Mongabay found that 39 communities in Bolivia are suffering from mercury poisoning and that 125 more face a similar risk.The findings were part of a scientific and geographic analysis covering 42 investigations published over 27 years. Seven were conducted in Bolivia.The Indigenous and riverside communities affected consume fish daily. Mongabay’s database showed that the protein is contaminated with mercury in at least 17 communities.Mongabay reached five Indigenous communities located on the banks of the Beni River (northern Bolivia). In some of them, such as Santa Rosita, mercury levels are nine times higher than the limit permitted by the World Health Organization.
BENI, Bolivia — Gilberto Vaca Muiba fears that the mercury in his body will end his life. Yet, the fear does not change his routine. He takes his old fishing rod, walks toward the river, and waits patiently for the meal of the day. He is on his knees on one of the shores of the Beni River, in the Bolivian Amazon, waiting for a fish to bite — so he can take the food home. It is a July afternoon in the Bolivian community of Puerto Yumani, and he has just caught a small surubí. The local fish is likely contaminated with mercury, but he brings it to his table nonetheless.
