T- 622 – Atrato River and Illegal Gold Mining

River Atrato in Choco

Rights of the River Atrato in Choco, Awarded by the Constitutional Court.

    The Atrato River in the Chocó Biogeographic region is one of 25 global priority areas (hotspots) for biodiversity conservation. In 2016, the Colombian Constitutional Court issued ruling T-622, declaring the Atrato River a subject of rights, and issued orders aimed at protecting its ecosystems and the fundamental rights of the communities living along its banks.

    Chocó’s richness in mineral resources and its remoteness has advantages for the climate. The downside is the violence perpetrated by illegal armed and criminal organisations, as they fight for control over illicit economies and territory.[i] The illegal gold mining is severely damaging people’s lives, ripping apart the social fabric, undermining governance, as well as driving the exploitation of women and children. Furthermore, the use of toxic substances such as mercury and cyanide to separate out the gold is then washed into the river, contaminating the water and the fish and causing health problems. The Atrato river and its tributaries are the main resource for the local population – as a means of transport, for fishing, for bathing, washing clothes, employment, and enjoyment. This combined with the lack of state presence and services has generated a humanitarian crisis. This crisis has been further exacerbated by the realities of the armed conflict.

    Nine years after this historic decision many of the problems that gave rise to the ruling are still present seriously affecting the ecosystemic integrity of the watershed, as well as the lives of the communities that live along the Atrato River. Record-high international prices for gold, over the last five years, have spurred a rush in Chocó’s southern mining regions. Unlike other illegal economies, illegal gold mining happens in plain sight, about 15 minutes by boat from Quibdó, the departmental capital of Chocó.

    The T-622 decision issued a series of orders, firstly, to the Environment Ministry to develop an Environmental Action Plan, this was done in consultation with the Guardians of the Atrato River (the community body appointed by the Constitutional Court to oversee the implementation of the T-622 Court decision) supported by Siembra, and, secondly, to the Ministry of Defence to end the illegal gold mining. This is the area where the UK and Irish Governments can support the implementation of the T-622 and the biodiversity of Chocó.

    • Colombian Defence Ministry

    Unlike the Environmental Action Plan which was drawn up in consultation with the indgenous and Afro-Colombian Communities and their representatives the Guardians of the Atrato River, the current Action Plan to combat illegal gold mining, adopted without consultation with the communities in the River Atrato, by the Defence Ministry, is not. In fact, since the Court ruling in 2016, illegal gold mining backed by armed groups has expanded 47 km along the tributaries of the Atrato River, moving ever closer to Quibdo, further demonstrating the Action Plan’s ineffectiveness.

    The Guardians of the Atrato (Guardians) and others have been calling for a new Action Plan to combat illegal gold mining, and highlighting that a purely military plan will not effectively address the siutation. Rather the plan should be revsed and expanded to adopt, a cross departmental Action Plan that incorporates, the Unit of Financial Information and Analysis (UIAF) located in the Ministry of Finance to track the financial flows of illegal gold mining; the Public Prosecutors Office; and the DIAN (it records sales of gold). The Financial Analysis Unit is responsible for gold regulation and gold financial flows – cross departmental collaboration needs to be initiated from the Presidential Office and led by the Ministry of Defence. As the Court ordered the Ministry of Defence to design the Action Plan to end illegal gold mining in the River Atrato.

    The change must come from the top, by the decision makers responsible at the highest levels in the Ministry and Presidentail Office. It is essential that for this revision they consult with the Guardians of the Atrato River and the NGO Siembra and together with them and the Unit of Financial Information and Analysis, the DIAN, and the Public Prosecutors office to plan and execute a reformulated plan. This is the moment to do this as there are plans by the Defence Ministry to improve the Action Plan. International offers of help on the side of financial flows, – given that the gold is sold in Europe – are essential and would be useful to the Colombian Government.

    The legalisation of this illicit gold is mainly happening in Colombia. But the financial flows are transnational. Illegal gold extraction by armed groups in Choco is estimated at U$300 million annually. Money obtained from selling the gold, strengthens the illegal armed groups, exacerbates the conflict, destroys important ecosystems in Chocó (and other areas with the same pattern, like the Amazon), it funds corruption – of local authority personnel as well as the Security Forces locally, and makes it harder to build peace in these regions. Furthermore, illegal gold is used to launder drugs money and buy arms.

    Colombia needs a national approach and regional cooperation when addressing illegal gold mining. This is because similar patterns in illegal gold mining are repeated across the Andean Region and in Brazil – violence, environmental destruction, human rights violations, corruption of local authorities, illicit gold flows into Europe, and the laundering of drugs money. To tackle this situation requires the identification and analysis of transnational financial flows, changes in policy in relation to the registration and sale of gold in Colombia, and policy changes to tightening of European gold regulations and supply chain.

    Destruction of the River Atrato by illegal gold mining
    • Ministry of Health – health strategy needed for dealing with health impacts of mercury in Choco

    Exposure to mercury, even in small amounts can cause serious health issues. In Chocó, mercury levels are not regularly monitored. The 2018 National Water Study[ii] estimated that there were 183 metric tons of mercury dumped into Colombia’s waterways. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)[iii],  between 2017 and 2022, 37.9 tons of gold were officially recorded in Chocó (the total is likely much higher). For each gram of gold produced, approximately between 7 to 30 grams of mercury is used, meaning that nearly 265 tons of mercury were used only for the gold reported in the last five years. 

    The State commissioned a toxic study by the Cordoba University this study was completed in 2018, but the results have not been released. The reason for this is that the Colombian Government considers the Health Study presented is not robust enough, but the University maintains that it has been done properly. There is therefore an impasse. For the people of Choco it is essential to initiate a health strategy and to begin to address health issues related to high levels of heavy metals in the blood. At one time the Government talked about sending in Health Brigades specially trained in heavy metal toxicity, but this has not happened.  A way forward would be to initiate a long-term health study, as the considerable increase in the last five years of the illicit gold mining means that the 2018 study is outdated. And at the same time initiate the implementation of ashort-term health plan for those identified by the 2018 study as having absorbed mercury, and labelling the areas identified as highly contaminated. The idea of Health Brigades is also an important interim measure.

    Recommendations to the UK Government and the Republic of Ireland

    • to support the implementation of the T-622 Constitutional Court decision to end illegal gold mining in the Atrato River; and to offer expert help and resources to track financial flows;
    • to highlight to the Colombian Government the importance of coordination across the departments of the Ministry of Defence, the Unit of Financial Information and Analysis, the DIAN, and the Public Prosecutor’s office in the planning and execution of a reformulated plan;
    • To raise with the Colombian Government the need to implement a Heath Strategy, in line with the T-622 decision for those who have absorbed the mercury;
    • To fund the work of the River Guardians as part of their efforts to address climate change and preserve biodiversity.

    [i] These are the paramilitary successor group known as the Gaitanistas Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) or Clan de Golfo, and the guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN). 

    [ii] Estudio Nacional del Agua 2018 https://tinyurl.com/yrxakud7

    [iii] UNODC, Colombia explotación de oro de aluvión EVOA 2022