Deforested and degraded habitats are more prone to soil erosion, and soil sediments wash into rivers, silting up downstream ecosystems. Mercury — used to separate gold from ore — can leach into water sources, “biomagnifying” up aquatic food webs and causing neurological and developmental illness, and even death, in communities that depend on the river for food and drinking water. Yet miners and communities aren’t usually aware of the dangers of mercury contamination, according to a 2016 United Nations Environment Program report on artisanal gold mining in the DRC.
read more... https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/
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