key: cord-0786262-gz2m6an0 authors: de Castro, Fernando Ferreira; Góes, Geraldo Sandoval; Sena do Nascimento, Jose Antonio; Monnerat, Monica Tardin title: Incidences of COVID-19 in Major Mining Municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon: Economic Impacts, Risks and Lessons date: 2021-12-07 journal: Extr Ind Soc DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2021.101033 sha: 56063a2e28879f48d5e2fc19a71ec6cbfad466a2 doc_id: 786262 cord_uid: gz2m6an0 This paper provides an assessment of COVID-19 occurrences in the Brazilian Amazon, with special emphasis on municipalities where mining activity is prevalent. It does so with a view to exploring how mining may be influencing the spread of coronavirus, not only within municipalities where the sector is widespread but also other areas of the Amazon. The analysis draws on findings from qualitative research and case studies of selected mining municipalities in Brazil. The results were analyzed by population range, and cases reported from the onset of the pandemic were mapped and evaluated. It is revealed that: (1) within the 772 municipalities in the Amazon, incidence of COVID-19 is relatively higher in the 33 largest mining localities; (2) there have been a higher proportion of COVID-19 cases in the selected municipalities than in other municipalities which have a similar population range; and (3) between 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, among the Amazon's mining municipalities, those containing gold experienced the most significant growth as well as had highest rates of infection. Overall, the results suggest that in the Brazilian Amazon, COVID-19 has spread fastest in major mining municipalities. These results and continuation of this research will provide support for decision-makers and local governments. This paper examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in mining municipalities 5 in the Brazilian Amazon, drawing heavily on data collected by the country's Ministry of Health. Mining activity is viewed by the Brazilian Government as an essential activity, which is why it has been permitted to continue during the pandemic. There are, however, concerns about its operations fueling spread of the disease, in particular in the Amazon. Specifically, has continued mining activity during the pandemic increased the exposure of vulnerable groups in the Amazon to the disease? This study aims to address this issue, in turn, informing policy decisions central to the Brazilian Amazon. It does so through an assessment of official health data retrieved from the territory's mining municipalities. While there is an abundance of important mineral reserves in the Brazilian Amazon, much of its mining activity tends to be most heavily concentrated in its remote, ecologicallysensitive and underdeveloped areas. These include protected areas and indigenous territories. As such, this activity may disturb traditional populations' way of life, health, habitat and social practices (Acuña, 2014) . If managed effectively, however, mining can create jobs and generate local revenue in the Amazon via royalties, stimulate innovation, and diversify local economies through attracting investment for infrastructure. But if poorly managed, mining can cause environmental degradation, displace populations, fuel social inequality, intensify conflicts, lead to increased incidences of local violence, as well as fuel overdependence, economically, on its activities (UNDP, 2017) . Initially, the pandemic affected the Brazilian economy as a whole, pushing it into recession and causing most of its economic sectors to stagnate (World Bank, 2020) . The effects were felt throughout the country's production chains, especially in their most vulnerable places, such as small municipalities and indigenous communities in the Amazon (Angelo, 2020) . The pandemic has also caused considerable uncertainty in the country's extractive industries (Laing, 2020) . Despite gloomy forecasts for the Latin American economy (UNCTAD, 2020) , the region's mining activity grew in 2020, generating, for its governments, 35% more in royalties than 2019 (ANM, 2021) . For Brazil, this was brought about by rises in global commodity prices, especially for iron ore (IMF, 2020; IBRAM, 2020); China's increased demand for its minerals (SISCOMEX, 2020) ; and the devaluation of country's currency against the US dollar, which fueled increases in exports (Góes et al., 2020) . The Amazon region has poor sanitation, impoverished land and river transportation infrastructure, and overwhelmed health services. Here, public services and housing developments have not kept pace with the rate of urbanization. On average, only 13% of municipal residents in the Amazon have access to a sewage system, compared to the national average of 77.1%, and only a limited part of the collected waste is treated (MDR, 2019). At the time of writing, Brazil ranked third globally in the number of incidences of COVID-19, with over 17 million cumulative cases and 500,000 deaths officially registered (MS, 2021) . The country's public health system is considered to have the best coverage in Latin America. But given the challenges posed by vast territorial extension and the rapid spread of the disease, the pressure on health institutions has been disconcerting (Croda et al. 2020 Two of the most vulnerable ILs in the region with the highest indigenous populations in Brazil, Yanomami in the state of Roraima and Vale do Javari in the state of Amazonas, recorded