Strengthening and disseminating knowledge on linkages between ASGM practices and biodiversityLearn more why it matters and what is the current knowledge on the on topic, and explore the library of resources, news and events.
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Many types of extractive activities – including informal or poorly regulated artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), often using mercury, and operating around or within the biodiversity hotspots and/or protected areas - have been reported to contribute to deforestation, land degradation, contamination of soil and water bodies, loss of habitat and disruption of migration routes of protected species.
Conversely, ASGM is increasingly recognized as an opportunity to alleviate poverty and contribute to local development in over 80 countries, mainly in rural areas with limited alternative economic prospects. As the historical reliance on agricultural and pastoral livelihoods becomes more tenuous due to the interaction between land degradation and climate change, there is the risk that more people will turn to mining for their livelihoods. ASGM sites are often abandoned after the operations cease, leaving behind degraded and sometimes contaminated land. Moreover, the mine waste (e.g., tailings) are often neglected further contributing to the devastating impacts on the surrounding ecosystems.
With the right support, including formalization, cleaner technology, and improved land restoration and remediation solutions, ASGM has the potential to transition to more responsible and clean production methods that at the same time minimize impacts on human health and ecosystem health, and our planet's ability to provide ecosystem services and sustain biodiversity.
Opportunities to address jointly the mercury pollution and biodiversity loss have been initiated through Multilateral Environment Agreements and international processes, including the Minamata Convention on mercury, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
As part of its ongoing support to the development and implementation and review of the National Action Plans (NAPs) on Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining, the Global Mercury Partnership is determined to strengthen and disseminate the knowledge on linkages between ASGM practices and biodiversity, as well as build cross-pillar partnerships with aim to restore the balance between the sector and the surrounding ecosystems.
What is the state of knowledge on the topic? What are the existing policy frameworks, their application measures and monitoring? How to address concerns raised, while ensuring that vulnerable groups are not affected? Those are some of the questions the global literature aims to answer.
To gather existing information on the interrelationships between ASGM and biodiversity, the Global Mercury Partnership has reviewed more than 100 resources ,as well as the 27 NAPs publicly available as of July 2023. Findings of the review were reported in the article “Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining and Biodiversity: A Global Literature Review” published under the special issue on Mercury Ecotoxycology.
More than 50% of the NAPs report deforestation, loss of vegetation, and loss of forest cover as results of ASGM activities. Forest clearance happens for various reasons, including: conversion of forests and/or agricultural areas into mining sites; support activities such as transport or energy infrastructure; or construction of makeshift dwellings, as well as temporary settlements or protection of excavated pits. Certain forest species are even used to construct the shafts for underground extraction, to create barriers on the rivers in the case of alluvial river extraction, or to make charcoal for cooking.
Contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by chemicals as one of the main consequences of ASGM activities. Chemical pollution is considered by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. It is respectively the uses of mercury (Hg) - often complemented with Copernicium (Cn) - in the amalgamation process to extract gold that impact surrounding ecosystems. Mercury from ASGM activities is deposited in terrestrial ecosystems, including the forests neighboring the mining sites. This mercury is therefore available, and forests become hotspots for the bioaccumulation of Methylmercury (MeHg) in the terrestrial food web. If the forests are subsequently cleared to expand mining activities, mercury can pass into aquatic systems, where MeHg would biomagnify and bioaccumulate in the aquatic food web – especially in favorable conditions.
ASGM in general, and particularly alluvial mining, has a direct impact on watercourses due to the use of dredges in riverbeds. ASGM occurring upstream of, adjacent to, or near aquatic systems may result in the sedimentation of particles from discarded mining waste, and the increase of water turbidity. ASGM practices therefore influence the quality and availability of water resources, because of the constant discharge of sediment from the pits into the riverbeds, increasing the amount of suspended matter. This results in impacts on wildlife. The increase in the water turbidity is known to reduce light in the water column and oxygen levels in the water, leading to a decline in aquatic life in the affected areas.
The review supported the development of the map showcasing the intersection of ASGM sites reported in NAPs with Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Protected Areas (PAs).
The overall goal of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership is to protect human health and the environment from the releases of mercury.
