Peru’s crackdown on illegal goldmining—and the connection to our work

February 21, 2019 — ICFC and our partner Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) can claim some of the credit for a crackdown on illegal goldmining that was initiated this week by the government of Peru. ICFC supports and played a role in creating ACA's Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), which collects and broadly disseminates "near-real-time" data on the precise locations and causes of deforestation in the highly biodiverse Andean Amazon.

As reported by CNBC, Peru has intiiated a strong and sustained crackdown to address the scourge of illegal goldmining in the department (province) of Madre de Dios. A MAAP report issued last month detailed record levels of goldmining deforestation in 2017 and 2018 in the southern Peruvian Amazon.  A recent CNN news story graphically depicts the ecological destruction caused by uncontrolled illegal goldmining.  Mercury used in so-called artisanal goldmining also inflicts severe health and environmental impacts.

MAAP reporting is closely followed by government officials and MAAP also brought the issue to the fore with a series of high-profile reports in Peru's leading paper El Comercio.  This is the latest in a series of conservation victories that can be partially and sometimes chiefly attributed to MAAP's work.  ICFC considers MAAP a superb conservation investment.