Industrial-scale mining of materials like coal, gold and iron ore is causing deforestation in the tropics, and previously impenetrable forests are cleared for mines and access roads, new research suggests.
In the first study to measure the impact of industrial mining on tropical forest loss, an international team of scientists found that four countries were the main culprits: Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana and Suriname.
Four forest-rich countries were responsible for nearly 80% of tropical deforestation caused by large-scale mining operations between 2000 and 2019, according to research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
While at least 70% of deforestation is done to clear land for agriculture, scientists have classified industrial mining as a rising concern given the growing global appetite for minerals used in clean energy technologies to combat climate change.
“The energy transition will require large amounts of minerals (copper, lithium, cobalt) for decarbonized technologies,” said study co-author Anthony Bebbington, a geographer at Clark University in Massachusetts.
“We need more planning tools from governments and companies to reduce the impacts of mining on forest loss.”
Mines around the world are extracting more than double the amount of raw materials they were in 2000, according to the study.
For the study, the researchers examined global satellite imagery and data tracking forest loss, as well as location information for industrial-scale mining operations over the past two decades.
The study did not measure the effects of artisanal and small-scale mining.
Overall, there were 26 countries responsible for most deforestation in tropical regions of the world since 2000.
However, four countries dominate around the industrial mining sites. The biggest losses were in Indonesia, where coal mines on the island of Borneo are expanding to meet fuel demand from China and India.
Ghana and Suriname also showed high rates of deforestation around gold and bauxite mines. The extraction of gold and iron ore in Brazil has resulted in deforestation caused by mining.
Mining operations often clear forests to make room for expansion of extraction sites and landfills, as well as constructing access roads and settlements for miners.
source: Noticias
