Water footprint in gold extraction: A case-study in Suárez, Cauca, Colombia

Alvarez-Pugliese, Christian E.; Machuca-Martínez, Fiderman; Pérez-Rincón, Mario

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07949

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Recently, a study on Hg in the trophic chain of Colombia has revealed important findings regarding the use of Hg during gold exploitation in different regions of this country [3], confirming what was previously disclosed by other authors, who reported that Colombia is one of the regions with the highest incidence of this dangerous metal in the world [4]. Therefore, in Colombia, Law 1658 from 2013 and the Minamata Agreement in 2018 were established, which propose the total elimination of the use of Hg in mining activities by 2018 and in various industrial activities by 2023 [5].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mercury Accumulation in Commercial Varieties of Oryza sativa L. Cultivated in Soils of La Mojana Region, Colombia

Enamorado-Montes

Reino-Causil

Urango-Cárdenas

et al. 2021

Toxics

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The Hg accumulation in different commercial varieties of Oryzasativa L. was evaluated in the region of La Mojana, Colombia, where rice cultivation has become the staple food of the population living in this area. The varieties studied were Fedearroz-473 (FA473), Fedearroz-2000 (FA2000), and Fedearroz-Mocari (FAM). Soil spiked at different Hg levels was evaluated, (130, 800, and 1500 µg kg−1) using a 32 factorial design that consisted of 3 (rice varieties) × 3 (Hg contents). The biomass, 1000-grain weight, and the accumulation of Hg in the roots, grains, and husks were determined. The highest biomass was found in the FA473 (308.76 ± 108.26 g), and the lowest was found in FAM (144.04 ± 26.45 g) in the 1500 µg kg−1 Hg soil in both cases. The weight per 1000-grains decreased significantly in the soil containing 800 µg of Hg kg−1. Hg accumulation in the organs of the evaluated varieties was higher in the roots, followed by in the husks and grains. The Hg in the rice grains of the evaluated varieties presented levels close to the permissible limit of the Chinese standard (20 μg Hg kg−1) in the evaluated soils and were only exceeded by FA473. Although in natural soil concentrations, the non-cancer health risk (HQ) from rice consumption was lower for FA473 and FAM; Hg enrichment in the soil of La Mojana region may endanger the health of future populations due to their high consumption of rice.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mercury Accumulation in Commercial Varieties of Oryza sativa L. Cultivated in Soils of La Mojana Region, Colombia

Enamorado-Montes

Reino-Causil

Urango-Cárdenas

et al. 2021

Toxics

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“…We used the 2022 global datasets for species richness, threatened species and rarity (used in this study as proxy for endemic species) for amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles. With mining operations known to demand substantial amounts of water, social conflict between mining and communities was also assessed in terms of rivalry over water resources (Alvarez‐Pugliese et al., 2021; Pardavé & Delvasto, 2017). We evaluated potential social conflict caused by the distribution of water resources based on hydrological balance data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To provide some context, the blue water footprint, representing fresh water used in production, is about 80 m 3 /kg for gold production, equal to 1.5 years of an individual's water use in the United Kingdom (annual per capita water consumption 54 cubic meters 1 ). Furthermore, the grey water footprint for gold production, indicating the water needed to dilute pollutants, ranges from 272,000 to 404,000 m 3 /kg of gold extracted (Alvarez-Pugliese et al, 2021), equivalent to up to 7481 years of water use by an individual. These findings highlight the significant environmental implications associated with mining activities, particularly with regard to water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The conflict between Rights of Nature and mining in Ecuador: Implications of the Los Cedros Cloud Forest case for biodiversity conservation

