Mining - Rainforest Foundation US

The True Cost of Gold: Mining, Malaria, and the Fight for Indigenous Peoples’ Lands in Guyana

A growing dual crisis of public health and environmental devastation is unfolding in the Amazon rainforest. Over the past decade, a surge in illegal and unregulated gold mining has had the unexpected side effect of leading to a sharp rise in malaria cases, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities across the Guiana Shield.

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazonian Indigenous lands decreased by 42%, reaching a six-year low

Indigenous peoples’ lands in the Amazon experienced a 42% decrease in deforestation between August 2023 and March 2024, according to a report by the Brazilian organization Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon). This is the lowest amount of destruction recorded within these territories since 2018.

Yanomami Crisis Continues: Mismanagement and Security Failures Undermine Brazil’s Efforts to Combat Health Emergency

A year after declaring a public health emergency in the Yanomami territory in Roraima, Brazil, the world is once again shocked by images of Yanomami children in states of severe malnutrition. 308 deaths were recorded in Yanomami territory in 2023. The main causes of death include pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and malnutrition.

Attack in Yanomami Community Kills Child and Injures Five More in Brazil

Five Yanomami Indigenous people, including two children, were injured in a shooting in Yanomami territory, in Roraima, Brazil, on Monday, July 3rd. It is not new that illegal mining has ravaged Indigenous lands, with more than 20,000 invaders in the Yanomami territory alone, destroying forests, bringing disease, sexual exploitation, and death.

To Meet Guyana’s Climate Promises, Empower Indigenous Peoples

To blunt climate change, Guyana has pledged to aggressively expand the amount of rainforests protected within its borders. But as the threat of big oil looms, indigenous peoples’ land rights need to be recognized in order to meet this goal.

Violence Returns to a People Scarred by Genocide

The Yanomami, an indigenous people in the northern Amazon rainforest, were attacked by illegal gold miners several times in recent weeks, leaving several people wounded and two young children dead. With tens of thousands of miners still illegally occupying their land, the threat of continued violence remains.