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In the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a recent study found that artisanal mining, a small-scale and informal mining operation using simple tools, is causing harm to forests and wildlife.
The eastern provinces of DRC is home to 60 per cent of the Congo basin rainforest, with unique animals including the endangered Grauer’s gorilla.
The area is rich in minerals like gold, tantalum, tungsten and has around 2,700 artisanal mining sites employing around 332,000 miners.
The study highlighted how the discovery of useful minerals can lead to extensive migration and land-use changes, causing harm to forests and its animals.
The study led by Malte Ladewig, a doctoral candidate at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and published in Nature Sustainability analysed data from 2001 to 2020 in five eastern provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North-Kivu, South-Kivu and Maniema, focusing on 255 artisanal mines located in forested areas.
Malte and his team used satellite images to see where trees had been cut down and what land is being used for mining, farming and settlements.
Researchers looked at a 5-kilometres area around the mines to see how much forest was cleared.
The 'difference-in-differences' (DID) method was used to compare areas before and after mining started. This helped them understand the true impact of mining on forest loss. They also examined how different areas, like how close a mine is to a road or river, affect deforestation.
It was found that mining not only leads to cutting down trees but also brings more people to the area, which can lead to more farming and building.
The researchers highlighted that deforestation happens at least 5 kilometres away from the mining sites. Within this distance, mining activities can lead to an extra 4 per cent of forest loss after 10 years. When mining happens, not only do trees get cut down right at the mining sites, but even more trees are lost nearby.
In fact, for every area cleared for mining, about 28 times that area is lost to farming and building homes. It was found that of the total 924,502 hectares of dense forest converted to other land uses between 2002 and 2018 in the five eastern provinces, 6.6 per cent was due to mining activities.
Many birds, mammals and reptiles that depend on riparian habitats face problems as the rivers get polluted because of use of chemicals during the mining process. Communities that depend on the river for food and drinking water face neurological and developmental illnesses and even death.
This study showed that artisanal mining has a big impact on the forests in eastern DRC. As more people come to mine for minerals, they also need land to farm and live, which leads to more trees being cut down.
It’s important to find ways to manage mining activities so that we can protect the forests and the animals that live there while still helping the people who depend on mining for their livelihoods.