Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
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 m...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Macmillan Publishers Limited
2017
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61253 |
| _version_ | 1848760672399130624 |
|---|---|
| author | Sonter, L. Herrera, D. Barrett, D. Galford, G. Moran, Chris Soares-Filho, B. |
| author_facet | Sonter, L. Herrera, D. Barrett, D. Galford, G. Moran, Chris Soares-Filho, B. |
| author_sort | Sonter, L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | 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 km 2 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. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:19:30Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-61253 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:19:30Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Macmillan Publishers Limited |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-612532018-06-22T02:48:39Z Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Sonter, L. Herrera, D. Barrett, D. Galford, G. Moran, Chris Soares-Filho, B. 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 km 2 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. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61253 10.1038/s41467-017-00557-w http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Macmillan Publishers Limited fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Sonter, L. Herrera, D. Barrett, D. Galford, G. Moran, Chris Soares-Filho, B. Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title | Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_full | Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_fullStr | Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_short | Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_sort | mining drives extensive deforestation in the brazilian amazon |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61253 |