Mining threats in high-level biodiversity conservation policies

ABSTRACT Amid a global infrastructure boom, there is increasing recognition of the ecological impacts of the extraction and consumption of construction minerals, mainly as concrete. Recent research highlights the significant and expanding threat these minerals pose to global biodiversity. To what extent is this pressure acknowledged in biodiversity conservation policy? We investigate how high-level national and international biodiversity conservation policies, including the 2011-2020 and post-2020 biodiversity strategies, the national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, address mining threats with a special focus on construction minerals. We find that mining appears rarely in national targets, but more frequently in national strategies with greater coverage of aggregates mining than limestone mining, yet it is dealt with superficially in most countries. We then outline an 8-point strategy to reduce the biodiversity impacts of construction minerals, which comprises actions such as targeting, reporting, and monitoring systems, the evidence-base around mining impacts on biodiversity, and the behavior of financial agents and businesses. Implementing these measures can pave the way for a more sustainable approach to construction mineral use and safeguard biodiversity.