An introduction to the nexus between the energy transition, critical raw materials, and river pollution.
This edition of “The E-Waste Newsletter” was written by Krisna Baghouzian and Christine Nikander.
How is the energy transition increasing mining?
The energy transition comes hand-in-hand with the exploration and extraction of transition minerals. Large quantities of minerals — including copper, lithium, and nickel — are needed for the production of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries.[i] All in all, it is estimated that the production of transition minerals needs to be scaled up to around 28 million tons annually to stay under the threshold of a 2°C increase in global temperatures. In this context, it is important to note that due to the lower energy efficiency of fossil fuels and the continuous material and energy input required for a fossil fuel infrastructure, a fossil fuel economy requires significantly (roughly 500 to 1000 times) more mining than a renewable energy economy does.[ii]
If managed well, mining operations for the energy transition can “generate profits, employment, and economic growth in low-income countries”.[iii] They “can create jobs, spur innovation and bring investment and infrastructure”. On the flipside, if the mining operations are managed poorly, they can “lead to environmental degradation, displaced populations, inequality and increased conflict”.[iv] This also holds true in the context of water. Wetland and river ecosystems can be degraded through mining. Contaminated water or water scarcity can displace populations. Moreover, poorly managed water can increase the levels of inequality and conflict within societies.
How does mining impact the biodiversity found in rivers?
Mining comes with both actual and potential adverse effects.[v] The precise impacts at any given location depend “on several factors, including the methods and technology used, the size of the project, and the ecological and hydrological conditions specific to the extraction site”.[vi] One of the biggest risks is, however, the loss of biodiversity.
Wetlands and riverine systems play a key role in protecting biodiversity.[vii] By protecting biodiversity, a whole web of intricate interactions between species in ecosystems is preserved. This, in turn, ensures that we can continue to benefit from a number of ecosystem services — such as climate regulation,[viii] food production, water purification, and flood protection.
On “a global scale, 70% of rivers occur outside protected areas and only 11.1% are protected in their entirety”.[ix] Yet, “freshwater ecosystems […] support a disproportionate number of flora and fauna”, despite “covering less than 1% of the global surface area”.[x] Wetlands alone host 40% of all species.[xi] As rivers connect wetlands, they are hubs for biodiversity — with species living inside and outside of the water.[xii] Therefore, their protection also plays a key role in the protection of biodiversity more broadly.
There are multiple threats that rivers and their vast biodiversity face from mining. Notably, mining often occurs “in remote, ecologically sensitive and less-developed areas”.[xiii] This also means that mining comes with considerable risks to biodiversity.[xiv] Two areas of major concern are the contamination and scarcity of freshwater, along with changes in land use. The inadequate management of water in mines — including high water use, low water reuse, and contaminated water discharges — can adversely impact water resources, and surrounding ecosystems and communities.[xv]
Water use and pollution through mining
Large amounts of water are needed for mining and mineral processing. Yet, a good half of all copper and lithium production sites worldwide are in areas facing “high water stress”.[xvi] The adverse impacts of lithium extraction have — for example — “been documented in studies from South America, where brine pumping has caused groundwater levels to drop and disrupt sensitive wetland ecosystems and the species dependent upon them”.[xvii]
The discharges from mines originate both from metal pollutants leaching into water through the act of mining and from pollution caused by processing metals. Materials left behind after mining “such as cyanide, mercury or arsenic” can be causes of environmental damage. This is especially the case in “many developing countries where illegal small-scale operations […] occur”.[xviii] Through direct discharge or runoff that flows into other bodies of water after rainfall, acids and toxic metals from mining can harm aquatic life.[xix]
Past examples of mines that have caused water and land contamination include a lithium mine in Jadar, Serbia, an open-cast copper mine in Galicia, Spain, as well as several nickel mines (operated to extract materials for electric vehicles) in the Philippines.[xx] Moreover, lithium extraction in the so-called “lithium triangle” — where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet — has contaminated the waters used by local inhabitants. The activities have also “consumed 65 percent of the region’s water supply”.[xxi]
The role of stakeholder collaboration in social licenses
Mining companies — and energy or electronics producers further down the supply chain — should be conscious of the social license needed for mining operations. In the context of mining, it is always good to remember that the expectations and standards placed on companies are often far greater under the “social license to operate” than they are under the law. To safeguard their social license, companies should, therefore, take steps to — for example — set up better company policies, collaborate with producers and other stakeholders, and shift over to using circular business models.[xxii]
