WELCOME TO THE 2nd AMAZINE 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS

Venezuela's environmental challenges for the year 2023 are enormous. These problems are worsening and their occurrence is not only south of the Orinoco.

We know thanks to experts that the need to control illegal mining in the Amazon is still imperative. We must insist on the defense of protected areas: national parks, biosphere reserves, forest reserves and indigenous communities and their ancestral knowledge, increasingly besieged by armed irregular forces that endanger national sovereignty.

There are also "positive" projects for the conservation and recovery of natural areas and biodiversity, support and defense of indigenous communities, and restoration of urban spaces, among many others.

According to a report by the organization Clima21, 199 oil spills occurred in Venezuela from 2016 to 2021, 80 of these only in the year 2022. And the incidence increases as does misinformation, and disregard for international treaties and laws on human rights and environmental management and conservation.

In another Clima21 report: "Disappearing Forests. Deforestation in Venezuela, 2016-2021" exposes that "Venezuela is the country with the greatest acceleration in the loss of natural forests, with respect to data from previous years". The figure of 49,000 hectares deforested is very critical and not very encouraging. Forests are ecosystems of enormous ecological, economic and social value. And if we talk about the great Amazon forest, the importance is global.

Other environmental contingencies related to deforestation and climate change are torrential rains, floods and landslides. In a country that is the only one in South America that does not have an official risk prevention plan. Due to extreme rains and landslides, at least a hundred people died in Venezuela in 2022 and numerous states throughout the country were affected. The reactivation of hydrometeorological stations is crucial to save lives in the face of future rains.

In an investigation by journalist Joshua De Freitas for Runrun.es, he explains that "28% of the Venezuelan territory is exposed to a high flood potential" and 52.33% of the Venezuelan population is exposed to floods and torrential landslides or mudslides".

Reasons enough to promote through AMAZINE ® a 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘰 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴 organized by our Association Watunna Venezuela from France, that speaks to us and shows the enormous vulnerability of the Venezuelan territory, its inhabitants, ecosystems and natural resources, and at the same time, the actions and projects "in positive" that exist in execution and that demonstrate the certain possibility of changing the situation favorably.

 

The solutions to many of these great environmental challenges of the country are the result of the commitment, activism and actions of universities, NGOs, indigenous communities, artists and film producers, in urban and rural projects, with broad participation of civil society.

Venezuela has a valuable "Natural Capital" that requires rapid intervention, to show it, understand it and defend it is one of the great challenges of AMAZINE.  This 2023, we seek to make visible audiovisual works that address the theme: "Environment in Venezuela: Crisis and Solutions".

We look forward to your participation.

Ana María Méndez - Schreier
President
Watunna Venezuela Association

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See also: Registration form and instructions