The environmental trade-offs of mining in a biodiversity hotspot

从历史上看，各国通过牺牲环境退化来实现经济发展。然而，有时会出现一个转折点，超过一定的财富水平，各国就会投资于有利于环境的努力。环境退化与一国GDP之间的这种倒U型关系就是环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)。如果要在2030年前实现可持续发展目标，就需要确定各国能够“跳过”到EKC转折点(同时避免外包退化)的机制。采矿可能破坏环境，但从相对较小的土地面积产生巨大的经济价值(例如，与广泛的农业形成对比)。采矿能否让生物多样性丰富的较贫穷国家将发展过程中面临的环境权衡降至最低？我们将使用技术创新(例如，遥感和手机数据来量化非法采矿的蔓延)，并结合矿产资源和生态系统服务科学的知识，促进我们对可持续发展的理解。其目的是了解涉及采矿和养护的不同轨迹对环境的净影响(例如，保护区内的手工地雷继续扩散，对包括保护区在内的采矿部门的严格控制和管制)。我们将使用马达加斯加矿业的案例研究--马达加斯加是一个极其贫穷的国家，矿产储量丰富，其政府和公民高度致力于快速发展，同时也致力于保护该国独特的生物多样性。这项研究具有很高的影响潜力--马达加斯加需要从其矿产财富中受益，但面临着巨大的挑战，特别是在保护区下面的矿藏方面。这项研究涉及对次级数据集的分析、空间建模、与马达加斯加的利益攸关方一起制定情景，以及一些有限的实地工作。

Historically nations have traded-off environmental degradation to achieve economic development. However, a turning point is sometimes observed above a certain level of wealth where countries invest in pro-environmental efforts. This inverted U-shape relationship between environmental degradation and a country's GDP is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). If the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved by 2030, then mechanisms by which nations can 'skip' to the EKC turning point (whilst avoiding outsourcing degradation) need to be identified. Mining can be environmentally destructive but generate huge economic value from relatively small areas of land (in contrast to, for example, extensive agriculture). Can mining allow poorer nations rich in biodiversity to minimise the environmental trade-offs faced during development?We will use technological innovation (e.g. remote sensing and mobile phone data to quantify the spread of illegal mining) combined with knowledge of mineral resources and ecosystem services science to advance our understanding of sustainable development. The aim is to understand the net environmental impacts of different trajectories involving mining and conservation (e.g. continued proliferation of artisanal mines in protected areas, strict control and regulation of mining sector including in protected areas). We will use the case study of mining in Madagascar - an extremely poor country rich in mineral reserves, whose government and citizens are highly committed to rapid development but also to conserving the country's unique biodiversity. This research has high impact potential - Madagascar needs to benefit from its mineral wealth but faces huge challenges particularly around mineral deposits underlying protected areas. The research involves analysis of secondary data sets, spatial modelling, scenario development with stakeholders in Madagascar, and some limited fieldwork.