The new Brazilian gold rush: Is Amazonia at risk?
2020
Diele-Viegas, Luisa Maria | Pereira, Eder Johnson de Area Leão | Rocha, Carlos Frederico Duarte
The Brazilian parliament has emitted intentions on releasing mining within Amazonian indigenous lands since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, disregarding the potential impacts of such activities on human livelihood and environmental conservation. The rapid and cluttered development of mining in the Brazilian Amazonia is historically related to local economic collapse, besides representing a global environmental risk. Here we bring a historical perspective of human activities in the Brazilian Amazonia, focusing on mining activities to discuss how it can threaten Amazonia's integrity, leading to negative consequences to biodiversity, human populations, and the world climate system. We also highlight the role of indigenous lands on buffering the impacts of human-induced environmental threats, which depends on government actions toward sustainable policies rather than inadequate environmental regulation aiming short term profits. Finally, we suggest the sustainable use of forest resources through the emission of green bonds, which may represent the best alternative to avoid the Amazonia depletion while allowing Brazilian economic growth.
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