Mining can have far-reaching social and environmental impacts, in some cases on sensitive habitat and communities located far from the mine site. To address this issue, WRI produced the report Mining and Critical Ecosystems: Mapping the Risks, the first study to use digital mapping technology to identify areas that are potentially environmentally and socially vulnerable to mining activities.
Mining and Critical Ecosystems offers a tool that companies, governments, and civil society groups can use to set standards for environmentally responsible mining, or to define areas that should be placed off limits from mineral development. The report is being used to facilitate discussions among NGOs and corporate interests regarding future mineral investments. For example, drawing on the WRI study, the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review concluded that good governance practices are required for responsible extractive development and recommended that the Bank not support extractive industry projects in areas formally protected for conservation purposes.
Mining and critical ecosystems: Mapping the risks
Based upon data from 4,500 active mines and exploration sites for the mining of metals and precious gemstones, the Mining and Critical Ecosystems study found that three quarters of these mines and exploratory sites worldwide are located in vulnerable watersheds and biologically rich ecosystems. About 10 percent of active mines and 20 percent of exploratory sites are located in areas of high conservation value, with a cluster occurring in the Andean and Guiana Shield regions of South America.
