Jakarta – A newly published report from Earth Insight sheds light on the mounting threats facing the world’s most vital ecosystems due to the rapid expansion of oil, gas, and mining activities. The report, “Closing Window of Opportunity: Mapping Threats from Oil, Gas, and Mining to Important Areas for Conservation in the Pantropics,” highlights the severe overlap between industrial concessions and critical conservation areas, including Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), high-integrity forests, and Indigenous Territories.
According to the findings, industrial activities are encroaching on more than 500 KBAs and 180 million hectares of pristine forests in the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia, the group said on Tuesday, October 22. These regions, essential for biodiversity and climate regulation, are increasingly at risk as extraction industries push into previously untouched landscapes. The report also underscores the threat to Indigenous peoples, whose territories in these regions are directly affected by fossil fuel and mining concessions.
In addition, over 25 million hectares of protected areas now overlap with oil and gas operations, putting conservation efforts at risk. Several case studies in the report illustrate the devastating impact this expansion has on Indigenous communities, including those living in voluntary isolation.
“Preserving nature is essential for our shared future. The land and many Indigenous and local leaders who steward it are sending a clear message…” said Tyson Miller, Executive Director, Earth Insight. “We are at a crossroads: we can either act now to safeguard the natural systems that sustain life or keep on the business-as-usual train speeding towards a cliff.”
The report calls for immediate action, urging global leaders to expand the network of protected areas, ensure Indigenous sovereignty, and secure more significant funding for conservation efforts. As the window to act closes, the report warns of irreversible damage to ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks, crucial in stabilising the global climate.
Madhu Rao, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, said: “Protected and Conserved areas are essential strategies to address both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. As important carbon sinks, they will be increasingly vital to help us cope with climate change impacts. It is therefore critically important to secure biodiversity in these areas against industrial-scale exploitation, including mining and fossil fuel extraction while recognising Indigenous stewardship of such areas.”
Earth Insight’s research is a clarion call for policymakers to uphold commitments made under the Global Biodiversity Framework and to prioritise the protection of these high-value ecosystems before it is too late. (nsh)
