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Natural Gas Drilling Takes Toll in Bolivian Sierra |
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By José Luis Alcázar *
Environmentalists denounce threats to the Aguaragüe mountain region in Bolivia, the second leading South American country in natural gas reserves.
TARIJA, Bolivia - Natural gas and oil drilling are having a heavy environmental impact in the Aguaragüe mountains, in southern Bolivia, and the nine companies responsible have not minimized the harm, says the non-governmental environment group Prometa, based in Tarija.
In recent years, exploitation of reserves that total 48 trillion cubic feet has turned the country into South America's second natural gas superpower.
Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil giant and considered the most important of the nine companies operating in Bolivia, says it is carrying out a "management policy of eco-efficiency in its operations, reducing impacts to minimum levels."
The Brazilian firm came to Bolivia in 1996 as part of bilateral agreements for integration. Some of the other companies here are Spain's Repsol, British Gas, and France's Total.
"The concept of eco-efficiency entails conservation of ecosystems, preservation and reduction of the use of non-renewable resources. It educates, trains and commits to the environment our employees and contract firms," Jose Fernando de Freitas, president of Petrobras-Bolivia, told Tierramérica.
However, Arnaldo Wayer, director of Prometa, expressed doubts to Tierramérica about the efficiency of the oil companies and commented that they have a long way to go to comply with all the requirements for environmental preservation and social responsibility with regards to the local communities.
The Aguaragüe sierra has two characteristics of great potential: enormous reserves of natural gas that will bring in important revenues for Bolivia over the next 20 years, and water supplies for the three major cities of the Chaco region (Villamontes, Yacuiba and Carapari) and for the indigenous communities, says a report by Prometa, the Argentina Yuchán Foundation and the Program for Conservation and Development.
That study predicts that the exploitation of hydrocarbons will alter the landscape and reduce the wealth of forests due to massive logging, fires, modification or loss of habitat and air pollution. The quality of surface waters will also be affected, due to soil erosion from the rerouting of river courses and heavier river traffic.
The companies "are hurting the water system by disrupting underground water flows, shifting river routes and destroying plant cover, significantly reducing its capacity to absorb and distribute the water," said Wayer.
Other indirect impacts are the opening of routes that lead to irregular human settlements and an expansion of the farming frontier to the upper reaches of the sierra, which endangers the biodiversity of the area, declared a national park and a protected integrated management site in May 2000, he added.
The Aguaragüe range, where oil exploitation dates back to 1867, extends north-south, averaging eight km wide and covering 118,700 hectares.
It is characterized by the Andean 'yungas' (mountain jungles or cloud forests, protected by the national park) and the jungle foothills and the savannas of the Chaco in the integrated management area.
The Aguaragüe region is home to more than 130 species of plants from 48 families, 408 species of birds and more than 20 mammal species classified out of the approximately 100 existing there, as well as amphibian and reptile species yet to be quantified.
In the park and its surroundings are some 100 indigenous Guaraní and Weenhayek (Mataco) communities, for a total of no more than 8,000 people. Their livelihood comes from fishing and during times of fishing bans, growing vegetables and maize, and gathering fruit and honey.
"The mud from drilling that the oil companies dump in storage ponds contaminates the water because of overflow from rain and from filtration," Cecilia Cortéz, an agricultural engineer with Prometa, told Tierramérica.
De Freitas assured that Petrobras-Bolivia "optimizes the use of natural resources in drilling the wells, reutilizing the water and reducing the consumption of electricity."
The oil company "rigorously complies with Bolivian legislation," and has even reduced and continues to monitor emissions of carbon dioxide "as determined by the Kyoto Protocol," he said. The international treaty, which sets targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized nations, entered into force in February.
Wayer does not deny the importance of exploiting Bolivia's energy resources, but stands firm in the demand that it be done "with environmental and social responsibility."
"The government has to obligate the companies to mitigate environmental impacts," but so far, "despite the recommendations and legal norms, there has been no serious follow-up for reforestation and regeneration of the affected areas," said the Prometa director.
According to De Freitas, Petrobras-Bolivia meets its social responsibility, and from 2000 to 2004 invested four million dollars in public works for the communities around its operations, supplying potable water and electricity, improving schools, building hospitals, housing and roads, and providing literacy training.
"Evidently it has improved, something has been done from the perspective of the companies, but they can't go ahead without planning or coordinating with the government, the municipalities and the communities," responded Wayer, citing the example that health centers have been built but there are no doctors to run them.
The activists warn that before the damages are irreversible in Aguaragüe, government agencies and the affected communities must set up a strategic alliance with the natural gas and oil sector to prevent and control contamination, deforestation, erosion and sedimentation, and to protect flora and fauna and the landscape.
* José Luis Alcázar is a Tierramérica contributor.
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