The Amazon is being destroyed for gold
Kann, D. “Record levels of gold mining are destroying one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, study shows.” CNN, 8 Feb. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/world/gold-mining-deforestation-peru-record-levels-trnd/index.html Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
The Amazon is being destroyed for gold, from the CNN article “Record levels of gold mining are destroying one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, study shows.”
Who: The people of the Southern Peruvian Amazon What: the illegal destruction of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems Where: the protected Southern Peruvian Amazon When: since 2017 Why: for the incentive of $100/day for gold How: clearing forest and harmful mining methods
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth, and the biomass of these forests is responsible for cleaning much of the earth’s air. People have been over-harvesting resources in the Amazon for decades, and now in one of the most untouched parts of the Amazon rainforest, Peruvians are contributing to this deforestation and polluting their own areas with mercury so they can find gold to make money. In the past 2 years alone, 45,565 acres of forest have been felled for gold mining. Mercury is known to damage immune, digestive and nervous systems in people. The river systems being polluted carry water all over South America and are sources of water and livelihood for people and organisms all over the continent. This illegal gold mining affects innumerable people and the long term effects of high amounts of mercury can be deadly.
This trend affects people, the planet and profit.There are many points where intervention can occur to stop the deforestation and pollution, and where people and the planet can benefit as opposed to how they are suffering now. The Peruvian government has tried for years to enforce the protection of the Southern Peruvian Amazon with no progress, and the incentive for people to continue mining is the pay. If the government could create opportunities for these people to make good wages at the same time as stopping the deforestation and hopefully taking steps to reverse the damage done, they would be closer to being sustainable.
If the people need money this badly, can the government incentivise protecting the areas instead? Can they create jobs to contribute to re-vitalizing the forest? Is there anything that can be done to remove mercury from the environment?