title: Brazil's worst mining disaster: Corporations must be compelled to pay the actual environmental costs.
abstract: In November 2015, a large mine-tailing dam owned by Samarco Corporation collapsed in Brazil, generating a massive wave of toxic mud that spread down the Doce River, killing 20 people and affecting biodiversity across hundreds of kilometers of river, riparian lands, and Atlantic coast. Besides the disaster's serious human and socioeconomic tolls, we estimate the regional loss of environmental services to be ~US$521 million per year. Although our estimate is conservative, it is still six times higher than the fine imposed on Samarco by Brazilian environmental authorities. To reduce such disparities between estimated damages and levied fines, we advocate for an environmental bond policy that considers potential risks and environmental services that could possibly be impacted by irresponsible mining activity. Environmental bonds and insurance are commonly used policy instruments in many countries, but there are no clear environmental bond policies in Brazil. Environmental bonds are likely to be more effective at securing environmental restitution than post-disaster fines, which generally are inadequate and often unpaid. We estimate that at least 126 mining dams in Brazil are vulnerable to failure in the forthcoming years. Any such event could have severe social-environmental consequences, underscoring the need for effective disaster-management strategies for large-scale mining operations.
authors: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CP 79070-900, P.O. Box 549, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
authors: Letícia Couto
authors: LC
authors: Garcia
authors: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CP 79070-900, P.O. Box 549, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
authors: Danilo Bandini
authors: DB
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CP 79070-900, P.O. Box 549, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.|Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4878, Australia.
authors: Fabio
authors: F
authors: de Oliveira Roque
authors: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CP 79070-900, P.O. Box 549, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.|Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas, CIB, Cra 72 A No 78 B 141, Medellín, 050034, Colombia.
authors: Jose Manuel
authors: JM
authors: Ochoa-Quintero
authors: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4878, Australia.
authors: William F
authors: WF
authors: Laurance
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D004190:Disasters / Q000191:economics*; D008906:Mining; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Payment for Environmental Services; biodiversity losses; compensation; environmental policies for mines; liability to damages; rehabilitation; restoration; tailings dam failures