CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Mercury Contamination Threatens Over 160 Communities Along Bolivia’s Beni River
WHY IT MATTERS
The mercury exposure threatens the health of thousands of residents, risking long‑term neurological damage and undermining the food security of Indigenous communities that rely on the river for daily sustenance.
What happened
New findings confirm that mercury pollution in the Beni River endangers more than 160 Indigenous settlements in Bolivia’s Amazon basin. The contamination originates from mining activities upstream and has spread along a 41‑kilometer stretch of the river, affecting five communities that the study visited: Puerto Yumani, Carmen Soledad, Puerto Motor, Eyiyoquibo, and Buena Vista.
Residents of the Tacana, Leco, and Ese Ejja peoples rely on river fish as a staple food, but the fish are now contaminated with mercury. Despite the health risks, villagers continue to catch and eat the fish because alternative protein sources are unaffordable.
The presence of mercury in the food chain poses a serious public‑health threat, potentially leading to neurological damage and other chronic conditions among community members who depend on the river for sustenance.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Mercury threatens over 160 communities in Bolivia’s Beni River basin
Mongabay · Mayra · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply