The environmental trade-offs of mining in a biodiversity hotspot
Lead Research Organisation:
Bangor University
Department Name: Sch of Natural Sciences
Abstract
Historically nations have traded-off environmental degradation to achieve economic development. However, a turning point is sometimes observed above a certain level of wealth where countries invest in pro-environmental efforts. This inverted U-shape relationship between environmental degradation and a country's GDP is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). If the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved by 2030, then mechanisms by which nations can 'skip' to the EKC turning point (whilst avoiding outsourcing degradation) need to be identified. Mining can be environmentally destructive but generate huge economic value from relatively small areas of land (in contrast to, for example, extensive agriculture). Can mining allow poorer nations rich in biodiversity to minimise the environmental trade-offs faced during development?
We will use technological innovation (e.g. remote sensing and mobile phone data to quantify the spread of illegal mining) combined with knowledge of mineral resources and ecosystem services science to advance our understanding of sustainable development. The aim is to understand the net environmental impacts of different trajectories involving mining and conservation (e.g. continued proliferation of artisanal mines in protected areas, strict control and regulation of mining sector including in protected areas).
We will use the case study of mining in Madagascar - an extremely poor country rich in mineral reserves, whose government and citizens are highly committed to rapid development but also to conserving the country's unique biodiversity. This research has high impact potential - Madagascar needs to benefit from its mineral wealth but faces huge challenges particularly around mineral deposits underlying protected areas. The research involves analysis of secondary data sets, spatial modelling, scenario development with stakeholders in Madagascar, and some limited fieldwork.
We will use technological innovation (e.g. remote sensing and mobile phone data to quantify the spread of illegal mining) combined with knowledge of mineral resources and ecosystem services science to advance our understanding of sustainable development. The aim is to understand the net environmental impacts of different trajectories involving mining and conservation (e.g. continued proliferation of artisanal mines in protected areas, strict control and regulation of mining sector including in protected areas).
We will use the case study of mining in Madagascar - an extremely poor country rich in mineral reserves, whose government and citizens are highly committed to rapid development but also to conserving the country's unique biodiversity. This research has high impact potential - Madagascar needs to benefit from its mineral wealth but faces huge challenges particularly around mineral deposits underlying protected areas. The research involves analysis of secondary data sets, spatial modelling, scenario development with stakeholders in Madagascar, and some limited fieldwork.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Simon Willcock (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Katie Devenish (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/S007423/1 | 01/10/2019 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 2279191 | Studentship | NE/S007423/1 | 01/10/2019 | 30/06/2023 | Katie Devenish |
| Description | Results suggest that Madagascar's largest mine, Ambatovy, is on track to offset the forest cleared at the mine site (2,064 ha) to achieve No Net Loss of forest. The company aimed to compensate for this loss by slowing deforestation driven by small-scale shifting agriculture with four protected biodiversity offset sites. Our results show that by the end of 2020, Ambatovy had already saved nearly as much forest (79%) as was cleared at the mine site. If that rate continued the company would have achieved No Net Loss by the end of 2021. In fact, comparison to >130 forest conservation interventions compiled by Borner et al shows that Ambatovy's offsets were more effective at reducing deforestation than 97% of the other interventions. This is an encouraging result for Madagascar as it suggests the enormous economic contributions of the mine have not come at the cost of the island's precious remaining forest habitat. It is also encouraging for the concept of biodiversity offsetting more broadly. Whilst over 12,000 biodiversity offsets exist worldwide, only 0.05% of offset projects have been evaluated. To the best our knowledge this is the first independent evaluation of a biodiversity offset project to date using such robust methods. However, there are really important caveats to this positive central result related to the costs for local forest-dependent communities, the permanence of the reductions in deforestation and the limitations of using forest cover as a proxy for biodiversity. Finally, No Net Loss does not mean no loss of forest. Whilst Ambatovy have slowed enough deforestation to offset the impacts of the, deforestation continues in the region. Efforts to mitigate the impacts of development that rely on a high background rate of biodiversity decline which can be slowed to generate offset credits are unsustainable in the long-term. |
| Exploitation Route | Hopefully it will encourage more robust evaluations of biodiversity offsetting to improve monitoring and accountability. To facilitate this we have made the code for our data analysis publicly available online. |
| Sectors | Energy,Environment,Other |
| Description | Interview for the Guardian |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with a reporter from the Guardian discussing our paper 'On track to achieve No Net Loss of forest at Madagascar's biggest mine'. Article published ... |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Seminar University of Lincoln |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Contribution to a seminar on evidence-based conservation to third year undergraduate students at the University of Lincoln. Seminar comprised 30 minute talks from invited speakers presenting relevant research. The aim of the seminar was to emphasize the importance of evaluating conservation interventions and social and economic research perspectives in informing policy and management. My presentation was followed by a Q and A where students engaged in the deeper questions of how to reconcile economic development and biodiversity conservation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |