With the start of a commodity boom cycle in the early 2000s, many resource-rich countries reaped benefits as prices for commodities increased over the ensuing decade. Many of these countries see mining as a central element of modernising their economies, and actively promote investment in the mining and extractives sector. Indeed,between 2000 and 2012, investment spending by global oil, gas, and mining companies increased five-fold, especially in Latin American and sub-Saharan Africa.

London Mining Network is an alliance of human rights, development, environmental and solidarity groups working in support of communities around the world who are badly affected by mining companies based in, or financed from, London.

One such company is Antofagasta plc, one of the larger mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The majority of its operations are in Chile. The most significant shareholders in Antofagasta are members of the Luksic family, a wealthy Chilean family which is also involved in a number of other businesses.

Few land disturbances impact watersheds at the scale and extent of mountaintop removal mining (MTM). This practice removes forests, soils and bedrock to gain access to underground coal that results in likely permanent and wholesale changes that impact catchment hydrology, geochemistry and ecosystem health. MTM is the dominant driver of land cover changes in the central Appalachian Mountains region of the United States, converting forests to mine lands and burying headwater streams.

Biodiversity offsets can be an important tool for maintaining or enhancing environmental values in situations where development is sought despite negative environmental impacts. There are now approximately 45 compensatory mitigation programs for biodiversity impacts worldwide, with another 27 programs in development. While offsets have great potential as a conservation tool, their establishment requires overcoming a number of conceptual and methodological hurdles.

The mining and quarrying of mineral ores lead to conflicts between the ideals of economic prosperity and landscape preservation. Rehabilitation/revegetation of mine spoils has received considerable attention in recent years due to acceleration of mining and associated land disturbances. This is an attempt towards rehabilitation of limestone mine spoils in arid areas where water and nutrients are the main constraints even in normal soil.

Habitat degradation poses a great threat to biodiversity conservation. Abundance and diversity of butterflies is an indicator of good environmental health. Understanding how different butterfly species respond to habitat degradation is a necessary step towards the development of effective measures to enhance environmental protection. This study investigated the impact of land use patterns on the diversity, abundance, and conservation status of butterflies in the Kisii highlands; a densely-populated region in Kenya that has received little attention in ecological studies.

Central India hosts one of the largest repositories of archaeological sites in the world having a semi-arid climate and distinct eco-geography which is prone to rapid change due to human activities. This paper discusses the changes in land use and land cover for the past twenty-three years in the region altering the rich cultural heritage, revealing by the presence of numerous painted rock-shelter sites in the region. The land cover and land use changes in terms of deforestation, urban growth and development and sandstone mining have been evaluated in the present study.

Water samples were collected for determination of dissolved trace metals in 56 sampling sites throughout the upper Han River, China. Multivariate statistical analyses including correlation analysis, stepwise multiple linear regression models, and principal component and factor analysis (PCA/FA) were employed to examine the land use influences on trace metals, and a receptor model of factor analysis-multiple linear regression (FA-MLR) was used for source identification/apportionment of anthropogenic heavy metals in the surface water of the River.

The Rocky Mountains of the western United States contain many economically important natural resources. Increasing development of these resources has lead to land degradation, which often requires restoration efforts. A common type of disturbance in this region is mineral extraction and these activities often occur in zones of vegetation dominated by shrubs. These mined lands have proven to be particularly challenging to restore to native shrub cover.

Customary land and forests are more embedded in the global economy than ever. With globally significant supplies of land and raw materials and favorable terms for foreign investors, developing countries – particularly in Africa – have become increasingly attractive trade partners and destinations for investors. Increasing competition over land is placing new pressures on vast tracts of forest and woodland, areas often considered ‘under-utilized’ by national governments despite their critical role in supporting local livelihoods.

Fire was arguably the most important forest and rangeland disturbance process in the Inland Northwest United States for millennia. Prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition, fire regimes ranged from high severity with return intervals of one to five centuries, to low severity with fire-free periods lasting three decades or less. Indoamerican burning contributed to the fire ecology of grasslands and lower and mid-montane dry forests, especially where ponderosa pine was the dominant overstory species, but the extent of this contribution is difficult to quantify.