Global mining is diminishing the effectiveness of Protected Areas in forest conservation

Protected areas (PAs) are fundamental cornerstone for global forest conservation, yet human activities have increasingly threatened them in recent years. While mining, a highly destructive but profitable economic activity, is often considered a secondary driver in forest loss compared to other human activities. Here, we conduct a spatiotemporal analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of PAs in mitigating forest loss associated with global mining. Our result reveals that from 2000 to 2020, ~11% (~1486 km ² ) of mining-induced forest loss occurred within PAs boundaries, a figure that has risen to ~19% over the past five years. Furthermore, ~28% (586 mines) still remain active, posing a continuous threat to forest integrity. We also find forests beyond boundaries are experiencing severe neighborhood leakage effects, with the forest loss within a ten-kilometer buffer being ~2.5 fold that of within PAs. Notably, temporal analysis further indicates that the loss is occurring in areas with higher average forest aboveground biomass (AGB) density. In South America, the average AGB density of forest loss beyond PAs boundaries has exceeded that within PAs over the past five years, far surpassing the global average. We urge the enhancement of protection quality and management strategies both within PAs and in surrounding buffer zones, ensuring their long-term contribution to global forest conservation.