New research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that artisan gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon has caused more destruction to carbon-rich peatlands in the past two years than in the previous three decades combined,

There’s a chance the gold ring on your finger or the chain around your neck has a link to the prolific destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. In a new study, scientists have looked at the impact of small-scale gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon and found that it has led to a massive uptick in peatland destruction in recent years.

Gold mining in Peru’s Amazon is now destroying carbon-storing peatlands at an alarming rate. In just two years, over half of all recorded peatland destruction has occurred, releasing vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.