Abstract
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is crucial to the livelihoods of close to 20 million people in over 80 countries, including 4-5 million women, mainly in rural areas with limited alternative economic prospects, particularly in developing countries. ASGM is largely informal, which can add to the challenge of addressing negative social and environmental effects including impacts on biodiversity. However, with proper guidance, ASGM can operate in a responsible manner, using cleaner production methods that minimize impacts on human health and the environment. This study presents and analyzes the interactions between ASGM and biodiversity based on new findings from 27 ASGM National Action Plans (NAPs) developed within the framework of Article 7 and Annex C of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, as well as a global literature review of more than 100 publications. In terms of key findings according to the literature reviewed, alongside other human occupation such as agriculture and industrial activities, ASGM also has an impact on the environment and biodiversity. The interrelationship between ASGM and biodiversity, including protected areas, is pervasive at every stage of ASGM operations, from extraction to mine closure, and generates significant impacts on the surrounding ecosystems. These impacts include, in descending order of most reported impacts: deforestation, soil degradation, chemical contamination of aquatic and terrestrial systems, and changes to the turbidity of watercourses. Tropical regions and key species such as amphibians and freshwater fish are among the most affected. Singly or combined, these environmental stressors lead to loss or deterioration of habitat and, by extension, indigenous biodiversity and ecosystem services. In addition, legal, institutional, and regulatory frameworks and related measures, inadequate or non-existent in some cases, may not necessarily support sustainable practices, often resulting in exploited sites abandoned without remediation, reclamation, rehabilitation, or restoration measures. To mitigate such impacts a key recommendation arising from the literature review is to strengthen the integration of the interrelationship between ASGM and biodiversity in the implementation of existing relevant national strategies, including those developed under the NAPs. The global literature review also highlights the importance of a multi-stakeholder, systemic approach combining the use of geospatial analysis, scientific and local knowledge, as well as the adaptation of the relevant frameworks, capacity building, and awareness raising. This approach can inform decision making with a view to developing sustainable initiatives that prevent and reduce the impacts of artisanal and small-scale gold mining on ecosystems, and that preserve biodiversity.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to appreciate the financial support provided by the Global Environment Facility for the development of Minamata National Action Plans projects, which enabled the collection of key information presented in this article. The authors also acknowledge the support of the Global Mercury Partnership, particularly its areas of work on ASGM and mercury air transport and fate research in the research and knowledge sharing on ASGM practices and the use of mercury; the Biodiversity Research Institute for its key role in the production of data on mercury and wildlife, as well as for initiating this Special Issue on Mercury Ecotoxicology; and the University of Geneva for its contributions to the paper and continuous scientific research on mercury.
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IDE conducted the literature review, and wrote the main text. MS contributed to the literature review and data collection in the National Action Plans reports, and provided substantial inputs to the structure and content of the main text. KD. provided substantial contributions to the structure and content of the main text, the data collection in the National Action Plans reports, and supported the development of Figure 1 and Table 4. DE provided substantial contributions to the main text, and supported the development of Figure 1 and Table 4. VS provided substantial inputs to sections related to chemical pollution. MB and CW developed Figure 1 and Table 4. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Dossou Etui, I.M., Stylo, M., Davis, K. et al. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining and biodiversity: a global literature review. Ecotoxicology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-024-02748-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-024-02748-w