One of the world’s most bio-diverse and ecologically important areas on the planet is under threat from a modern day gold rush – a rush exacerbated by skyrocketing gold prices in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon is home to more than 1000 species of birds, several thousand plant species and countless species of insects, as well as more than 100 different species of mammals and 18 groups of indigenous peoples. But underneath the tropical forest lies subsoil laced with gold – and removing that gold typically means laying waste to forest habitats, leaving behind barren, toxic tracks of pus-colored soil and water contaminated with mercury.
Since 1999, gold mining in Madre de Dios has increased 400%, at a cost of more than 123 thousand acres of tropical forests. Close to half that acreage has been lost just since 2008, when the annual rate of deforestation due to gold mining tripled. Much of that expansion has been from small illegal mines, which now comprise more than half of the mining activity in the region. These mines are run without government supervision, without any permitting process, posing great risks to the environment and to workers who handle mercury, a potent neurotoxin.
In this episode, Phil Torres tours some of the areas devastated by these illegal mines. He follows the science which is revealing the extent of the devastation from illegal mining, and talks to the people impacted as well as the people trying to put a stop to the practice.
Original Air Date: March 23, 2015
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.