Through reforestation and other techniques, Pure Earth restores degraded mining concessions to reduce legacy mercury contamination.
Pure Earth is one of the few organizations working directly with miners to safely close out old mining sites and rehabilitate degraded ecosystems.
Watch: Reforestation: Helping Gold Miners Fulfill an Obligation to the Rainforest
Our Impact
To date, Pure Earth has helped artisanal gold miners in Peru restore about 10 hectares of the Amazon rainforest stripped and polluted by gold mining activity.
Pure Earth has helped miners in the Peruvian Amazon plant over 13,750 seedings (19 different species) to restore land damaged by mining. Survival rate is high, at over 71%.
Spotlight on Peru: Innovative Research on Reforestation is Helping Gold Miners Bring Back Life to Damaged Rainforest
Since 2019, Pure Earth has worked with AMATAF, an association of artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Madre de Dios, Peru, to counter worsening conditions in the rainforest due to destructive gold mining practices. With the help of miners, Pure Earth experts and partners have been able to carry out innovative research on the conditions of mined-out Amazonian land, and design methods that encourage life on damaged land.
The miners are doing their part to ensure the sustainability of reforestation efforts by learning how to make and apply soil amendments to enrich nutrient-poor soil, and providing continued care for the saplings they have planted.
