A significant victory has been achieved in Brazil’s Yanomami Indigenous Territory, the country’s largest indigenous reserve near Venezuela, where illegal mining activities have decreased by 75 percent in just six months. This progress results from a targeted military campaign to curtail environmental damage caused by unregulated mineral extraction, which has been stripping land and polluting rivers vital to the Yanomami communities.
Since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration in early 2023, the Brazilian military has intensified operations against gold and diamond prospectors who employ harmful techniques, such as using mercury in river waters.
These efforts have led to a dramatic reduction in illicit mining within the indigenous territory, with alerts decreasing from 219.67 hectares in the first half of 2023 to just 53.67 hectares by mid-2024. The operations have also expelled over 20,000 individuals engaged in illegal mining and addressed severe malnutrition among the Yanomami through collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
The military’s actions have not only protected the environment and cultural heritage of the Yanomami but also highlight the critical role of governance in enforcing environmental laws.