New Amazon threat? Deforestation from mining

(University of Vermont) Sprawling mining operations in Brazil have caused roughly 10 percent of all Amazon rainforest deforestation between 2005 and 2015 -- much higher than previous estimates -- says the first comprehensive study of mining deforestation in the iconic tropical rainforest. Surprisingly, the majority of mining deforestation (a full 90 percent) occurred outside the mining leases granted by Brazil's government, the new study in Nature Communications finds.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news