The Amazon Monitoring Project (MAAP) has released real-time satellite monitoring results showing that illegal mining activities in Peru’s Madre de Dios Region are causing severe cross-border pollution. Local illegal gold and manganese mining operations have caused mining slurry and wastewater rich in heavy metals such as lead and cadmium to flow continuously along the border river toward the Amazon River on the Brazilian side, forming a long stretch of cross-border polluted water. As it is currently the dry season and river levels are low, various toxic pollutants are becoming increasingly concentrated, damaging the freshwater wetland ecosystems along the river in both Peru and Brazil.
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