República Bolivariana de Venezuela

Universidad Nacional Experimental Marítima del Caribe

Environmental Engineering
Cátedra de Idiomas
English VI

UNIT 2

POLLUTION AND DEFORESTATION IN VENEZUELA

Pre-Reading
Read the statements. Say if they are True or False.

True False 1.-Water pollution is not a big concern in Venezuela

True False 2.-Oil industry development has contributed a lot to river and lake
pollution.
True False 3.-Cleaning up Venezuela’s oil pits could cost billions of dollars.
True False 4.-Venezuela has been losing forest cover very fast.

Pollution and Water pollution is a major environmental concern in Venezuela.

Rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers are becoming increasingly polluted due to oil
development, untreated sewage wastes, and fertilizer run-off.
Maracaibo Lake, Venezuela's largest lake, is suffering from increased pollution,
and the resort island of Margarita suffers from frequent water shortages as the island's
population exceeds its infrastructure's ability to provide water and treat waste.
According to news reports, the state oil company, PDVSA, faced about $1.5 billion
in environmental liabilities. Cleaning up 15,000 oil pits, which collect contaminated
sludge from oil wells, alone could cost $1 billion. Periodic spills have damaged local flora
and fauna, with negative implications for biodiversity and for the local economy.
Environmental concerns traditionally have not been a major focus of PDVSA, but
the company has now adopted an environmental policy and pledges to rank environmental
protection as one of its top goals. It now is in the process of cleaning up the most
environmentally dangerous oil pits, many of which are seeping into Venezuela's water
supplies.

Deforestation is a problem throughout South America, and Venezuela is no

exception. About half of the country is under forest cover. The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization estimated that Venezuela lost forest cover at a rate twice as high
as the average rate for tropical South America between 1990 and 1995.
Venezuela lost an average of 1.1% of its 44 million hectares per year of forest
between 1990 and 1995, while all of tropical South America lost 0.6% of its 828 million
hectares per year in the same period.

With World Bank assistance, the government of Venezuela is working to protect its
3.6-million hectare Imataca Forest Reserve. The Reserve's tropical forests remain mostly
intact and are home to many unique species and indigenous peoples. Indigenous groups
have often come into conflict with mining and timber companies, blaming the companies
for degrading their environment and ancestral lands…

Post Reading Practice

1.-Match the words taken from the text with their definitions.

a.-aquifer
____
____financial
financialobligation,
obligation,money
moneyowed.
owed.
b.-sewage
____
____waste
wastewater
waterfrom
fromdomestic
domesticor
orindustrial
industrialuse.
use.
c.-run-off
____
____mud,
mud,sediment.
sediment.
d.-shortages
____
____geological
geologicalformation
formationwith
withground
groundwater.
water.
e.-liabilities ____
____ground
groundwater
waterdischarged
dischargedinto
intoaastream.
stream.
f.-sludge ____
____deficiency
deficiencyin
inquantity.
quantity.

2.-Complete the sentences using information form the text above.

a.-A big environmental worry in Venezuela is _____________________________

b.-Fertilizer run-off pollutes ___________________________________________

c.-Margarita Island suffers from ________________________________________

d.-Periodic oil spills have damaged _____________________________________

e.-PDVSA has adopted ______________________________________________

3.-Define these terms taken from the text. You may use a dictionary.

Pledge
_________________________________________________________________________

Clean up
_________________________________________________________________________

Seep into
_________________________________________________________________________

Remain
_________________________________________________________________________

4.-Answer these questions about the text.

1.-What are some causes of river and lake pollution in Venezuela?

2.-How much could Venezuela’s oil pit cleaning cost ?

3.-What is another problem Venezuela is facing, besides pollution?

4.-What is Venezuela’s government doing to reduce deforestation?

Taken from a work collected and developed by Prof. Cesar Rivas.