Monitoring gold mining extraction in Suriname using Global Forest Watch data sources

Suriname’s rainforests are currently being impacted by several environmental threats. The most disconcerting of these are industrial and small-scale gold mining. Gold mining poses an increasing threat to tropical ecosystems across South America (Alvarez-Berríos and Aide 2015) and is considered to be the fastest growing cause of forest loss in the Guianas (WWF 2012). Most of the small-scale gold extraction in Suriname utilizes mercury, which is highly toxic and can linger in the ecosystem for disconcertingly long periods of time (Ouboter 2012). Industrial gold-mining, by contrast, uses cyanide which is better contained but still poses considerable spillage risks. The majority of the gold mining activity is taking place in the country’s mineral-rich greenstone belt, a region covering approximately 15% of Suriname’s landmass. This region is home to several indigenous and maroon groups, whose livelihoods risk being negatively affected by proximate gold-mining activity.