Mining Is a Growing Threat within Indigenous Lands of the Brazilian Amazon

Author(s)

Mataveli, Guilherme ; Chaves, Michel ; Guerrero, Joao ; Escobar-Silva, Elton Vicente ; Conceicao, Katyanne ; de Oliveira, Gabriel

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REMOTE SENSING; v. 14, n. 16, p. 13-pg., 2022-08-01.

Abstract

Conserving tropical forests is crucial for the environment and future of our climate. Tropical rainforests worldwide, including the Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA), offer exceptional ecosystem services. However, the disturbances that have been occurring more frequently within them are endangering their key role in tackling climate change. An alternative approach for preserving the intact forests that remain in the BLA is the delimitation of Indigenous Lands (ILs), which can, additionally, ensure the well-being of the traditional peoples inhabiting there. An increase in deforestation rates of the BLA in recent years, due to the weakening of the Brazilian environmental policy, is not confined to unprotected areas but is also occurring within ILs. Under this scenario, mining, not allowed in ILs, is a growing threat in these protected areas. Thus, using the freely available MapBiomas dataset, we have quantified for the first time the total mining area within ILs of the BLA from 1985 to 2020. Such activity jumped from 7.45 km(2) in 1985 to 102.16 km(2) in 2020, an alarming increase of 1271%. Three ILs (Kayapo, Munduruku, and Yanomami) concentrated 95% of the mining activity within ILs in 2020 and, therefore, they require closer monitoring. Most of the mining in ILs in 2020 (99.5%) was related to gold extraction. A total of 25 of the 31 ILs of the BLA where mining activity was detected in at least one of 36 years analyzed (similar to 81% of them) had a statistically significant increasing trend according to the Mann-Kendall test at 5%. The datasets used or cited in this study (MapBiomas, PRODES, and DETER) enable the monitoring of the current status of ILs, and the identification of emerging trends related to illegal activities. Therefore, they are critical tools for legal authorities. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/07382-2 - Use of dense Sentinel-2/MSI time series and machine learning algorithms to improve crop monitoring in the Cerrado biome
• Grantee: Michel Eustáquio Dantas Chaves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 21/11435-4 - Scenario-based projections of future urban floods by means of a loose-coupling between a CA-based urban land use change model and a hydrodynamic model: a case study in São Caetano do Sul (SP)
• Grantee: Elton Vicente Escobar Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 19/25701-8 - The influence of land use and land cover on fine particulate matter (PM2.5µm) emissions from fire in Amazonia and Cerrado biomes integrating modelling and remote sensing
• Grantee: Guilherme Augusto Verola Mataveli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral