CHAPTER 16 • Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Venezuela: The Maracaibo System
303
southern littoral of Lake Maracaibo, handles 2000 ha of cane (COPLANARH 1972).
Besides interfering with water cycling per se, cane crushing water contains a substantial amount of soil impurities and sugar. Disposal of the solid waste may lead to
eutrophication because of high BODs (Biological Oxygen Demand).
16.5
Pesticides and Industrial Wastes
Agriculture can render other deleterious consequences, due to the use of pesticides,
fertilizers, soil amendments and herbicides. Timberlands spread throughout
3898731 ha in the State of Zulia (MARNR 1984), while croplands cover 83843 ha bordering the lake (Huber and Alarcon 1988). Organochlorine pesticides have been detected iii all the rivers of the Maracaibo System basins. Almost 90% of the pesticides
that enter the lake are accounted by the influx of the Catatumbo and Escalante rivers
(ESCAM 1991). The Escalante river goes through large rangelands where livestock is
raised, while in its uplands, in Venezuela as well as in Colombia, there are expanses
exploited by itinerant croppers. The Zulia river, a tributary of the Catatumbo river,
traverses, in its medium and upper reaches, extense croplands in Colombian country.
The area where the most marked agricultural development has unfolded is the so-called
Distrito de Riego Rio Zulia - HIMAT (Norte de Santander Departament, Colombia),
which spreads throughout 175 km 2 •
The origin of industrial contamination (point source pollution) can be pinpointed
to the metropolitan areas of Maracaibo, and the Andean cities of Merida and Valera, in
Venezuela, and Cucuta (Colombia), where industries discharge their waste materials
to the sewage systems or directly to the rivers, as well as by the inappropriate disposal
of used containers, engendering toxic lixiviated materials. Usually the main contaminants are organic products and heavy metals (e.g. chromium disposed off by
chromating metal coating and plating).
The ICLAM has performed evaluations of many of these sources in the shoreward
of Lake Maracaibo and in the lowlands. Between 1982 and 1990 the ICLAM drew up
reports dealing with the inspections carried out in 44 industrial installations, that included abattoirs, cold-storage plants, dairies, tanneries, hog farms, poultry keeping and
packing, food-processing plants, breweries and soft drinks bottling companies, pharmaceutical industries and hydromechanical manufacturing companies. There is no
information on the polluting industries sited on the city of Cucuta (Colombia) that
discharge their effluents into Lake Maracaibo through the Catatumbo river; nonetheless, since 24.1% of the population living in the watershed of Lake Maracaibo settles in
the Norte de Santander Departament (Colombia), this area probably contributes significantly to the outfall that pollutes the lake.
16.6
Fisheries
Three distinct fisheries can be recognized in the Maracaibo System. Freshwater fisheries, based on several species of catfishes and species of the genera Anodus and
Curimata, are located at the southern segment of Lake Maracaibo (Rodriguez 1984).
In the estuarine section of the system, fisheries are based on several sciaenids
303
southern littoral of Lake Maracaibo, handles 2000 ha of cane (COPLANARH 1972).
Besides interfering with water cycling per se, cane crushing water contains a substantial amount of soil impurities and sugar. Disposal of the solid waste may lead to
eutrophication because of high BODs (Biological Oxygen Demand).
16.5
Pesticides and Industrial Wastes
Agriculture can render other deleterious consequences, due to the use of pesticides,
fertilizers, soil amendments and herbicides. Timberlands spread throughout
3898731 ha in the State of Zulia (MARNR 1984), while croplands cover 83843 ha bordering the lake (Huber and Alarcon 1988). Organochlorine pesticides have been detected iii all the rivers of the Maracaibo System basins. Almost 90% of the pesticides
that enter the lake are accounted by the influx of the Catatumbo and Escalante rivers
(ESCAM 1991). The Escalante river goes through large rangelands where livestock is
raised, while in its uplands, in Venezuela as well as in Colombia, there are expanses
exploited by itinerant croppers. The Zulia river, a tributary of the Catatumbo river,
traverses, in its medium and upper reaches, extense croplands in Colombian country.
The area where the most marked agricultural development has unfolded is the so-called
Distrito de Riego Rio Zulia - HIMAT (Norte de Santander Departament, Colombia),
which spreads throughout 175 km 2 •
The origin of industrial contamination (point source pollution) can be pinpointed
to the metropolitan areas of Maracaibo, and the Andean cities of Merida and Valera, in
Venezuela, and Cucuta (Colombia), where industries discharge their waste materials
to the sewage systems or directly to the rivers, as well as by the inappropriate disposal
of used containers, engendering toxic lixiviated materials. Usually the main contaminants are organic products and heavy metals (e.g. chromium disposed off by
chromating metal coating and plating).
The ICLAM has performed evaluations of many of these sources in the shoreward
of Lake Maracaibo and in the lowlands. Between 1982 and 1990 the ICLAM drew up
reports dealing with the inspections carried out in 44 industrial installations, that included abattoirs, cold-storage plants, dairies, tanneries, hog farms, poultry keeping and
packing, food-processing plants, breweries and soft drinks bottling companies, pharmaceutical industries and hydromechanical manufacturing companies. There is no
information on the polluting industries sited on the city of Cucuta (Colombia) that
discharge their effluents into Lake Maracaibo through the Catatumbo river; nonetheless, since 24.1% of the population living in the watershed of Lake Maracaibo settles in
the Norte de Santander Departament (Colombia), this area probably contributes significantly to the outfall that pollutes the lake.
16.6
Fisheries
Three distinct fisheries can be recognized in the Maracaibo System. Freshwater fisheries, based on several species of catfishes and species of the genera Anodus and
Curimata, are located at the southern segment of Lake Maracaibo (Rodriguez 1984).
In the estuarine section of the system, fisheries are based on several sciaenids