Influence of Resource Extraction on the Environment - Essay Example

'Gold Mining in Amazon Forest'

The construction of the Trans amazon Highway in 1970 initiated today's deforestation in Brazil. In the years 1978 to 1988, Brazil's deforested area was about 21,050 kilometers per square in a year. The garimpeiros, artisanal miners in Brazil, live in sensitive areas, and the ecosystems around them have been contaminated. Peru has a related case to Brazilian Amazons. Gold mining is continually growing for the past three decades leading to an approximation of 40 metric tons of artisanal gold production in 2012. Brazil experiences a high, increasing rate of deforestation, which reached a peak of 27, 7772 kilometers per square in 2004, although in 2012 there was a significant decrease to 4571 kilometers per year. The trend went up again in 2016, reaching 7989 kilometers per year. In understanding the associated environmental impacts, particularly climate change and toxicity, it is vital to be aware there have been continued efforts by the miners to mine the gold. In the advancement of humans throughout history, resource extraction is a significant factor. The increasing rate of gold mining leads to deforestation and has an environmental impact on humans, climate, and the animals around them. In the following section, the paper discusses research findings on the environmental effects of gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon forest and the laid regulations in averting the situation.

High levels of gold mining lead to deforestation, a case that is already prevalent in the Brazilian Amazon. The occurrence of deforestation contributes to the loss of environmental services. In the Amazon forest, the ecological services balance gases, thus preventing global warming (Fearnside, 3). Forests determine the amount of rainfall received in an area. The environment helps in the maintenance of biodiversity, and destruction of the forest means a loss of life (Fearnside, 3). The Amazonian forests offer material products hence supporting the local population, and when deforestation occurs, then the opportunities that the environment gives to people are lost. The distribution of biodiversity in the Amazon forest is no longer uniform because of deforestation. Hence deforestation has led to the disappearance of particular animal species due to the increase of bare extents in the eastern and northern of Amazon. For the gold mining to start, logging has to occur, which shows the intensity in which trees will be destroyed.

The exploitation of natural resources, like gold, results in environmental degradation. Most of the lost vegetation cover in the Amazon forest is as a result of mining. There are already recognizable effects in the concession areas and beyond the mining operational boundaries (Villén-Pérez, 2). The forest in the concession fields is already open space to accommodate the operations of mining and storage of the by-products from drilling in tailing dams. Advocates of the mining operations cite that the environmental effect is not significant because the operational fields are not big compared to large preserved areas in the Amazon.

On the contrary, there has been a noteworthy loss of about 70km of forest cover (Villén-Pérez, 2). The continued clearing of the forest later contributes to regional and global climate change. It is featured by prolonged droughts that may bring social and economic consequences at national and international levels.

Gold mining in the Amazon has led to the depletion of local water supplies. There has been growing migration of the mining employees to the amazon region, thus causing a social interruption among the indigenous communities (Villén-Pérez, 2). Disruption of the water resources contributes to reduced fishing and hunting resources that the indigenous community depends on. The lives of the indigenous society at the same time are threatened because of health issues. The lack of water, a home for different aquatic animals, means the influence of the chain flows and interference with nature.

The chemical pollution from the mines compromises the health of the people. In the extraction of gold from the mine, mercury and cyanide are essential, and these chemicals are later released to the environment. They thus affect the plant and animal species in the surroundings where they then accumulate in the food chains. Intensive mining for four years among the Amazonian inhabitants portrays cytogenetic and neurological damage (Villén-Pérez et al., 2). Accidental spills from the mines continue contributing to environmental pollution. Brazil encountered two tailing dam collapses with intensive ecological and socio-economic magnitudes in the rivers and seas, which was impacted by the toxic sediment. These were regarded as one of the worst environmental catastrophes in the nation's history. There has been an ongoing debate on the human health and environmental impacts that these mining operations continue posing.

Gold mining destructs the indigenous lands, which are very useful in retaining forest cover of the Amazon forest. The downgrading of the protection status of the land imperils the indigenous people together with the regional climate. Last year over 4000 leaders of the inhabitants of the Amazon area demonstrated in Brasilia for protection of their land and health rights (Villén-Pérez et al., 3). They cited that the government was not responding to their cry of saving the area from gold miners who continued making it unproductive. It becomes tough for animals and humans to survive when the land cannot sustain the growth of vegetation anymore. Gold mining eliminates forest, which in turn leads to the destruction of biodiversity.

Regulations

According to the Federal Constitution of 1988, anyone who explores mineral resources has to reclaim the degraded environment to a situation agreed by the public authorities. The reference of that is "the polluter pays principle," where failure to comply will make the transgressors subject to penal as well as administrative sanctions. These are independent with the expectation to avert the harmful damages on the environment (Sousa et al., 744). Unfortunately, it may be hard to track the environmental liability in ascertaining abandoned mines. From 1989, a decree, no.97.632, focuses on protecting mines and reclaiming them back to productive areas through the Degraded Areas Rehabilitation Plan. The plan is an essential aspect of the environmental impact assessment.

There is a wide-ranging system of protected areas in Brazil, and they are part of the National Protected Areas System. According to the 1965 Brazilian Forest Code, Law no 4.771, there is a clear definition of legal reserve and permanent perseveration area in the protection of the forests. Forests make a legal reserve that needs to be used in the production of timber, and whether clear cut or not, there should be no touching of the permanent preservation zones. Reduction of the growing tropic deforestation through gold mining is essential in conserving biodiversity and controlling climate change. The policy interventions in Brazil have helped reduce deforestation rates (Sousa et al., 744). Going against this law is termed as a criminal offense against the environment. Breach of the law then subjects one to fines and imprisonment. The Brazilian Law 6.938/81, referred to as the National Environmental Protection Act, offers a contemporary environmental policy framework giving a basement of strict liability standard for damages in the environment.

The following are other policies and laws protecting the forests, mines, and the environment.

• In protection of the environment, Law 9.605(Feb/12/1998), the law of environmental crimes, gives the violation and the kind of punishment to be administered. Those who violate the law may face confinement for up to four years, with penalties are from US$25 and above.
• The Sustainable Amazon Plan establishes that there should be an association between the three government levels in solving the five environmental concerns.
• Decree no 97.507 of 1939 terms the use of mercury and cyanide as illegal in garimpos unless the legal authority permits.
• Decree no 277 of 1967, which was later updated in 1996, referred to as the mining code, forms the procedure for people interested in claiming mineral rights and control of the mining exploration in Brazil(Sousa et al., 745).

In conclusion, the Amazon forests' protection requires the government's efforts and the citizens of Brazil. Gold miners need to understand the environmental concerns arising from continued mining and follow the measures efficient in conserving nature. It is hard to separate environmental and mining permits because the two require legalization. The government should ensure that there is a follow up of the legal procedures if mining has to occur to prevent environmental exploitation. Brazil should protect the amazon forests and push more for a chemical-free nation.