No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests

Katie Devenish; Simon Willcock; Kathryn M. Goodenough; Rio Heriniaina; O. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo; Julia P.G. Jones

doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01655-6

No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests

Katie Devenish^*
, Simon Willcock
, Kathryn M. Goodenough
, Rio Heriniaina
, O. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo
, Julia P.G. Jones

^*Corresponding author for this work

Bangor University
University of Manchester
Rothamsted Research
British Geological Survey
Université de Antsiranana
Université d'Antananarivo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

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. Media coverage claimed the rush caused hundreds of hectares of deforestation and threatened lemur populations. Using the synthetic control method to estimate counterfactual outcomes, we find no evidence that mining increased forest loss or degradation. Supported by informal interviews and a lemur survey, we argue that mining at Bemainty had limited impacts on the surrounding forest, relative to other threats. Our results highlight the heterogeneity of environmental impacts from artisanal and small-scale mining and emphasize the need for more robust evaluations to inform context-specific policies.

Original language	English
Article number	489
Journal	Communications Earth and Environment
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01655-6
Publication status	Published - 6 Sept 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

We thank Kim Reuter for her work planning the fieldwork and sharing the data, and Raherimanantsoa Lea, Randrianantenaina Armand, and Randrianjatovo Harson for their assistance in the field. We also thank Rosey Perkins and Vincent Pardieu for sharing their experiences and photos from the site. This work was funded by NERC Envision training grant NE/S007423/1 awarded to K.D. The fieldwork was funded by a Global Wildlife Conservation Grant awarded to Kim Reuter.

Funders	Funder number
Natural Environment Research Council	NE/S007423/1
Natural Environment Research Council

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Cite this

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title = "No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar{\textquoteright}s eastern rainforests",

abstract = "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. Media coverage claimed the rush caused hundreds of hectares of deforestation and threatened lemur populations. Using the synthetic control method to estimate counterfactual outcomes, we find no evidence that mining increased forest loss or degradation. Supported by informal interviews and a lemur survey, we argue that mining at Bemainty had limited impacts on the surrounding forest, relative to other threats. Our results highlight the heterogeneity of environmental impacts from artisanal and small-scale mining and emphasize the need for more robust evaluations to inform context-specific policies.",

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AU - Goodenough, Kathryn M.

AU - Heriniaina, Rio

AU - Rakotonarivo, O. Sarobidy

AU - Jones, Julia P.G.

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No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

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