Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, meandering tropical rivers, and geological heritage: Evidence from Brazil and Indonesia.

Autor: Bruno DE; Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, CNR, c/o UNICAL Polifunzionale, Rende 87036, Italy; Agency for International Minerals Policy (MinPol GmbH), Dundlerinweg 120/1, Dreistetten A2753, Austria. Electronic address: delia.bruno@iia.cnr.it., Ruban DA; Agency for International Minerals Policy (MinPol GmbH), Dundlerinweg 120/1, Dreistetten A2753, Austria; K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (the First Cossack University), Zemlyanoy Val Street 73, Moscow 109004, Russia; Higher School of Business, Southern Federal University, 23-ja Linija Street 43, Rostov-on-Don 344019, Russia., Tiess G; Agency for International Minerals Policy (MinPol GmbH), Dundlerinweg 120/1, Dreistetten A2753, Austria; Faculty of Mining and Geology, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava 70032, Czech Republic. Electronic address: gtiess@minpol.com., Pirrone N; Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, CNR, c/o UNICAL Polifunzionale, Rende 87036, Italy. Electronic address: n.pirrone@iia.cnr.it., Perrotta P; Calabrian Civil Protection Unit, Catanzaro 88100, Italy., Mikhailenko AV; Department of Physical Geography, Ecology, and Nature Protection, Institute of Earth Sciences, Southern Federal University, Zorge Street 40, Rostov-on-Don 344090, Russia., Ermolaev VA; Department of Commodity Science and Expertise, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Stremyanny Lane 36, Moscow 117997, Russia., Yashalova NN; Department of Economics and Management, Business School, Cherepovets State University, Sovetskiy Avenue 10, Cherepovets, Vologda Region 162600, Russia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2020 May 01; Vol. 715, pp. 136907. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jan 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136907
Abstrakt: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) flourishes along many tropical rivers, and it still requires proper documentation in many countries, as well as interpretation in terms of rational resource exploitation and wildlife preservation. In this study we used remote sensing techniques to analyze two representative examples of ASGM: one along the Marupa River in Brazil (Tapajós Domain) and another one along the Kahayan River in Indonesia (Central Kalimantan). The documented spatial extent of ASGM is ~9175 km 2 along the Marupa River and ~30,427 km 2 along the Kahayan River. It was established these activities change rapidly (2-3 years) in space. Although active and inactive sites occur in both areas, a great number of inactive sites distinguish the Marupa River. It is very crucial that ASGM along the Marupa and Kahayan rivers link strongly to watercourse meanders, but also changes river valley morphology. This is an interesting evidence of coupled fluvial-anthropic morphodynamics of meandering river valleys. Geological phenomena represented in the study areas include gold resource exploitation (economic phenomenon), landforms and their dynamics (geomorphological phenomenon), and mercury environmental pollution (geochemical phenomenon). Due to remarkable spatial extent and evident interconnection, these phenomena seem to be unique and, thus, constituting geological heritage. Identification of the latter means that ASGM sites add value to the local environment. A paradox is that illegal and mercury-releasing ASGM needs termination, but such an action will result in the loss of the noted geological heritage value. Solution to this paradox requires careful development of plans for local management. However, it is clear that the presence of the noted heritage requires turning more attention to ASGM and their natural (river valley) context.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: