Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining Activities

21367 6 113040 2 341477 document 113040 Global Change Biology - 2026 - Braz Pires - Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining.pdf application/pdf 7b260ae73e75e80e44e4fb528bafc95c MD5 4088738 2026-03-06 09:19:24 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21367/1/Global%20Change%20Biology%20-%202026%20-%20Braz%20Pires%20-%20Freshwater%20Conservation%20Priority%20Areas%20Are%20Threatened%20by%20Global%20Mining.pdf 21367 1 1 application/pdf text en public cc_by_4

Global Change Biology - 2026 - Braz Pires - Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining.pdf

published 113051 1 341493 document 113051 indexcodes.txt text/plain 95f7c01dcf55dd455fb13c14b249a92a MD5 18990 2026-03-06 09:29:10 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21367/2/indexcodes.txt 21367 2 2 text/plain other Generate index codes conversion from text to indexcodes en public

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http://eprints.org/relation/isVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113040 http://eprints.org/relation/isVolatileVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113040 http://eprints.org/relation/issmallThumbnailVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113040 archive 353 disk0/00/02/13/67 2026-03-06 09:20:34 2026-03-06 09:20:34 2026-03-06 09:20:34 article show Braz Pires M. Baltus N. Marques A. Kleijn R. Buxton M. Maus V. 8780 0000-0002-7385-4723 Barbarossa V. Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining Activities pub ASA NODES coal, critical raw materials, energy transition, freshwater biodiversity, gold, mining, pollution, rivers e70774 8709123 Mining poses significant and persistent threats to freshwater ecosystems, with impacts often enduring long after operations cease. Growing concerns suggest that the expansion of mining to meet global mineral demands for decarbonization may amplify these cumulative risks to freshwater biodiversity. However, the location and extent of potential conflict hotspots remain poorly understood, hampering our ability to meet international conservation targets. Here, we map areas of potential conflict between freshwater conservation priority areas and global mining activities. Using a spatial modeling approach, we trace potential downstream contamination and quantify the extent of affected river reaches within conservation priority areas. Our analysis reveals that mining may pollute up to 1.8 million km of downstream rivers (5% of the global total), over 18% of which lies within conservation priority areas. Gold mining is associated with the largest extent of potentially contaminated rivers, and its widespread reliance on unregulated small-scale artisanal practices can lead to disproportionately severe impacts on freshwater biodiversity in affected areas. Furthermore, rivers potentially affected by coal mining far exceed those linked to the share of key energy transition minerals needed for clean energy technologies (cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements). Effectively safeguarding and restoring freshwater ecosystems will require conservation and regulatory frameworks that address downstream mining impacts, especially in the context of future mineral expansion. 2026-03 published Wiley-Blackwell https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70774 3138 public Global Change Biology 32 3 e70774 TRUE 1365-2486 info:eu-repo/semantics/article