Alarming Destruction of Peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon Due to Gold Mining

Research reveals that artisanal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon has caused more peatland destruction in the last two years than in the previous three decades. This damage significantly threatens carbon emissions and highlights the urgent need for protection of these vital ecosystems.

Recent research published in “Environmental Research Letters” highlights alarming findings regarding gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon, indicating that artisanal gold mining has caused more extensive damage to peatlands in the past two years than over the previous thirty years combined. This destruction poses critical threats to the environment and climate due to the significant carbon emissions associated with it.

Historically, small-scale gold mining has thrived in the Madre de Dios region, primarily due to the abundant gold deposits in surrounding soils. However, the destruction extends beyond deforestation, with new findings revealing that gold mining has significantly impacted underground carbon-rich peatlands. Utilizing over 35 years of satellite data from NASA’s Landsat program, researchers found that more than 550 hectares of peatland have been destroyed, resulting in the release of between 0.2 and 0.7 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Alarmingly, over 55% of this damage occurred within the last two years.

Peatlands are crucial for carbon storage, containing carbon more densely than forests. In the Madre de Dios region, they store as much carbon as forests would in an area seven times larger. Consequently, even minor losses of peatland can drastically affect greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, mining in peatlands represents approximately 9% of the total mining activity in the region, with projections suggesting it could increase to 25% by 2027. Presently, 63 peatland areas have been impacted, risking over 10,000 hectares and potentially releasing up to 14.5 million tons of carbon, equivalent to the annual emissions from millions of vehicles.

The scientific understanding of these peatlands only emerged in 2012, and within a decade, the same scientists have witnessed the beginning of their destruction. Dr. John Householder, corresponding author of the study, voiced his concerns, stating, “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. Householder further emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting, “There are many other sites where 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 a human 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.”

In summary, the accelerated destruction of peatlands due to artisanal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon over the past two years poses dire environmental and climatic repercussions. With alarming findings indicating significant carbon emissions resulting from this devastation, immediate action and robust law enforcement are critical to safeguard these vital ecosystems. The deterioration of peatlands, which serve as significant carbon stores, calls for urgent protections to mitigate further irreversible damage.

Original Source: www.eurekalert.org