Environmentalists have called on the UK government to ban gold imports from Brazil until it can be proven that the precious commodity does not come from illegal and deforestationed mining and production.
WWF Charity Released New aerial imagery In the Brazilian Amazon, the widespread presence of illegal mines has contributed to deforestation and pollution. This has heightened fears that illegally mined gold could flood the UK supply chain.
Gold is Britain’s most valuable import from Brazil, accounting for 25 Percentage of the total value of goods exported from the country to the UK.
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Official data show that Brazil will export 146.7 tons of gold in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 32.6%, and revenue of 5.3 billion US dollars data.
From January 2022 to May 2022, the country has exported 46.9 tons of gold and earned $1.9 billion.
As global demand has soared over the past two years, so has the price of gold, prompting illegal miners to increase production.
“Illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon is wreaking havoc on people and nature, fueling record deforestation, polluting rivers and harming wildlife,” said Mike Barrett, executive director of conservation at WWF.
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WWF has also gathered evidence of a massive increase in “Garimpo” (small-scale illegal gold mining) in indigenous lands and protected areas, which has led to deforestation and water pollution, while fueling land grabbing and violence throughout the region .
Illegal mining in Brazil is causing local communities to lose their land and livelihoods while they are not getting any benefit from mining this precious commodity.
In the ten years from 2010 to 2020, the area mined within Brazil’s indigenous lands increased by 495% and, in terms of protected areas, by 301%.
Barrett added: “Illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon is wreaking havoc on people and nature, fueling record deforestation, polluting rivers and harming wildlife.
“This has a profoundly damaging impact on the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities.”
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One of the most sinister effects of illegal mining is mercury levels that contaminate surrounding habitats and communities.
Mercury is widely used to separate and extract illicit gold that ends up in rivers, poisoning wildlife such as fish, and the indigenous peoples and local communities that depend on it as their primary source of protein.
A study by WWF and its partners between 2015 and 2019 took blood samples from 462 people living in and around the city of Santarem, along the Tapajos River, which is part of Brazil. One of the most heavily mined areas.
Each participant tested positive for mercury exposure, and 75.6 percent of them had mercury exposure levels above safe limits set by the World Health Organization.
The Amazon has the largest biodiversity hotspot on the planet, and as gold prices rise on demand – further damage will continue to wreak havoc on the land and its communities.
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Yasmin Dahnoun is ecologist.
