Great apes are critically endangered in Africa

The increasing demand for key minerals such as copper, lithium, cobalt and rare earth metals, which are necessary for the large-scale transition to clean energy, is causing mining to boom in Africa, write scientists from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv ) in the journal “Science Advances”. This leads, among other things, to the deforestation of tropical rainforest. There would also be other direct and indirect consequences, such as the construction of roads, the settlement of people in previously uninhabited areas, hunting and the possible transmission of diseases.

Data from 17 countries evaluated
For the study, the research team led by scientists from iDiv Halle-Jena-Leipzig used data on mining sites in 17 African countries that have already been put into operation or are currently under development. They compared the locations of these mining sites with the habitats of great ape populations, assuming that animals within a radius of ten kilometers were affected directly and indirectly within a radius of 50 kilometers.

The scientists found the strongest overlaps in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali and Guinea. Chimpanzee habitat and mining overlap particularly strongly in Guinea. According to the study, more than 23,000 chimpanzees, or up to 83 percent of the monkey population, could be directly or indirectly affected by mining activities.

Climate change versus biodiversity?
“Averting fossil fuels is good and important for the climate,” says the co-author of the environmental organization Re:wild. But it must be done in a way that does not endanger biodiversity. “Businesses, lenders and governments must recognize that sometimes leaving certain areas untouched can be of greater benefit in mitigating climate change and preventing future epidemics.”