As the price of gold rises, the ecological cost mounts
Illegal gold mine established in 2009 in the department of Madre de Dios. This mine encroaches on Tambopata Reserve. All photos by Rhett A. Butler.
The surging price of gold is impacting some of the world’s most important ecosystems: tropical forests.
Rainforests across the Amazon — Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Peru — are being dug up for gold. Much of the mining is illegal and therefore little controlled: toxic compounds like mercury and cyanide is dumped into rivers and streams, affecting wildlife and downstream populations. Commercial bushmeat hunters poach animals in the forests around the mines.
These photos were taken yesterday and today in the Peruvian Amazon where a gold rush has been particularly damaging: the region is arguably the most biodiverse place on Earth.
Price of gold, 1960-2011
Lamal gold mine in Peru
Gold mining in Peru
Muddy toxin-laden river that drains the Río Huaypetue gold mine joining a clearwater river in the Peruvian Amazon
Guacamayo or Lamal gold mine.
Gold mine outside of Puerto Maldanado, Peru
Río Huaypetue gold mine in Madre de Dios
Río Huaypetue gold mine
Guacamayo gold mine outside of Cusco, Peru
Rio Huaypetue mine outside of Cusco, Peru
But gold mining is taking a toll in forests outside the Amazon: Madagascar, Indonesia, Central America, and West and Central Africa are among the tropical countries and regions that have been particularly affected by gold fever.
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