Conservation has become a near-impossible task in many parts of Venezuela. Government funding has dried up, political pressure has scared away international donors, and criminal groups continue to overpower the areas where the worst deforestation is happening. As the country prepares for an election at the end of the month — one that could be rigged in the ruling party’s favor — many environmental groups are quietly wondering how they’re going to survive another six years under President Nicolás Maduro. “Environmental organizations, as well as Indigenous leaders, are finding it increasingly difficult to do their work,” said Olnar Ortiz, national coordinator for the Indigenous Peoples Penal Forum, a legal aid NGO. “It’s really difficult to go [to Venezuela] yourself because of the security issues and how hard it is to get access.” In recent years, the Maduro government has become even more hostile to NGOs, intergovernmental groups and nonprofits. In February, a U.N. human rights agency was expelled for alleged dissident behavior. Last year, the head of the Red Cross was removed by the Supreme Court. While environmental groups can sometimes stay out of government crosshairs by doing less controversial work, such as in biodiversity, they still have to be careful, several groups told Mongabay. On the coast, even trying to clean up oil spills can be a prickly subject for the government. Groups have been blocked from cleanup efforts, presumably because it would expose the true environmental impact of the accidents and shine a light on government negligence. Researchers…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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