Bolivia’s Kaka river: gold mining leaves “dead” waters and contaminated lands
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Indigenous Leco communities in the Bolivian Amazon have seen their way of life altered as decades of gold mining have polluted the Kaka River.
Between 2000 and 2024, micro-watersheds with illegal mining gained 21.5% more water surface area, while those without mining lost 17.2%. The Kaka River’s channel is now damaged, harming fishing, drinking water access, and boat travel for people in Tomachi, a town in the La Paz department of Bolivia.
José Cartagena, a Leco leader, remembers a time forty years ago when the Kaka River teemed with fish and provided clean drinking water. Today, he describes it as a “dead” body of water, contaminated by sediment from gold mining operations, both legal and illegal.
Mining began intensifying around 2000 with the increased use of dredges, but its roots stretch back to the late 1950s when the South American Placer Incorporated (SAPI) company built an airport to transport gold and introduced intensive dredging. The situation worsened in the 1990s with the arrival of national mining companies and the involvement of some Leco people who became cooperative miners. This led to widespread contamination, with the river now wider and filled with sediment, mercury, grease, and diesel.
While Tomachi, home to around 1300 people, still has access to two streams, residents actively protect them from mining activity. A recent investigation analyzing 722 micro-watersheds across four countries, including Bolivia, found that in the Beni River basin, where the Kaka is located, watersheds with mining gained water surface area while those without lost it. This “gained” water isn’t drinkable, but rather consists of pools created by mining. The investigation also found that these pools disproportionately appear on Indigenous territory.
Despite government efforts to control illegal mining, operations often resume after patrols leave, and investigations are stalled. The Leco people are now focused on protecting their remaining water sources and exploring ecotourism and sustainable food production.
