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To run at 1300 GMT on October. 7
As gold prices hover over high, a leading Catholic Leader in Peru Heroic It is urging countries that are destinations for precious metal, which are to help stem illegal mining that are poisoning rivers with mercury.
An Augustinian in Spain, Miguel Lengel Cadenas, who has lived in Amazon, Peru for three decades, said that illegal mining has increased since the Kovid -19 epidemic, which is in some areas where there are some areas, citing rivers Tigre, Nanay, Napo and Putumayo.
Tests have found mercury levels in some fish above the boundaries of the World Health Organization, and the hair samples of local residents analyzed by scientists and doctors also show high concentrations.
“We are in a delicate position,” Cadenus told the Associated Press. “Given that Amazonian diet is rich in fish, we are talking about food insecurity.”
Mercury Gold is widely used to separate gold during small scale mining. It contaminates water, accumulates in fish, and makes people’s body, causing neurological and developmental damage. Cadenus stated that health risks are particularly intense in Amazon, where medical services are rare.
Research in Peru’s Madrey Day Dies sector found that 43% of the delivery age had mercury levels, above the safety limit, while the hair samples in villages with Peru’s Amazon Riverways showed in the sample of hair that about 80% of the residents had crossed the threshold.
Cadenus said, “Most people are unable to understand what is happening. There is hardly any information.” “The state must first provide good information to its population and then sources of food that allow other options – which are not present.”
Call for gold traceability
According to JP Morgan, gold prices are rising – analysts have expected an average of $ 3,675 an ounce by the end of 2026 by the end of 2026 by the end of 2026.
Analysts say weaker traceability systems make illegal mining easy to slip to global markets. The report of Switzerland and Sustainability Researchers focuses on the standards of the environment, social and governance (ESG), saying that gold stained with mercury in places like Amazon is often looted through refineries before entering jewelry, electronics or national stores.
Cadenus, who served as a missionary and bishop before being appointed in 2021, insisted to lead the epostolic disorder of Equitos, stressed that he stressed that Peru Can not handle the problem alone.
“As long as the price of gold increases, it is very difficult for a national government to manage this situation,” he said. He pointed to gold bought countries including China, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
He said, “The first responsibility should be that those countries require traceability to buy gold, so that it is not possible to legally pass illegal gold so easily.”
‘Very serious’
Cadenus also warned of increasing violence, especially against local environmental guards in the Amazon region.
Across Amazon, environmental guards are often targeted – Colombia has led the world for many years, while Peru also ranks in the most dangerous places to speak against illegal mining and logging.
“There are people who are being threatened to death, and it seems very serious to me,” he said, citing reports that illegal miners in remote areas are linked to armed groups, including Colombian FARC dissatisfied.
Peru has several times tried to curb illegal mining and mercury use. In 2019 it launched Operation Merkari, a military-police crack, which reduced rapid deforestation in the La Pampa mining area, although a lot of activity later moved elsewhere. Officials also announced the records of Constrabond Merkari, including four tonnes of shipment in the Kailao Port this year.
Nevertheless, indigenous groups say enforcement is inconsistent, and regional governments in Amazon warns that the trafficking of mercury border continues illegal mining.
International action
The city of Iquitos hosted the Amazon Water Summit last week, which was helped by Wickerate to organize. Around 400 people from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil participated in 14 workshops on subjects including water and extractiveism, climate change and education.
Cadenus said that Loreto, Peru’s largest Amazonian department, has the lowest access to the country for drinking water – about 60% of the population lacks potable water and hygiene. The Constitutional Court of Peru ruled two years ago that it was a “situation of unconstitutional status”, but he said that the verdict was not yet fulfilled.
Cadenus, who said that he knows the Pope Leo XIV – who spent years as a missionary in Peru and later as a bishop – fear that the situation will deteriorate until international action demands illegal gold.
“Every day who passes is more people dedicated to illegal mining. While serious international pressure, it will be very difficult,” he warned.
Nevertheless, he directed a personal petition for those who run the destruction.
“It’s okay to earn money, but it cannot be on the price of injustice and the life of the poorest,” he said.
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