Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Four-Wheeling Vandals Damage Great Savannah

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

CARACAS, Jan 17 2011 (IPS) - In the period of late December 2010 to early January 2011, all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts caused severe damage in the Canaima National Park, an area of 30,000 square kilometers in southeast Venezuela. These “rustiqueros,” as they are known here, with varying cross-country capabilities, “damaged paths to waterfalls and other green areas in at least six areas of the park,” Ingrid Martínez, of the government's Institute of Parks, told Tierramérica.

In the park's La Piscina sector, a group of people with eight vehicles was detained by the National Guard, and the state prosecutor could charge them with criminal violation of environmental laws.

Canaima encompasses the Great Savannah (Gran Sabana), declared a natural Heritage of Humanity site in 1994 for its unique tepuy geography, the tabletop mountains with beautiful cascades.

Environmentalists have reported similar vandalism in natural areas of the Venezuelan plains and Andes Mountains.