Mining activity in high Andean wetlands of Ecuador and carbon dioxide emissions

Abstract

The high Andean wetlands are fragile ecosystems that, despite being essential in the fight against climate change, are seriously threatened by the incursion of mining activities. Consequently, the objective of this work was to analyze the impact of mining activity on high Andean wetlands and its relationship with carbon dioxide emissions. For this, a bibliographic review was carried out to obtain relevant information; documentary information was analyzed and the correlation between the development of extractive activities in high Andean wetlands and the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere was examined. As for the results, we have that 26% of the country's wetlands are under concession, where the development of mining activities could release between 252 705.96 and 1 023 245.60 t of CO₂ into the atmosphere, depending on the state of conservation of each wetland. High Andean wetlands have a great capacity to store carbon, so both the main impacts of mining activity such as the removal of vegetation cover and the alteration of soil resources are directly related to the release of stored carbon in the form of CO₂, which is consequently emitted into the atmosphere.