Research has found a proposal to regulate mining of Indigenous lands in Brazil's Amazon rainforest could affect more than 863,000 square kilometres of forest and harm the nation's economy.

Led by University of Queensland visiting PhD student Juliana Siqueira-Gay, an international collaboration has warned that President Jair Bolsonaro's 2020 bill to mine inside recognised Indigenous Lands would come at a cost.

"Brazil's Indigenous Lands are unbelievably valuable - socially, ecologically and economically," Ms Siqueira-Gay said.

"They're a unique category of protected area, covering 1.2 million square kilometres - or 23 per cent - of what is legally recognised as the Amazon.

"The Brazilian government wants to capitalise on this value, by bolstering the economy through extending mining.

"But we've calculated that this proposed policy - introduced in February this year - could lead to millions, if not billions, of dollars in losses each year.

"The loss would be primarily due to effects on rubber, timber and Brazil nut production, increased damage to greenhouse gas mitigation ecosystem services and other vital ecosystem services.

"It's a portfolio of ecological assets currently providing Brazil an estimated $7 billion AUD - it simply makes no financial sense to destroy something so valuable."

The researchers, based in both Brazil and Australia, crunched existing data and reviewed potential mining locations, quantifying threats from mining to forests and their ecosystems.

"The figures were astonishing - it's clear that much of the Amazon is at threat from this proposed policy, including extremely rare ecosystems conservation and incredibly diverse Indigenous groups and their culture" Ms Siqueira-Gay said.

"If the 4,600 known mineral deposits existing outside currently protected areas were to be developed, you're looking at 698-thousand square kilometres of forests to be potentially affected.

"But, with the approval of this proposed policy, that affected area could increase by 20 per cent, up to 863-thousand square kilometres.

"This increase alone is roughly the same size as Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Israel combined."

Study collaborator, Dr Laura Sonter, said she had real concerns for these forests and their supported communities, and hoped the research was heeded by the international community.

"If President Bolsonaro's bill is approved by Brazil's congress, there'll be a cascade of negative effects, both domestically in Brazil and internationally," Dr Sonter said.

"These lands are home to 222 Indigenous groups, with more than 644 thousand families living in traditional communities and speaking 160 languages.

"So, beyond economic costs to the nation, the lives of Indigenous communities will be permanently altered, and there will be significant environmental impacts.

"We hope this data can help the Brazilian government, and people, make smart decisions and protect these precious lands."

Research paper

Related Links
University Of Queensland
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

World lost 100 million hectares of forest in two decades: UN
Paris (AFP) Sept 15, 2020
The world has lost nearly 100 million hectares of forests in two decades, marking a steady decline though at a slower pace than before, a UN agency reported Tuesday. The proportion of forest to total land area fell from 31.9 percent in 2000 to 31.2 percent in 2020, now some 4.1 billion hectares, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. It marks "a net loss of almost 100 million hectares of the world's forests," the FAO said. Deforestation has hit particularly hard sub-Saharan Af ... read more