MAAP #116: Amazon Gold Mining, Part 2: Brazil
April 6, 2020
We present the second part of our series on Amazon gold mining, with a focus on the Brazil*
Specifically, we focus on mining in indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon.
Extractive activities, such as gold mining, are constitutionally not permitted on indigenous lands, but the Bolsonaro administration is advancing a bill (PL 191) that would reverse this.
The Base Map indicates three Brazilian indigenous territories where we identified recent major gold mining deforestation:
- Munduruku (Pará)
- Kayapó (Pará)
- Yanomami (Roraima)
We documented the gold mining deforestation of 10,245 hectares (25,315 acres) across all three indigenous territories over the past three years (2017 – 2019). That is the equivalent of 14,000 soccer fields.
Below, see more detailed data, including a series of satellite GIFs of the recent gold mining deforestation in each territory.
*Part 1 looked at the Peruvian Amazon (see MAAP #115). For information on Suriname, see this report from Amazon Conservation Team. For all other countries see this resource from RAISG.