an incidence rates five times above the national average. The study also presents evidence which reveals a strong correlation between the advance of illegal mining in ILs and incidences of infection of indigenous populations (Oliveira et al., 2021) . Like most countries, Brazil established restrictive policies to cope with the pandemic but implemented these in an uncoordinated manner, which has caused its share of problems. In particular, exceptions to social distancing policies implemented to prevent the spread of the virus were made for some economic activities considered essential (Brasil, 2020a; 2020b; 2020c; 2020d) . The list included mining, the rationale being that it plays an important role in the economy of the Brazilian Amazon. The objective of this study is to examine COVID-19 incidence in mining municipalities in the Amazon. It focuses specifically on those dependent on this sector, namely those where mining royalties generated yearly exceed one million Brazilian Reais (singular Real, BRL), or the equivalent to US$200,000. Drawing on findings from surveys, as well as socioeconomic and health data, the study seeks to: (i) provide an overview of COVID-19 incidence in selected mining municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon; (ii) conduct a spatial analysis of COVID-19 cases in selected mining municipalities, broken by type of ore production, and (iii) compare these findings to those of broader Amazon region and Brazil as a whole. Since mining is considered by the Government of Brazil to be an essential economic activity that must be sustained during the pandemic, this COVID-19 data assessment is crucial in minimizing the spread of the disease in the Amazon. The paper begins by reviewing the data sources used and research methods adopted in the study. Section 3 examines COVID-19 incidence in selected mining municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. Section 4 summarizes the main results and prescribes policy recommendations for mitigating this problem. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to evaluate the spread of COVID-19, Table 1 (Appendix). The analysis and discussion of preliminary results for the selected municipalities were compared with findings retrieved from other municipalities in these states. In Brazil, mine royalties (Financial Compensation for Exploitation of Mineral Resources or "CFEM") are collected following the sale of mineral products. They are distributed as follows: (i) 60% for the producing municipality; (ii) 15% for the corresponding state government; (iii) 15% for neighboring (non-mining) municipalities affected by the activity; and (iv) 10% for the federal government and regulatory and research entities linked to the sector. Using the criterion of BRL 1 million reais (BRL) in annual royalties collected, 33 mining municipalities were selected. Combined, they account for close to 90% of total mine royalties collected in the Brazilian Amazon. COVID-19 incidence data were examined for all municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. These data were retrieved from the Ministry of Health database on COVID-19 ("Coronavirus Panel"), 6 an online platform of cases and deaths, compiled, over time, using information provided from state health departments. The main variable considered was the number of "accumulated cases" for all municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. An attempt was made to compare the situation facing selected mining municipalities with that of municipalities with similar populations, using additional data obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The COVID-19 incidence rate corresponds to the number of accumulated cases over the local population. In order to monitor the variation of COVID-19 cases in major mining districts in the Brazilian Amazon, the data corresponding to five separate time periods were scrutinized: March 31 st , June 30 th and October 30 th (2020) and December 31 st and March 31 st (2021). The comparison between the selected mining municipalities and the other municipalities in the Amazon took into account the ratio between incidence rates, according to population range. Additionally, formal employment variation was evaluated using data obtained from the Brazilian Employment Register (CAGED), and also the contribution of the mineral extractive industry to municipal GDP. A brief overview of living conditions was carried out, drawing on information contained in the IFDM Index (FIRJAM Municipal Development Index), an updated compilations of indicators of local development in Brazil, featuring scores similar to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). The IFDM is updated annually, providing a picture of social development in more than 5,000 Brazilian municipalities, using four categories of indicators: Employment and Income, Education, Health and General Conditions. The index ranges from 0 (minimum) to 1 (maximum): the closer to the latter, the higher the level of development. The IFDM has four categories of development, namely low (from 0 to 0.4), regular (0.4 to 0.6) moderate (from 0.6 to 0.8) and high (0.8 to 1). The next section of the paper shares details of the evaluation of COVID-19 incidence in selected municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. 