We are worried about the gold prices, which are now at an all time high. We are concerned because a gold rush could be devastating to human health.
Researchers from Stanford University and the Brazilian universities Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais have quantified and established the impact of gold illegally mining in the Amazonian territory of the Yanomami people, which has led to a surge of malaria that has thrown this remote Indigenous community into a health crisis by the beginning of 2020.
The executive’s push for extraction
Jair Bolsonaro, who became Brazil’s President in 2019 made deregulation of the environment a core part of his political platform. He claimed that protecting land and environmental resources hindered economic growth. The National Indigenous Foundation, or FUNAI as it is known in Brazil, was also given the responsibility of demarcating Indigenous land by the Agriculture Ministry.
Bolsonaro’s government has deregulated the gold mining industry in Amazonia, which allowed illegal miners to invade Yanomami territories. Images provided by authors
He also issued deregulation decrees in order to allow small-scale mining operations within the Amazonian region. These decrees did not distinguish between mining that is regulated and, therefore, legal, outside Indigenous territories, as well as mining on Indigenous land which was universally illegal. Illegal miner flooded Yanomami territory.
In January 2023 when Lula da So secured the presidency as Bolsonaro’s successor, there were 20,000 illegal gold miner in Yanomami Territory, the largest Indigenous territory of the Amazon. This is roughly 2/3 of the Yanomami local population.
Yanomami and malaria
Independent news outlets have been reporting on the Lula da Silva administration for several weeks. Sumauma A dispatch was released, citing alarming disease and malnutrition statistics amongst the Yanomami. The report, which was laced with pictures of the suffering Yanomamis, prompted the President to declare an humanitarian crisis.
In 2023, almost all Yanomami who were tested for malaria had a positive result. Images provided by authors
Andre Siqueira is a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Research Institute (Fiocruz), and was part of the medical team sent to the area after the declaration of crisis.
He said: “The condition of the people in the region were devasting. Nearly everyone they tested for malaria.”
Malaria cases can increase even with small mining increases
You can also find out more about the following: Sumauma The influx of gold-mining illegals during Bolsonaro’s administration, as well as the Instituto Sociaombiental study on which the dispatch was based were linked to both the Yanomami crisis of health and malaria.
We suspected, as researchers who study how land-use trends contribute to parasite spread, that malaria and gold mining were part of a system of causes and effects that was destroying the territory and its population.
Malaria can be spread by illegal gold mining in many ways. When miners destroy forests to reach gold deposits and create gashes on the edge of rivers, they provide the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread malaria in Amazon.
The second is that when they travel into the area, possibly from hotspots of malaria in South America, the miners can bring the parasite with them and spread it.
Mercury is used by small-scale miners to extract gold easily and cheaply.
Mercury is dumped in waterways throughout the region. This poisons the water, fish and people that depend on these rivers. It also weakens their immune system and makes them susceptible to malaria.
The number of malaria cases is tripled in gold-mining areas: this cause-and effect relationship threatens the Yanomami population and territory. Images provided by authors
The Brazilian Ministry of Health collected data that allowed us to not only establish with confidence the connection Indigenous people have long suspected but also to give numbers and make it actionable.
The results were shocking. We were shocked by the results. Every 0.03% rise in mining was associated with a 20-46% spike in malaria between one and two years after.
This resulted in a 3000% increase of malaria in Yanomami Territory from 2016-2023.
The puzzle is not complete until we understand the link between malaria and gold mining that has led to the Yanomami crisis. This research will hopefully empower Indigenous communities by providing them with health information and help inform policy that both protects human health as well as the environment. According to our data, preventing illegal mining on Indigenous land can help protect the health of Indigenous peoples and their natural and cultural heritage.
Access to healthcare is improving
Lula’s government has taken important steps to eliminate illegal gold miners and set up health centers on the Yanomami territories. Although hospitalizations due to malaria have declined slightly since 2023 the malaria rate among Yanomami remains high because of the lagged effects we found in our research, and the difficulties in accessing timely diagnosis and treatment.
Researchers are working to reduce this gap in accessibility. A team of international researchers has created “malakits”, empowering community members with no formal medical training in diagnosing and treating malaria. These efforts are crucial, as the delayed effects of gold-mining will cause malaria to continue rising unless there is a wide range of treatment available to communities.
In addition, it is important that Indigenous peoples have full rights to their land and are empowered to defend them. It has been proven that this is one of the best ways to combat deforestation, and to protect ecosystems.
To address the malaria epidemic, the Amazonian rural economy must be diversified with an emphasis on sustainability so that the people of the region have other options than mining and logging. Brazil has made progress in this direction with its recent introduction of the national bioeconomy plan.
Consumers who are informed can choose to purchase recycled gold, or even refrain from buying gold altogether to signal to the world that illegal gold mining isn’t worth it. Like the Blood Diamonds Campaign in early 2000s; real change comes from educating people about the environmental and human costs of illegal gold mining.
Environmental concerns are frequently used to justify the protection of Amazonia.
Our goal is to convince people that the health of the Amazonian population must be a priority. To prevent the spread of one the deadliest diseases in the world, we must protect the forest and invest in Indigenous land rights. We also need to foster healthy economic opportunities in rural communities.
