Madre de Dios

Madre de Dios demonstrates the tragedy of the commons in one of Earth's most biodiverse regions—93% tropical forest coverage, declared Peru's "Capital of Biodiversity" by law, yet hosting 452 of Peru's 712 mining concessions. Approximately 50,000 people work as illegal gold miners, with 40,000 operations inside natural protected areas, indigenous territories, and rivers. The region has lost on average 21,000 hectares of rainforest annually since 2017—twice the size of Paris every year—despite enforcement efforts locals describe as insufficient.

Manu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 1.7 million hectares, represents what Madre de Dios should be. But the Interoceanic Highway, cutting 1,600 miles across South America, bisected this isolation in 2011-2023, driving 600,000 acres of forest loss to mining pits, illegal agriculture, and unsanctioned towns. Mercury contamination from artisanal gold processing has poisoned 78% of adults in Puerto Maldonado, the state capital, above safe international levels. Peru exports 44% of South America's illegal gold, making it the continent's largest illicit gold source.

Government crackdowns show the limits of enforcement without alternative livelihoods. Operation Mercury (2019-2020) cleared illegal mining from La Pampa, triggering some forest regeneration—but miners simply displaced to legal concession areas where enforcement was weaker. Of 9,000 informal miners registered by 2019, only 200 had obtained licenses by 2024. Some restoration efforts have recreated young forest on formerly contaminated moonscapes, but the underlying economics of gold extraction in a poorly governed frontier continue to favor destruction over conservation.