6 The Coronavirus Panel (CP) can be accessed at https://covid.saude.gov.br/. Rates of COVID-19 in mining municipalities were compared with those of other municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon according to the criteria presented in Table 2 (Appendix). After selecting the mining municipalities focused on in this study, COVID-19 data and other crucial health information were gathered. Analysis of these sources revealed the following: 7 (i) The number of COVID-19 cases in the Brazilian Amazon was 1,860,217, with an average incidence of 6.69%, which is higher than the national average for Brazil (6.13%). However, in major mining municipalities in the Amazon, the average incidence was 9.62%, which exceeds both of these figures. (iii) The mineral production in selected municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon grew on average of 69% from 2019 to 2020, which is almost twice the sector's national average over the same period (35%). Again, in the Amazon Region it was its gold-producing municipalities which recorded the highest growth production, with an average of 123%, some 3.5 times higher than that of Brazil overall. Table 3 presents details of the ten municipalities which, of the 33 mining municipalities selected, registered the highest incidence of COVID-19. The table also includes their ranking among the 772 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. All have incidence above 10%. A point that needs highlighting from these results is that selected mining municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon have a higher average incidence of COVID-19. The set of 33 selected municipalities, as mentioned, has an average rate of 9.62%, with a total of 4,322 deaths out of 216,403 COVID-19 cases until March 31, 2021. An explanation for this high incidence could be the maintenance of economic activities, specifically mining as well as other related economic activities deemed "essential" by the Brazilian Government during the pandemic, and therefore permitted to maintain levels of labor activities and social interactions. This is a subject which warrants further investigation. Taking into account the contribution of economic activities to municipal gross added value, in the 10 municipalities presented in Table 3 Curionópolis (PA). These findings underscore the economic importance of the mining sector in these municipalities, which have been among the most affected by COVID-19 in the Amazon. Table 4 evaluates the ratio between the sum of the accumulated COVID-19 cases from the selected municipalities and other municipalities in the same population range. This ratio allows for comparison of accumulated cases and their incidence rates between both groups: a ratio greater than 1 indicates there is a higher incidence of COVID-19 in the selected municipalities (A) compared to others in the same population range (B). Source: Prepared by the authors, from MS (2021) and IBGE (2020). The results presented in Table 1 reveal a higher incidence of COVID-19 in the selected mining municipalities. The epidemiological dynamics of the disease and local social and economic conditions, such as poor health and sanitation infrastructure, may explain certain related facts, such as variations between population groups. However, based on the results presented in Table 4 , there is a correlation between mining as an essential activity during the pandemic and higher incidence or accumulated cases of COVID-19 in these selected municipalities compared to similar Brazilian Amazon municipalities. presents a comparative overview of COVID-19 incidence among states in the Brazilian Amazon. As noted in these tables, the higher incidence rates in these municipalities reflect the greater impacts of the disease in these locations, where economic activities considered "essential", such as mining, have continued to function. Figure 1 shows the locations of selected mining municipalities, the areas where selected minerals are mostly produced, and corresponding COVID-19 incidence rates (represented on the map by the circle's diameter around the municipalities). The colors of the circles indicate the most-produced mineral substances by value. (ii) among the municipalities with the highest incidence of COVID-19, the remote rural municipalities of Vitória do Jari (AP) and Pedra Branca do Amapari (AP) stood out, receiving 'regular' scores (respectively, 0.5562 and 0.5230); and (iii) Tucumã (PA) also stood out with its 'regular' score on the IFDM General and a 'low' score on IFDM Health, along with a high incidence rate (10.94%). Another observation made in the assessment of mining performance in the 2019-2020 period was that Brazilian mineral production grew 35%, when measured on the basis of royalties and that growth in the Brazilian Amazon was 69%, nearly twice the national average. Extending this analysis to the level of the selected municipalities, taking into account only those whose main product is gold (14 out of 33), the average increase over the same period was 123.94%. The strongest growth experienced was in Novo Progresso (PA) at 304.27% (PA). When considering the 10 municipalities with highest COVID-19 incidence rates (Table 2) , Tucumã (PA) and Porto Velho (RO), whose main product is gold ore, registered respective growth of 110.53% and 260.26% between 2019 and 2020. Finally, from the standpoints of jobs, variation in mineral extraction and mineral processing, the Brazilian Amazon's performance was higher than the rest of the country. In the Amazon's mineral extraction industries, employment increased by 9.0% in 2020 and 5.93% in the first quarter of 2021, while jobs in the mineral transformation industry grew 