{"id":43498,"date":"2015-01-21T13:53:43","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T18:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=43498"},"modified":"2015-01-23T15:07:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T20:07:49","slug":"gold-mining-boom-tropical-forests-south-america-causing-extensive-deforestation-research-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/gold-mining-boom-tropical-forests-south-america-causing-extensive-deforestation-research-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Mining Boom In Tropical Forests Of South America Causing Extensive Deforestation, Research Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ongoing ‘gold rush’ occurring in the tropical forests of South America has led to extensive deforestation over the last few years, new research from the University of Puerto Rico has found.<\/p>\n

Gold-mining in the region has been increasing rapidly in recent years — with a huge spike in such activity being seen since the global recession of 2007\/2008.<\/p>\n

\"Gold<\/a><\/p>\n

Given that the region is home to some of the most biologically productive forests\/ecosystems in the world, the growing rate of deforestation<\/a> there is likely to lead directly to notable numbers of species extinctions.<\/p>\n

Roughly 90% of this forest-loss was situated in just four areas — with much of it occurring in close vicinity to conservation areas.<\/p>\n

Nora L \u00c1lvarez-Berr\u00edos, the lead researcher, stated: “Although the loss of forest due to mining is smaller in extent compared to deforestation caused by other land uses, such as agriculture or grazing areas, deforestation due to mining is occurring in some of the most biologically diverse regions in the tropics. For example, in the Madre de Dios Region in Per\u00fa, one hectare of forest can hold up to 300 species of trees.”<\/p>\n