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Artisanal mining is booming in the tropics – and it’s leaving destruction and environmental degradation in its wake 

Deforestation and water quality improved following intervention in the Madre de Dios Region of the Amazon. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a lifeline for many who live in Madre de Dios, a region in southeastern Peru, where poverty is high and jobs are scarce. However, the economic develo

Gold mining is a lifeline for many who live in Madre de Dios, an Amazonian region in southeastern Peru, where poverty is high and jobs are scarce. But the economic development comes at a cost, as it causes deforestation, build up of sediment in rivers, and mercury contamination in nearby watersheds, threatening public health, Indigenous peoples, and the future of the biodiversity hotspot. To stop illegal gold mining activity in the area, the Peruvian government implemented "Operation Mercury," deploying armed forces to the La Pampa region (February 2019 to March 2020). A Dartmouth-le...

Gold mining is a lifeline for many who live in Madre de Dios, an Amazonian region in southeastern Peru, where poverty is high and jobs are scarce. But the economic development comes at a cost, as it causes deforestation, build up of sediment in rivers, and mercury contamination in nearby watersheds, threatening public health, Indigenous peoples, and the future of the biodiversity hotspot. To stop illegal gold mining activity in the area, the Peruvian government implemented "Operation Mercury," deploying armed forces to the La Pampa region (February 2019 to March 2020). A Dartmouth-le...

Escalating geopolitical tensions, a weakening dollar, and growing distrust in financial markets has triggered a tropical rush for gold, diamonds and precious metals that’s doing serious ecological damage to Earth’s rivers.