BOLIVIA:
Natural Gas Drilling Takes Toll in Southern Sierra
José Luis Alcázar* - Tierramérica
TARIJA, Bolivia, Jul 14 (IPS) - Natural gas and oil drilling has a heavy
environmental impact in the Aguaragüe Mountains, in southern Bolivia, and
the nine companies responsible have not minimised the harm, says the local
non-governmental environment group Prometa, based in the southern city of
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 joint report by Prometa, the Argentina Yuchán Foundation
and the Programme 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, he said, 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.
The Aguaragüe range, where oil exploitation dates back to 1867, extends
north-south, averaging eight km wide and covering 118,700 hectares.
It is characterised 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 "optimises the use of natural
resources in drilling the wells, reutilising 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 industrialised
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 centres 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. Originally published
Jul. 9 by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica
network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the
backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Environment Programme.)
(END/2005)
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