Gold Mining in the Peruvian Amazon: Global Prices, Deforestation, and Mercury Imports

Abstract

Many factors such as poverty, ineffective institutions and environmental regulations may prevent developing countries from managing how natural resources are extracted to meet a strong market demand. Extraction for some resources has reached such proportions that evidence is measurable from space. We present recent evidence of the global demand for a single commodity and the ecosystem destruction resulting from commodity extraction, recorded by satellites for one of the most biodiverse areas of the world. We find that since 2003, recent mining deforestation in Madre de Dios, Peru is increasing nonlinearly alongside a constant annual rate of increase in international gold price (∼18%/yr). We detect that the new pattern of mining deforestation (1915 ha/year, 2006–2009) is outpacing that of nearby settlement deforestation. We show that gold price is linked with exponential increases in Peruvian national mercury imports over time (R2 = 0.93, p = 0.04, 2003–2009). Given the past rates of increase we predict that mercury imports may more than double for 2011 (∼500 t/year). Virtually all of Peru's mercury imports are used in artisanal gold mining. Much of the mining increase is unregulated/artisanal in nature, lacking environmental impact analysis or miner education. As a result, large quantities of mercury are being released into the atmosphere, sediments and waterways. Other developing countries endowed with gold deposits are likely experiencing similar environmental destruction in response to recent record high gold prices. The increasing availability of satellite imagery ought to evoke further studies linking economic variables with land use and cover changes on the ground.

Unstable Malaria Transmission in the Southern Peruvian Amazon and Its Association with Gold Mining, Madre de Dios, 2001–2012

“…[40][41][42][43] Several mechanisms may underlie the association between gold mining and malaria. First, mining activities lead to deforestation and human modification of the environment, 19,20 both of which have been linked to increased number of cases of malaria by altering vector breeding sites and affecting vector abundance, composition, and behavior.…”

“…18 Gold mining leads to several of these conditions, including habitat modification 19,20 and human settlements in the Amazon frontier. In this sense, illegal gold mining may be especially important, given its unregulated nature, and the poor working, living, and health conditions associated with this activity.…”

Mercury Exposure Among Artisanal Gold Miners in Madre de Dios, Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Previous research found elevated mercury exposure among residents of artisanal mining communities throughout Asia [6,7], Africa [8,9], and South America [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The Peruvian Amazon is a growing hotbed for artisanal mining, and there is growing concern over the extensive environmental mercury contamination that is occurring here [18][19][20]. One region in particular-Madre de Dios-is estimated to house approximately 30,000 artisanal miners [18].…”

Mercury Levels in Human Hair and Farmed Fish near Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities in the Madre de Dios River Basin, Peru

“…However, in 2011, an estimated 97% of mining concessions in the region were illegal (in [8]). The environmental impacts of these illegal ASGM activities are substantial, and include deforestation [9,10], habitat loss and desertification [11], and air and water pollution from gasoline and oil spills and combustion [12]. The region is also touted as one of the world's greatest biodiversity hotspots [13], further increasing the impacts of the environmental degradation associated with ASGM.…”