Freshwater Ecosystem Services in Mining Regions: Modelling Options for Policy Development Support

Abstract

The ecosystem services (ES) approach offers an integrated perspective of social-ecological systems, suitable for holistic assessments of mining impacts. Yet for ES models to be policy-relevant, methodological consensus in mining contexts is needed. We review articles assessing ES in mining areas focusing on freshwater components and policy support potential. Twenty-six articles were analysed concerning (i) methodological complexity (data types, number of parameters, processes and ecosystem-human integration level) and (ii) potential applicability for policy development (communication of uncertainties, scenario simulation, stakeholder participation and management recommendations). Articles illustrate mining impacts on ES through valuation exercises mostly. However, the lack of ground-and surface-water measurements, as well as insufficient representation of the connectivity among soil, water and humans, leave room for improvements. Inclusion of mining-specific environmental stressors models, increasing resolution of topographies, determination of baseline ES patterns and inclusion of multi-stakeholder perspectives are advantageous for policy support. We argue that achieving more holistic assessments exhorts practitioners to aim for high social-ecological connectivity using mechanistic models where possible and using inductive methods only where necessary. Due to data constraints, cause-effect networks might be the most feasible and best solution. Thus, a policy-oriented framework is proposed, in which data science is directed to environmental modelling for analysis of mining impacts on water ES.

Assessing the Freshwater Quality of a Large-Scale Mining Watershed: The Need for Integrated Approaches

“…Furthermore, the degree of mining's impacts on aquatic habitats and freshwater ecosystem services vary at each lifecycle stage of mining, raising multiple sustainability concerns [68]. While we confirmed that physicochemical quality is preserved in the mining-recharged headwaters, questions arise regarding how much of the anthropogenic impact on the Mashcon watershed is attributable to mining development.…”

“…A reduced soil quality in turn is also adverse for vegetation. The overall reduction of the ecosystem state causes a decline in ecosystem service production, such as the impaired mediation of mass and liquid flows or lower availability of plants and animals for non-mining stakeholders [68].…”

“…The decentralization process which has been taking place in Peru for more than a decade has led to the distribution of mining fiscal revenues among producing and non-producing districts, aiming to boost human well-being and compensate for any negative mining impact [12]. However, the great deal of attention to socio-economic priorities in mining contexts often neglects the strong dependence of human well-being on ecosystems' health and functions [68].…”

Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates

“…Multiple pressures threaten European stream ecosystems [1][2][3][4]. These pressures result from various human activities, such as modifications of river morphology [5][6][7] and hydrology [6,8,9], intensive agriculture [10][11][12][13][14], urbanization [13,15,16] and mining [17][18][19]. Together, these activities often lead to the degradation of stream ecosystems, reducing biodiversity, water security and ecosystem services [4,20].…”

An Integrated Approach of Multi-Community Monitoring and Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystems to Support Sustainable Development

“…The methods of collecting, preserving and analysing water samples should be performed using the standardised procedure. However, it should be noted that the physical and chemical characteristics of water can have high temporal variability [29,30]. That is, measurements can be highly variable within a day, month, season, and year.…”