The Road To El Dorado Cuts Through The Rainforests

A 21st century gold rush has led to a significant increase of deforestation in the tropical forests of South America. Researchers from the University of Puerto Rico have shown that between 2001 and 2013, around 1680 km2 of tropical forest was lost in South America as a result of gold mining, which increased from around 377 km2 to 1303km2 since 2007, which increased in the global economic crisis of 2008 and on. Around 90 percent of this forest loss occurred in just four areas and a large proportion occurred within the vicinity of conservation areas. read more

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