WHEREAS the Rio Caura Basin is one of the last largely pristine basins in the tropical world, encompassing 5 million hectares in area, which makes it of exceptional value as a natural laboratory; and

WHEREAS the forests of the Rio Caura Basin store an estimated 1.4 billion metric tonnes of biomass, equivalent to more than 700 million tonnes of carbon, such that deforesting the area would emit enormous quantities of greenhouse gases that would accelerate global warming; and

WHEREAS the Rio Caura Basin contains more than 2,600 vascular plant species that account for 17% of the botanical diversity in Venezuela and 28% of the botanical diversity of the entire Guayana region; and it contains more than 88% of the endemic plants known for the Guayana region; and

WHEREAS the Caura Basin contains remarkably diverse terrestrial animal communities, including 168 mammal species, 475 bird species, 34 amphibian species, and 53 reptile species, which collectively account for a third of all animal species known in Venezuela and over half (53%) of all species from Venezuelan Guayana; and

WHEREAS aquatic communities are also extraordinarily diverse in the Caura Basin, with 441 species of fish identified to date. Of these, 13 are endemic to Venezuela and 251 are restricted to Venezuelan Guayana, with 35 considered to be in danger of extinction. In addition, 240 aquatic invertebrate species have been identified, of which 110 are aquatic insect genera new to science; and

WHEREAS the Caura basin contains one of the largest Neotropical expanses of riparian forest, an ecosystem that is known to regulate the physical and chemical characteristics of the neighboring aquatic habitats and the regional hydrological cycle; and

WHEREAS the Rio Caura Basin is being imperiled by recent waves of invading illegal gold miners within its natural and protected areas, including Brazilians, Colombians, Guianans, and Venezuelans; and

WHEREAS numerous Venezuelan researchers, including those at the Center for Ecological and Anthropological Research, National University of Guayana (UNEG) - Bolívar campus, at the Antonio Jose de Sucre Polytechnic University (UNEXPO) – Guayana, at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), at the Western University (UDO), and the La Salle Foundation for the Natural Sciences – Guayana and Caracas, have raised repeated concerns that illegal gold mining could irreversibly damage natural areas in the Rio Caura Basin, especially because economically viable decontamination and habitat-restoration measures are not in place; and these researchers fully support the Ye’kwana, Sanema and Hoti peoples, whose cultural and environmental integrity is being gravely threatened by mining;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation:

• URGES the Government of Venezuela to take immediate steps to protect natural areas in the Rio Caura Basin in accordance with Venezuelan laws, and to promote respect for the security and basic human rights of all stakeholders in the Basin; and

• URGES the Government of Venezuela to take action to stop death threats and intimidation against indigenous peoples and environmentalists by violent elements within the mining community; and

• RECOMMENDs that the Government of Venezuela declare the complete protection of the Rio Caura Basin; and

• URGES the Government of Venezuela to officially recognize the rights of indigenous peoples of the Caura Basin to their land, thereby reinforcing their longstanding roles in conserving and enriching these environments; and

• RECOMMENDS that the Government of Venezuela facilitate sustainable-development projects to assist the indigenous peoples of the Caura Basin, with further support from nongovernmental groups, research institutes, and universities; and

• URGES the Government of Venezuela to ensure the long-term security and monitoring of the Basin to guarantee its conservation and protection from rampant illegal gold mining, for the benefit of local, regional, national, and global communities.

For further information contact:

Dr. Judith Rosales
Ecóloga (Ecología y Etnobotánica de bosques ribereños) 
Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana
Venezuela
jrosales@uneg.edu.ve

Dr. David Hammond
NWFS Consultancy
Portland, Oregon, USA
Phone: +1 (503) 348-9135 and +1 (503) 690-8048
Email: dhammond@nwfs.biz

Dr. William Laurance
President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Balboa, Panama
Email: laurancew@si.edu
Phone: +507-314-9206 and +507-212-8252