-373. Oxford University Press, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huber, O. Conservation and environmental concerns in the Venezuelan Amazon. Biodiversity and Conservation 10, 1627–1643 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012042628406
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012042628406