Toward a Sustainable Peace In Colombia

Not only does illegal mining fuel the conflict, it exacts a huge cost on the environment. Once minerals are found, forest is inevitably cleared, bushmeat is hunted to feed the miners, rivers become filled with sediment and mercury, and the general vicinity is often reduced to something resembling a moonscape. The scale at which illegal mining is happening in Colombia is another problem. According to some estimates, 9 out of every 10 gold mines are unlicensed and their combined production amounts to around 80% of the country’s total. To make matters worse, most of the mining takes place in indigenous preserves and areas under environmental protection, which are often hotspots in the biodiversity-rich country.
http://nacla.org/blog/2016/11/30/toward-sustainable-peace-colombia