7.2% in 2020 and 9.7% in the first quarter of 2021. This variation was far above the Brazilian average in the mineral extractive industries, which were 2.1% in 2020 and 2.37% in the first quarter of 2021, and also above the average of the mineral transformation industry, which was 3.64% in 2020 and 4.39% in the first quarter of 2021 (PDET, 2021). This paper has shed light on the relative tradeoff between the maintenance of mining activities in mineral-producing municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. The Government of Brazil declared mining as an "essential activity" to be maintained to face the challenge of reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The analysis of findings reported here can be summarized as follows: (i) Of the 772 municipalities in Brazilian Amazon, the selected mining municipalities had a higher incidence of COVID-19 infection. (ii) In general, there was a higher proportion of COVID-19 cases in the selected mining municipalities than others in the Brazilian Amazon with similar population dynamics. (iii) From the standpoint of mine production, the selected municipalities grew almost twofold the average of the entire mining sector in Brazil; gold-producing municipalities experienced the highest growth rates (on average, 3.5 times higher than that of the national average) in comparison with the previous year. (iv) Among the mining municipalities that mainly produce gold, in general, they recorded high incidence of COVID-19 during the study period examined. In For "essential activities" such as mining, some of the more significant measures that are necessary to mitigate the problem include periodic testing, monitoring of cases, and priority vaccination of all people who work in this sector. In addition, the number of people infected and suspected cases in the sector must be periodically disclosed because, as this paper has shown, of the higher risk of incidence and comparatively rapid spread of the disease in locations where minerals are produced. Priority attention must be paid to Indigenous Lands that overlap Mining Areas (Oliveira et al. 2021) . Although the analyzed data demonstrate that the largest mining municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon have on average incidence of COVID-19 higher than other municipalities in the region and Brazil as a whole, it cannot be stated conclusively from these data alone that mining has been the main factor behind its increased incidence in this case. However, the presented information reveals the region's vulnerability to the pandemic and the need to expand data collection and analysis on functioning economic activities with a view to shedding light on health infrastructure issues in the Brazilian Amazon that can be contributing to COVID-19's spread. These territories have often suffered disputes due to the ever-expanding activities of artisanal miners (garimpeiros); it has been verified that artisanal and small-scale mining activities tend to increase local people's vulnerability (Hilson et al., 2021) , especially in the Brazilian Amazon (Scarr, 2020; Calvimontes et al., 2020) . given the high mobility of those engaged in the sector; has endured a high fatality rate, in many cases due to the absence or failure to use personal protective equipment (PPE); and its sites have been the locations of major human rights abuses and endured a lack of security. Environmentally, these activities have caused water pollution, including mercury and cyanide poisoning, and land degradation, and economically, they have suffered from low adoption of efficient technology, short-sighted planning and the problems that are typically associated with mineral rushes. The pandemic has illuminated these problems and added another layer to an industry that is in desperate need of greater regulation. All of these issues need to be further evaluated. Among the aspects described in this paper, we suggest there is a link between the risk of infection and the maintenance of economic activities, which in the case of mining, can be better observed through monitoring the situation in mineral-producing municipalities and comparing findings from those retrieved via comparative analysis of the situations facing other localities in the same region. Maintaining services that are fundamental to the economy while at the same time combating the pandemic must go hand in hand with guaranteeing the support of the most vulnerable populations (Loyaza, 2020) . Especially in the context of the Amazon, the development of indicator sets and monitoring are not only vital for decisionmakers but also contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals in the long run (UN, 2020; 2016) . To broaden this analysis, it is important to extend the scope of research to include additional dimensions such as health infrastructure (including indigenous communities), transportation systems, and economic dependence on mining and related activities. These results reported in this paper sound a warning that mining activity, while essential to the livelihoods of many people and the functioning of the economies of regions such as Brazilian Amazon, requires periodic critical assessment. This monitoring must be carried out [online] . Available at: . Accessed on: May 15, 2020. ZVARIVADZAA, T., NHLEKOA, A.S. (2018) Resolving artisanal and small-scale mining challenges: Moving from conflict to cooperation for sustainability in mine planning. 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