Sr. Hugo Chavez, Presidente
Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela
Palacio de Miraflores
Final Avenida Urdaneta, Esq. de Bolero
Caracas 1010, Venezuela

RE: Coal mining projects in the Sierra de Perija and Guajira

Dear Mr. President,

I applaud your successful efforts to channel the natural wealth of your nation to improve the health, education, environment and security of all the people of Venezuela. You have demonstrated your dedication to the well-being and the future of your people as have few other world leaders.

That is why I write to you, with respect, to express my strong support for the Yukpa, Bari and Wayuu indigenous peoples of Zulia state. As you know, these indigenous peoples oppose the construction of three new coal mines in the Sierra de Perija and Guajira. I urge you to grant their request for a personal meeting with you to share information about the proposed mines and to express their views.

Reasons to cancel the new coal mining projects in the Sierra de Perija and Guajira include:

• The indigenous people who live there oppose the new mines.
• The mines will destroy ancient tropical forests whose biological diversity is of incalculable value; cause erosion and siltation of rivers and reservoirs; contaminate the water supply of the entire population of Venezuela’s second largest city, Maracaibo; and threaten the health of humans, animals, birds and fish from the heights of the Sierra de Perija down to the Caribbean Sea.
• Coal is the dirtiest source of energy and the greatest contributor to global warming and climate change. In the United States alone, 30,000 deaths each year are attributed to pollution from coal-fired power plants.
• Venezuela does not need coal--all the coal from the Sierra de Perija would be exported. The economic benefits would go primarily to multinational mining companies while the land, water, wildlife and people of Zulia state would suffer irreparable harm.
• Construction of the proposed Puerto Simon Bolivar would also displace fisher families, destroy the fisheries and the families’ livelihoods, and disturb important wildlife habitat on the islands.

For the sake of your nation, its people, and the world’s climate, please cancel these coal mines, and shift priorities in the Sierra de Perija from multinational coal mining projects to protecting the true riches of the region--its biological and cultural diversity. As Wayuu leader Angela Gonzales said, "We can live without coal. We can’t live without water."

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