{"id":69121,"date":"2026-07-01T09:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T02:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/?p=69121"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T02:46:21","slug":"how-to-protect-nature-and-territorial-rights-from-the-new-mining-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/story\/69121\/how-to-protect-nature-and-territorial-rights-from-the-new-mining-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect nature and territorial rights from the new mining rush"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Biodiversity protection is vital to life on Earth. Healthy oceans and forests provide us with the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and much more. Indigenous Peoples, local and coastal communities have been protecting these ecosystems for generations. Their cultures, knowledge and livelihoods are centred around a deep connection to nature.<\/p>\n\n

Yet, the world\u2019s oceans have been plundered by industrial fishing, filled with plastic pollution and affected by climate change. Deforestation for commodities like soy, palm oil, meat and dairy are pushing forests to the brink, and a new rush for minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper for the energy transition, AI, new technology and the military means these crucial ecosystems are at greater risk.<\/p>\n\n

From Chile<\/a> to Indonesia<\/a>, from the DRC<\/a> to Sweden<\/a>, mining has been poisoning lands, displacing communities and leaving a trail of destruction behind. The rush for so-called \u201ccritical minerals\u201d even threatens the world\u2019s pristine and understudied deep sea ecosystems<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

\"From
From March 16 to 21, 2025, Greenpeace Brazil, together with partners, worked in the state of Mato Grosso to denounce the occurrence of mining in the Amazon Indigenous Lands. Flights were carried out over the Sete de Setembro, Zor\u00f3, Aripuan\u00e3 and Tenharim Marmelos Indigenous Lands.\u00a9 Samara Souza \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

How to protect forests and oceans<\/h3>\n\n

To ensure a livable planet for future generations, we must protect vast areas including forests and the ocean from mining. Greenpeace International, together with Mighty Earth<\/a>,Rainforest Foundation Norway<\/a> and Fern<\/a>, released an indicative global Restricted Areas Map and Framework<\/a> for governments, investors and companies using raw materials extracted from Earth. Advancing and applying the Restricted Areas framework is a crucial step to ensure mining does not destroy essential biodiversity, natural ecosystems, carbon storage and freshwater systems.<\/p>\n\n

As crucial leaders and stewards of nature protection, Indigenous Peoples\u2019 and local communities\u2019 rights must be respected. The Restricted Areas Framework requires Free Prior and Informed Consent<\/a> before any mining activities happen in their territories. The map then combines multiple environmental and conservation datasets to identify landscapes and natural ecosystems that should be off-limits or \u2018no-go zones\u2019 to mining. The map also identifies hotspots where mining of raw materials overlaps with Restricted Areas, andserves as a starting point for further discussions and more detailed mapping of locations where mining poses unacceptable environmental or social risks.<\/p>\n\n