Elevated rates of gold mining in the Amazon revealed through high-resolution monitoring

被引:227
作者
Asner, Gregory P. [1 ]
Llactayo, William [2 ]
Tupayachi, Raul [1 ]
Raez Luna, Ernesto [3 ]
机构
[1] Carnegie Inst Sci, Dept Global Ecol, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
[2] Minist Ambiente, Direcc Gen Ordenamiento Terr, Lima 27, Peru
[3] Minist Ambiente, Asesor Alta Direcc, Lima 27, Peru
关键词
Carnegie Airborne Observatory; CLASlite; forest degradation; deforestation; Peru; BRAZILIAN AMAZON; CANOPY DAMAGE; FOREST-FIRES; EMISSIONS; HABITAT; DEFORESTATION; INDONESIA; MERCURY;
D O I
10.1073/pnas.1318271110
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Gold mining has rapidly increased in western Amazonia, but the rates and ecological impacts of mining remain poorly known and potentially underestimated. We combined field surveys, airborne mapping, and high-resolution satellite imaging to assess road-and river-based gold mining in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon from 1999 to 2012. In this period, the geographic extent of gold mining increased 400%. The average annual rate of forest loss as a result of gold mining tripled in 2008 following the global economic recession, closely associated with increased gold prices. Small clandestine operations now comprise more than half of all gold mining activities throughout the region. These rates of gold mining are far higher than previous estimates that were based on traditional satellite mapping techniques. Our results prove that gold mining is growing more rapidly than previously thought, and that high-resolution monitoring approaches are required to accurately quantify human impacts on tropical forests.
引用
收藏
页码:18454 / 18459
页数:6
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