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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Illegal mining continues to expand in the Brazilian Amazon, likely driven by rising gold prices. As of the end of 2025, the accumulated area of mining activity in the Brazilian Amazon is estimated to be 223,000 hectares, according to Amazon Mining Watch (see MAAP #197, MAAP #226, and MAAP #235 for additional context). Notably, the […]
This is the third in a series of reports documenting the expansion of gold mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Previous reports (MAAP #227 and MAAP #230) analyzed the progress of this activity in the northern and central parts of the country, respectively, with a focus on the provinces of Sucumbíos and Napo. This new report […]
In previous Amazon-level reports (MAAP #235, MAAP #226, MAAP #197), we have indicated extensive gold mining deforestation in Suriname, located in the northeast part of the Amazon biome. Here, we take a closer look at the current situation in Suriname. The Base Map illustrates the gold mining deforestation across Suriname, from 2001 to 2025. Note that […]
As gold prices continue to skyrocket and shatter historical records, small-scale, but widespread, gold mining activity also continues to be one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon. In collaboration with its network of partners in the region, MAAP has produced many reports documenting the expansion of gold mining across the Amazon over the years, highlighting often […]
In a series of previous reports, and in collaboration with SOS Orinoco, we have tracked the illegal gold mining deforestation and related impacts in Yapacana National Park, located in the Venezuelan Amazon. Critically, some of this illegal mining activity has been happening on top of the Yapacana tepui (see red circles in Intro Image). Tepuis are […]
Gold mining continues to increase in the Peruvian Amazon. Following the initial success of the major multisectoral government intervention Operation Mercury in southern Peru in early 2019 (MAAP #104, MAAP #121, MAAP #130), the illegal mining activity rebounded during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the government withdrew from the area (Vadillo, 2022). The current increase, directly linked […]
This is the second in a series of reports detailing the expansion of gold mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In the first report (MAAP #227), we analyzed mining expansion in the northern sector, around the Cofán Bermejo Ecological Reserve, near the Colombian border. In this current report, we focus on mining deforestation in the central […]
Illegal gold mining poses a challenge to environmental sustainability, governance, and security for all nine countries of the Amazon. The high price of gold on the international market has fueled the growth of this activity, combined with other factors such as the scarcity of economic alternatives, the presence of illicit groups, corruption, and a lack […]
