Impacts of Mining Activities on Protected Areas and their Mitigation. Two Cases from Latin America

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Miscellaneous, grade: 1.3, Humboldt-University of Berlin (Life Sciences), course: Biodiversity and Conservation Management, language: English, abstract: Latin America is rich in vulnerable biodiversity of flora and fauna, outstanding landscapes and ecosystems and natural resources. Protected areas (PAs) are a tool for the conservation of land cover and ecosystem services. But the world demand for natural resources is rising and with it resource extraction and intensive land use. Metal mining activities are one of the biggest threats towards PAs and these activities are steadily increasing. Deep environmental and social conflicts are associated with mining activities worldwide and especially in Latin America. The research question of this paper is: What are potential social and environmental impacts of mining activities on PAs and how can they be mitigated? The aim of the paper is to figure out important impacts of mining activities on PAs and to highlight possible solutions for mitigation.