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Story Publication logo March 15, 2021

Mining Threatens to Destroy Yaigojé Apaporis National Park (Spanish)

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The Jirijirimo waterfall, on the Yaigojé river, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
English

The FLARES FROM THE AMAZON project seeks to warn of the increased dangers of deforestation and...

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Aerial shot of the Jirijirimo waterfall and surrounding forest and river.
Aerial shot of the Jirijirimo waterfall, a sacred place for the children of Jaguares de Yuruparí, located on the Apaporis river, in the north of the Amazonas department, Colombia. Image by Juan Gabriel Soler/Gaia Amazonas Foundation.

Robin Elkin Díaz Miraña, a Macuna Indigenous woman, cares for the 'purity' of the knowledge of seven communities living in the Yaigojé Apaporis National Park and Preserve, situated between Amazonas and Vaupés, Colombia. Robin has over a decade of fighting against multinational mining companies and illegal artisanal miners that want to take away part of the her ancestors riches, including the gold.

Yaigojé Apaporis, an Amazonian territory of 1,056,023 hectares, is the home to the Cabillarí, Tanimukas, Letuamas Yahunas, Yuhup, Barazano, Yauna and Macunas Indigenous groups. A total of 22 communities live in the areas surrounding the mighty Pirá Paraná, Apaporis, Mirití Paraná, Caquetá and Vaupés river basins.


This story excerpt was translated from Spanish. To read the original story in full, visit El Espectador. You may also view the original story on the Rainforest Journalism Fund website here. Our website is available in English, Spanish, bahasa Indonesia, French, and Portuguese.


An indigenous person sitting in a fishing boat on the Apaporis River with a large fish next to him.
Macuna Indigenous person fishing on the Apaporis River for their family's daily food. Image by Juan Gabriel Soler/Gaia Amazonas Foundation.
A young indigenous person standing alone in a room preparing a traditional costume for an Amazonian ritual.
Young Indigenous person from the Yaigojé Apaporis reservation preparing traditional attire for an Amazonian ritual. Image by Juan Gabriel Soler/Gaia Amazonas Foundation.
Landscape view of the Jirijirimo waterfall.
Jirijirimo waterfall, on the Yaigojé river, in the department of Amazonas. A sacred place for the children of Yurupari. Image by Juan Gabriel Soler/ Gaia Amazonas Foundation.
An indigenous man stands in a room surrounded by maps and diagrams on the wall and a projector screen with charts displayed.
Robin Elkin Díaz, in the Indigenous community of Providencia in the Yaigojé Apaporis reservation in Amazonas, strengthening the guidelines for the Special Territorial Management Regime. Image by Juan Gabriel Soler/Gaia Amazonas Foundation.