Gold Mining Is Triggering Carbon Chaos In The Amazon Rainforest Of Peru
There’s a chance the gold ring
on your finger or the chain around your neck has a link to the prolific
destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. In a new study, scientists have
looked at the impact of small-scale gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon
and found that it has led to a massive uptick in peatland destruction in recent
years.
Much of this gold mining activity is illegal and considered a “principal
contributor to deforestation” in the region. The new research has revealed
another way in which this industry is harming the environment: the destruction
of Amazonian peatlands.
Peatlands are waterlogged, boggy ecosystems composed of decomposing plant
material that act as massive carbon reservoirs. They store carbon far more
densely than forest trees, sequestering seven times the amount of carbon found
in the trees of this region. However, vast sections of this boggy terrain are
being unearthed and wiped out by gold miners, releasing alarming amounts of
carbon into the atmosphere where it contributes to climate change.
Analyzing more than 35 years of satellite data from NASA’s Landsat program,
researchers discovered that over 550 hectares (1,359 acres) of peatland have
been lost, releasing between 0.2 and 0.7 million tons of carbon into the
atmosphere. Alarmingly, more than half of this destruction has occurred within
the past two years alone.
Currently, just 9 percent of mining activity in the region occurs in peatlands,
but that figure is expected to grow in the next decade. If current trends
continue, peatland mining is set to account for 25 percent of total mining by
2027.
The researchers argue that this could lead to the release of up to 14.5 million
tons of carbon, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of millions of cars.
"Mining is spreading fast into these fragile areas because it has become easier
to reach these remote mining spots, and there just isn't enough law enforcement
to protect the area. If we don't slow down the destruction, the damage to the
Amazon's peatlands could be permanent, with serious environmental, social, and
economic impacts down the line," Dr John Householder, corresponding author of
the study from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, said in a
statement.
“There are many other siteswhere considerable amounts of peat are suspected, but
the ground data to test these suspicions is simply unavailable. What our paper
shows is that even within ahuman generation, it is quite possible that large
peat deposits can disappear from the landscape, before science has had a chance
to describe them. For those peat deposits that are already known, these research
findings are a wakeup call to protect them,” added Dr Householder.
It's almost impossible to determine how much gold mined from the peatlands of
the Peruvian Amazon enters the global supply chain, as it is virtually
untraceable. Extracted by small, unregulated groups working without permits, it
swiftly changes hands, passing through local traders, regional hubs, and
middlemen before reaching bulk buyers. Once in the system, it arrives at
processing plants, where it is melted down, blended with other gold, and cast
into ingots, erasing any trace of its origins before it is sent to markets
worldwide.
Peru ranks among the world’s top gold producers, yet a significant share of its
gold is mined illegally. Given this reality, it’s almost certain that a
substantial – though immeasurable – portion of the gold in circulation today was
once hidden beneath the ancient peatlands of Madre de Dios.
Source: https://www.msn.com