New research has found that 4,642 species of vertebrates are threatened by mineral extraction around the world through mining and quarrying, and drilling for oil and gas.
Mining activities coincide with the world’s most valuable biodiversity hotspots, which contain a hyperdiversity of species and unique habitats found nowhere else on Earth.
The greatest risk to species comes from mining for materials fundamental to our clean energy transition, such as lithium and cobalt – both essential components of solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars.
The extraction of limestone, which is needed in large quantities for cement as a building material, also endangers many animal species.
The threat to nature is not limited to the physical locations of the mines; species that live at great distances may also be affected, for example by polluted waterways or deforestation for new access roads and infrastructure.
The researchers say governments and the mining industry should focus on reducing pollution caused by mining as an ‘easy win’ to reduce biodiversity loss associated with mineral extraction.
This is the most complete global assessment of the threat to biodiversity from mineral extraction ever. The results are published today in the journal Current biology.
“We simply won’t be able to provide the clean energy we need to reduce our climate impact without mining the materials we need, and that creates a problem because we are mining in locations that often have very high biodiversity,” said Professor David Edwards of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, senior author of the report.
He added: “So many species, especially fish, are threatened by the pollution caused by mining. It would be easy to work to reduce this freshwater pollution so that we can still get the products we need for the clean energy transition. , but in a way that doesn’t cause as much biodiversity loss.”
Of all vertebrate species, fish are at particularly high risk from mining (2,053 species), followed by reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. The level of threat appears to be related to where a given species lives and to its lifestyle: species that use freshwater habitats and species with a small range are particularly at risk.
“The need for limestone as a core component of construction activities also poses a real risk to nature. Many species are very restricted in their habitat because they specialize in living on limestone. A cement mine can literally destroy an entire hillside. – and therefore also the homes of these species,” says Ieuan Lamb from the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield, first author of the report.
For example, the Bent-Toed Gecko is threatened by limestone mining in Malaysia; it only occurs on a single mountain range that will be completely destroyed by planned mining activities.
To obtain their results, the researchers used data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to see which vertebrate species are threatened by mining. By mapping the locations of these species, they can investigate which types of mining are putting species at risk, and see where the risks are particularly high.
The researchers found that species categorized as ‘vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered’ are more threatened by mineral extraction than species of less concern.
Watercourses can be affected in many ways, and water pollution can affect hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of rivers and floodplains. For example, mining sand as a building material changes the patterns of water flow in rivers and wetlands, making birds like the Indian Skimmer more accessible to predators.
Mineral extraction threatens populations of vertebrate species in the tropics, with hotspots in the Andes, coastal West and Central Africa and Southeast Asia – coinciding with high mining densities. For example, artisanal small-scale alluvial gold mining in Ghana threatens important bird areas due to mercury pollution in the environment.
Global demand for metal minerals, fossil fuels and building materials is growing dramatically, and the extractive industry is rapidly expanding to meet this demand. In 2022, the turnover of the industry as a whole was estimated at $943 billion.
Biodiversity underpins the protection of the world’s carbon stocks, which help mitigate climate change.
The study focused only on vertebrate species, but the researchers say mining likely also poses a significant risk to plants and invertebrates.
“There is no doubt that we will continue mining – our entire society is based on mined products. But there are environmental tensions embodied in our use of these products. Our report is an essential first step in preventing biodiversity loss amid the predicted drastic expansion of mining,” said Edwards.
“Wildlife is more sensitive to mining in some regions of the world than others, and our report can inform choices about where to prioritize sourcing our minerals to cause the least damage to biodiversity. Future policy should consider also focus on creating more circular economies — increasing the recycling and reuse of materials, rather than just getting more out of them,” said Lamb.