Peck,

Desselas,

Bonilla‐Bedoya

et al. 2024

People and Nature

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Global emergence of Rights of Nature (RoN) has gained momentum since Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize it in 2008. The shift from perceiving nature as an object, to granting it legal subjecthood, can revolutionize protection of ecological systems. In 2021, Ecuador's Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling, halting mining in the Los Cedros Protected Forest. Three pillars form the basis for legal protection of Los Cedros: (i) the right to timely, Free Prior Informed Environmental Consultation, (ii) application of the Precautionary Principle in risk to RoN, and (iii) the Right to Water. We analyse the Court ruling to identify legal frameworks applied then map and rank mining risk to other protected forests, Indigenous territories, unprotected native ecosystems, biodiversity and areas of water resource conflict to determine potential scale of conflict between mining and RoN. 7813 mining concessions of 22,812km2 overlay 9.2% of Ecuadorian mainland, 2323 concessions (29.7%) overlap 16,081km2 of protected forest (4781 km2, 20%), Indigenous territory (6473 km2, 8%) and native vegetation outside protected areas and Indigenous territories (13,390 km2, 9%). With 80% of their protected forests at risk from large‐scale mining, the most impacted Indigenous communities are the Shuar. Synthesis and applications: The Los Cedros legal case in Ecuador sets a precedent for using RoN to challenge mining in 4781 km2 of similar Protected Forest, with potential to protect an additional 16,081 km2 of Indigenous lands and biologically important ecosystems. However, lack of biological data for these areas will necessitate extensive data collection, possibly through community‐empowering citizen science. Our study emphasizes the urgent need to integrate indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK), law and ecology. We propose a new transdisciplinary field of ‘ecological forensics’ to support nature protection within the RoN framework. Our research also identifies areas where RoN could effectively protect nature and that are likely to be of high investment risk for the mining industry. The final recommendation is to reconsider mining concessions in Ecuador, especially in ecologically sensitive areas, Indigenous territories, high biodiversity areas, and regions with water resource conflicts, to maintain ecological integrity and social harmony. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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“…The UCRB is recovering from long-term conflict. While rural populations struggle with social inequalities, including lack of access to basic sanitation, violence, dispossession, and oppression (Arbeláez-Ruiz, 2021), the catchment has been degraded by various competing human activities, including widespread extractive processes such as legal/illegal mining (Alvarez-Pugliese et al, 2021;Gallo Corredor et al, 2021;Rochlin, 2021), logging (González-González et al, 2021), monocultures (Correa-García et al, 2018), and those associated with illegal activities such as coca leaf production (Thomson et al, 2022). Vélez Torres and Vélez Galeano (2019) reviewed historical environmental conflicts in the UCRB.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Disrupted water governance in the shadows: Revealing the role of hidden actors in the Upper Cauca River Basin in Colombia

Figueroa-Benitez

Nagheeby²,

Casas³

et al. 2023

Front. Water

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Colombia's policy in the Upper Cauca River Basin is diminished by a lack of legitimacy in local areas respecting the control of territory and water. Such illegitimate interference provides a hiding place and fertile ground for the illegal activities of “hidden” actors. This paper aims to scrutinize the potential power of such hidden actors to influence water governance. We engage with critical discussions of water governance to reveal the role of these actors in controlling territory and water in the Upper Cauca River Basin. Extensive fieldwork was carried out, including workshops, interviews, and informal talks. Despite the Colombian government not recognizing hidden actors and their part in influencing water-related policies, the information gathered revealed their active agency in the basin. The paper shows how these actors play a determining role in territorial development and water resource management, disrupting the functioning of the State's water governance. Hidden actors, to promote their own, mostly illegal and illegitimate businesses, seize upon the current lack of clarity in the national normative standards, the deficiencies created by an inconsiderate implementation of national water policy, and the State's lack of legitimacy at the local level. This paper concludes that the awareness of hidden actors and their invisible power over water governance provide a better sense of the reality on the ground for policymakers in Colombia.

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Water footprint in gold extraction: A case-study in Suárez, Cauca, Colombia

Cited by 8 publications

References 17 publications

Mercury Accumulation in Commercial Varieties of Oryza sativa L. Cultivated in Soils of La Mojana Region, Colombia

Mercury Accumulation in Commercial Varieties of Oryza sativa L. Cultivated in Soils of La Mojana Region, Colombia

The conflict between Rights of Nature and mining in Ecuador: Implications of the Los Cedros Cloud Forest case for biodiversity conservation

Disrupted water governance in the shadows: Revealing the role of hidden actors in the Upper Cauca River Basin in Colombia

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