The founder of the NGO SOS Orinoco, Cristina Burelli, warned that during the party on the Kusari tepuy, which generated a huge scandal in the country, the participants removed vegetation that will not grow again.
In an interview for wave circuit, Burelli explained that in the tepui there is a very fragile ecosystem that is more than 4 million years old. They have, he stressed, an unrepeatable biodiversity.
«In the photos you can see sand, that is desertification, nothing else grows there. All the unique vegetation that was on that tepuy has already disappeared, ”said the environmental defender.
He also denounced that both the landing of the helicopter and the footsteps of people affect the vegetation.
“There was ecological damage, but also moral. What is particular is that it is a party in bad taste that has mobilized civil society to repudiate what is happening, but they do not claim the more than 200 hectares of illegal mining in Canaima », he lamented.
On Thursday the prosecutor of Nicolás Maduro, Tarek William Saabannounced an investigation into the damage caused to the Kusari tepui after the scandal.
Saab indicated that the 87th National Environmental Defense Prosecutor’s Office will be in charge of these investigations.
Journalist Jaime Garvett, from Primer Informe, revealed that the activity is part of tourist and social packages offered by businessman Rafael Oliveros, president of Grupo La Marea and director of Camp Canaima.
As an example of the type of tourist “experiences” that his company offers, Oliveros organized a party on the top of the Kusari tepuy last Friday, February 4, to celebrate his 50 years.
Oliveros invited a select group of friends, “including well-known upper-class socialites in Caracas, financial operators, industry professionals, and relatives of the birthday boy,” who had to wear a formal tuxedo-type suit and a long suit.