Exploring potential impacts of mining on forest loss and fragmentation within a biodiverse region of Brazil's northeastern Amazon

Juliana Siqueira-Gay, Laura J. Sonter and Luis E. Sánchez

Resources Policy, 2020, vol. 67, issue C

Abstract: Mining is a significant driver of deforestation. Not only do mines clear native forests for mineral extraction, they also often establish new infrastructure, which indirectly facilitates new access to land and further clearing. Forest loss and fragmentation have serious effects on biodiversity, yet rarely are these cumulative impacts of mining studied at the regional scale. Here, we examine potential impacts of mining in a biodiverse region of the Brazilian Amazon. The National Reserve of Copper and Associates (“Renca”) is currently off limits to mining activities but was recently threatened with a move to permit mineral exploration. We analyzed historic forest loss and fragmentation within two mining regions neighboring Renca. We also investigated historic deforestation trajectories within Renca's protected areas, to determine how well conserved these forests are against current threats. We found that mining, and other infrastructure associated with mines (i.e. roads), caused significant forest loss and fragmentation within neighboring mining sectors, and that Renca's protected areas are not currently immune to forest loss. Permitting new mines within and surrounding Renca will place additional pressure on its biodiversity. If mineral development is to proceed, huge regulatory changes will be required to effectively manage negative impacts on forests and biodiversity. Environmental Impact Assessments for new mining projects must assess and mitigate the cumulative region-wide effects on forests, while existing protected areas must be strengthened to ensure they are not directly or indirectly compromised by mining activities.

Keywords: Renca; Mineral resource extraction; Landscape ecology; Fragmentation; Land use and cover changes; Deforestation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420719307470
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:67:y:2020:i:c:s0301420719307470

DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101662

Access Statistics for this article

Resources Policy is currently edited by R. G. Eggert

More articles in Resources Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().