Whether it's digging for metals and minerals for cellphones and electric vehicles or coal for power generation, mining around the world has skyrocketed since 2000, causing widespread destruction of tropical forests, degrading the environment and displacing Indigenous and local communities, the World Resources Institute says in a report released Wednesday.
The analysis highlighted that from 2001 to 2020, the world lost nearly 1.4 million hectares (3,459,475 acres) of trees due to mining — an area roughly the size the country of Montenegro. Nearly a third were in tropical primary rainforests. Protected areas were also damaged.
