Publication | 2022
The environmental impacts of a major mine tailings spill on coastal and marine environments
Based on the volume of tailings releases and the distance they travelled, the Fundão Dam failure in southeast Brazil (Mariana, Minas Gerais state) was the largest ever environmental disaster in Brazil’s mining industry, and one of the world’s most serious. As they dispersed downriver, the…
Publication | 2021
From restoration to responsive governance
The Rio Doce watershed and its adjacent coastal and marine areas have been affected by centuries of extractive activities and unsustainable agricultural practices. When the Fundão tailings dam collapsed on 5 November 2015, a wave of mud swept down the river to the sea, causing 19 deaths,…
Publication | 2021
Source-to-sea and landscape approaches
The report contextualises the current status of water quality and biodiversity in the Rio Doce watershed, providing selected data and information on the physical, chemical and biological quality of the water and an overview of the terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity since the dam…
Publication | 2020
Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the islands and lagoons of northern Sri Lanka
After the 30-year long civil war was over, the Government of Sri Lanka commenced an accelerated programme to develop the Northern Province. If not carefully planned, such a programme will result in the loss of biodiversity and the consequent loss of services that ecosystems provide humans.…
Publication | 2020
Mainstreaming climate change in the Rio Doce watershed restoration
Increased risk of climate change makes the communities in the Rio Doce more vulnerable to events, such as flooding, landslides and coastal erosion, indicating the need for policies and investments to build institutional and societal resilience for climate change adaptation, particularly in…