Abstract
Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. In Brazil’s Amazon, mining drives deforestation far beyond operational lease boundaries, yet the full extent of these impacts is unknown and thus neglected in environmental licensing. Here we quantify mining-induced deforestation and investigate the aspects of mining operations, which most likely contribute. We find mining significantly increased Amazon forest loss up to 70 km beyond mining lease boundaries, causing 11,670 km2 of deforestation between 2005 and 2015. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases alone. Pathways leading to such impacts include mining infrastructure establishment, urban expansion to support a growing workforce, and development of mineral commodity supply chains. Mining-induced deforestation is not unique to Brazil; to mitigate adverse impacts of mining and conserve tropical forests globally, environmental assessments and licensing must considered both on- and off-lease sources of deforestation.
Highlights
Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide
We focus on Brazil’s Amazon forest (Fig. 1), the world’s largest remaining tropical forest[4] and a region undergoing increased mining activity[16, 23]
Throughout Brazil, mining leases, concessions, and exploration permits cover 1.65 million km[2] of land, of which 60% is located in the Amazon forest[24]
Summary
Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases alone Pathways leading to such impacts include mining infrastructure establishment, urban expansion to support a growing workforce, and development of mineral commodity supply chains. Demand for minerals poses significant risks[9, 10], where mineral resources and biodiverse old-growth forests co-exist[11] in developing countries that seek revenue from mining but lack regulatory oversight and enforcement capability[12] Mining causes deforestation both within and beyond lease boundaries. Our results reveal extensive deforestation, significant up to 70 km from lease boundaries, caused by large scale industrial mining operations in Brazil’s Amazon forest
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