Main environmental problems in Venezuela

The problems that harm the environment in a country like Venezuela are very diverse and are mainly caused by overpopulation in urban areas, non-compliance with environmental laws, the exploitation of resources and the increase in industries. Among the environmental problems of Venezuela are:

• Water contamination.
• Air pollution.
• Accumulation of solid waste.
• Soil degradation.
• Deforestation and forest fires.
• Illegal minery.
• Trafficking of wild species.

Rivers, beaches, lakes, lagoons and other sheets of water are contaminated by the water that comes from industries and domestic use since this water is not treated. In addition to untreated water , another even more dangerous pollutant that damages Venezuela’s water is the discharges of industrial waste from the oil and petrochemical industry. According to official studies, the rivers Guaire, the Tuy (in the image below), the Tocuyo and Aroa and the lakes of Maracaibo and Valencia are those with the greatest contamination. Regarding water pollution in Venezuela We cannot leave behind all the waste generated by tourists and residents, plastics, glass and solid waste also pollute bodies of water.

Find out more about this environmental problem that not only happens in Venezuela, reading this other AgroCorrn article about the Causes and consequences of water pollution .

The oil and petrochemical industries are once again playing an important role, now in the air pollution of Venezuela due to all the toxic gas emissions they generate. The big problem is that there are no measures to control these emissions.

Although the industries are very polluting, so are the millions of vehicles that are circulating on the roads of Venezuela every day. It is the large cities such as Caracas, Maracaibo or regions such as Ciudad Guayana or the eastern coastal region that are most affected due to the high urban and industrial concentration .

Learn more about this environmental problem with these other articles on Types of air pollution and Why the air is polluted .

Although Venezuela is not a very populated country and not much solid waste is generated, it is true that it does have a big problem regarding the accumulation of garbage . Venezuela does not have treatment plants that eliminate or recycle the waste that is generated, it has only a few garbage dumps and the vast majority do not receive technical guidelines to manage them. When the landfills are already complete, the waste is illegally deposited in green areas, thus contributing to a landscape impact and pollution of the water, soil and air in the environment, in addition to being dangerous because it can be the origin of a fire if high temperatures occur.

The cutting and burning of vegetation is causing approximately 32% of Venezuela’s natural areas to be devastated. This intervention in nature is done to exploit wood, to build roads, as well as for agriculture and livestock. The vast majority of fires are caused , although others are caused by having abandoned forests, full of garbage and with dry foliage.

Venezuela has a large part of the territory protected for its ecological value, although this is also being affected by deforestation and burning. One of the most affected places is the Ticoporo forest reserve, in which 72,000 hectares of the 270,000 protected hectares are being used for human use.

Learn more about the Causes of deforestation in this other article.

We have mentioned that the land is being used for agricultural purposes, the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, in short, chemical products are causing the soils to be contaminated and degraded. Actually, what is happening is that the use of these products is being indiscriminate due to the intensive agriculture that occurs in the country. As a consequence of the contamination of the soil in Venezuela , the food that is produced in it will also be contaminated, as well as the groundwater by the leachate of these contaminants.

The Amazon is being greatly affected by mining exploitation , since in order to carry out the exploitation, the miners clear all the vegetation in addition to changing the course of the bodies of water. The mining that is practiced is legal and illegal and in addition to the problems it has for the environment, it is a source of violence since these spaces are controlled by mafias.

In this other post you can learn more about how mineral extraction affects the environment .

There is an excessive hunting of exotic species native to the ecosystems found in Venezuela. The purpose of this hunt is for commercial reasons, usually illegal. If we add the rest of the impacts that wild ecosystems receive to hunting, we see that the species that inhabit it are in constant danger.

Here we will talk more about this problem, which is not only one of the environmental problems in Venezuela, as well as economic ones, but also occurs in much of the world: Causes and consequences of poaching animals , How to avoid poaching animals and How to avoid illegal animal trafficking .

If you want to read more articles similar to Main environmental problems in Venezuela , we recommend that you enter our Pollution category .