Fracking leaves heavy footprint in Argentina's Patagonia
Fracking leaves heavy footprint in Argentina's Patagonia
Issued on: 12/12/2019 - 03:32
Modified: 12/12/2019 - 03:30
Pumpjack oil wells peck like giant birds at the ground, plumes of yellow flames flare from gas pipelines, lakes accumulate contaminated waste -- Patagonia and its indigenous people are paying a heavy price for Argentina's economic progress.
Vaca Muerta, a huge sweep of western Patagonian wilderness, sits on the world's second largest reserve of shale gas and its fourth largest oil reserves.
A push to develop extraction amid Argentina's crippling economic crisis has made the area a magnet for international oil companies.
Crucially, Vaca Muerta is also home to indigenous Mapuche communities who say their rights are being denied.
"They came in as a state enterprise and just blew up the land. Without measuring the consequences or seeing that there were people living here -- a Mapuche community living on the land," says Lorena Bravo, spokeswoman for the Mapuche community in Campo Maripe.
More:
https://www.france24.com/en/20191212-fracking-leaves-heavy-footprint-in-argentina-s-patagonia
