Keep the Amazon niobium in the ground

Autor(es)

Siqueira-Gay, Juliana ^[1] ; Sanchez, Luis E. ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Politecn, Av Prof Mello Moraes 2373, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Sanchez, Luis E., Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Politecn, Av Prof Mello Moraes 2373, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo, Brazil.Siqueira-Gay, Juliana, Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Politecn, Av Prof Mello Moraes 2373, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY; v. 111, p. 1-6, SEP 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Political pressure to expand mining to protected areas in near-pristine regions urges strategic-level anticipation of the impacts of infrastructure provision necessary to support mining development. Undeveloped niobium deposits in Northwestern Amazon were broadcasted as of primary interest of Brazilian politicians, what called attention to the risks to ecosystem conservation and indigenous people in this key biodiversity area. Given this current threat, we investigated different scenarios of mining expansion in the region and found that it would entail significant cumulative forest loss, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. If conciliation of niobium exploitation and conservation is possible, it would require strengthening the assessment of cumulative impacts under the current environmental impact assessment process by: (i) providing terms of reference with straight-forward requirements and criteria; (ii) produce a public database and standardize procedures for data acquisition; (iii) use and development of retrospective and prospective investigative protocols. These ingredients are lacking in the current political trend of weakening environmental legislation and governance, therefore Amazon niobium should be kept in the ground. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 18/12475-7 - Impactos cumulativos da fragmentação de habitats em áreas de mineração
• Beneficiário: Luis Enrique Sánchez
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular