rainforests as mining. Researchers found agriculture remains the biggest contributor to deforestation in parts of the island nation, even in areas where artisanal or small-scale mining operations are ongoing.

The research focused on the protected rainforests of the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor in eastern Madagascar, where significant sapphire deposits were discovered eight years ago.

“More than 10,000 people mining in the area did not cause more deforestation than several hundred people clearing forest for farming,” wrote researcher Katie Devenish in The Conversation. Researchers identified the main driver of deforestation as the practice of cutting and burning forest patches to grow rice in a rotational cycle.

They explained that mining damage had been limited because sapphires were found in river sediments, which confined mining to the valley floor.

Artisanal and small-scale mining is an important livelihood activity in many biodiversity hotspots. There is substantial international concern about the negative impact of artisanal and small-scale mining on biodiversity, yet in most places this remains poorly understood.

We explore the impacts of a high-profile mining rush: the 2016 sapphire rush at Bemainty, Eastern Madagascar, where tens of thousands of miners descended on a protected forest.

 

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