It is worth noting that “[d]eveloping and implementing good corporate standards on responsible mining is not only good from a corporate citizenship perspective but also increasingly a business imperative”. The failure to properly address environmental and social issues “can have dire financial consequences for the companies involved”. The fact that many “financial services (investors, banks, insurers, etc.) are monitoring […] companies’ track records on economic, environmental, social and governance issues” demonstrates the overall business significance.[xxiii]
In this context, “multi-stakeholder partnerships and the involvement of all stakeholder groups at national, sub-national and regional levels” are key. Multi-stakeholder partnerships can, notably, “make supply chains more sustainable” and make it possible to extract raw materials for the energy transition “in a socially and environmentally friendly manner”.[xxiv] By building “partnerships with government and civil society, mining companies can [also] ensure that benefits of mining extend beyond the life of the mine itself”. This, in turn, can help to assure that “the mining industry has a positive impact on the natural environment, climate change, and social capital”.[xxv]
Across the board, companies willing to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are expected to “benefit from improved relationships with governments and communities, as well as better access to financial resources”. On the flipside, the failure “to engage meaningfully with the SDGs will put [companies’] operations at risk in the short and long term”.[xxvi] In line with this there is “a growing awareness among companies that they need to act fast to demonstrate they have embedded sustainability as a business model”. Failure to do so can be a risk for “commercial and financial opportunities”.[xxvii]
Avenues towards more sustainable water use in mining
As rivers and wetland ecosystems provide a plurality of ecosystem services, damage to them can also lead to huge economic losses. Recent research from the European Central Bank — for example — shows that approximately 75% of all euro area corporate loans are strongly dependent on at least one ecosystem service.[xxviii] Moreover, wetlands and riverine systems are “central to any hopes of tackling the climate emergency facing our planet”.[xxix]
In the context of protecting rivers and their biodiversity, companies willing to take on responsibility should assess and address the environmental and social implications of mining critical raw materials. They should take steps “to extract responsibly, waste less, use safer processes, incorporate new sustainable technologies, promote the improved wellbeing of local communities, curb emissions, and improve environmental stewardship”.[xxx]
As river floodplains are hubs for biodiversity,[xxxi] companies should also take proactive steps to try and “reverse the decline of natural wetlands”.[xxxii] In practice, this means that their activities on land or connected bodies of water — such as the unintentional runoff of substances — must be considered and adequately managed. It also means that steps need to be taken — by companies or with their support — to ensure that bodies of water are properly (re)connected and able to move freely.[xxxiii]
Beyond this, it is also possible “to curb freshwater biodiversity loss”, by “accelerating implementation of environmental flows”, “improving water quality”, and “safeguarding and restoring river connectivity”.[xxxiv] In practice, this means that companies should ensure that water availability is managed, considering the connectivity of habitats, sediment flows, and the natural movement of rivers. They should also prevent chemicals from being released into the environment — or otherwise, carefully monitor these across entire hydrological systems.[xxxv]
The next newsletter will explore Indigenous Peoples’ rights to water. If you want to be notified when it comes out, please subscribe to our mailing list.
About the authors
Krisna Baghouzian is a freelance sustainability consultant at Palsa & Pulk. She has a background in governance and past experience in working on sustainability at a local government with a people-centered approach. In her work, Krisna likes to take a holistic view of sustainability — by touching on different aspects of sustainability and their impact on our Earth and its inhabitants.
Christine Nikander is the founder of the environmental and social sustainability consultancy, Palsa & Pulk. She frequently speaks and writes about the environmental and human rights issues that arise through global supply chains, the energy transition, and the mining of critical raw minerals. Christine studied law at the universities of Columbia (New York), Edinburgh (Scotland), and Leiden (the Netherlands). She has been writing The E-Waste Column weekly since 2022.
About The E-Waste Column
The E-Waste Column is a weekly column about e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials. It touches on a range of topics including ESG, sustainable development, circular economy, EU law and policymaking, corporate social responsibility, the transition to renewable energy, the EU Green Deal, supply chain due diligence and auditing, human environmental rights, business and human rights, climate law, and corporate sustainability.
Stay up to date
Our weekly column is published on Wednesdays at 12PM CET (The Hague) or 6AM EST (New York) on our website and on LinkedIn. Our monthly newsletter is published here on our blog, on Substack, and on LinkedIn.
[i] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “You can’t eat lithium”: Community consent and access to information in transition mineral mining exploration. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/tmt-2021/you-cant-eat-lithium-community-consent-and-access-to-information-in-transition-mineral-mining-exploration-in-europe-and-north-america (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions (21.08.2024); World Bank Group, Climate-Smart Mining: Minerals for Climate Action. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/climate-smart-mining-minerals-for-climate-action; Dolf Gielen, Critical Materials For The Energy Transition, International Renewable Energy Agency Technical Paper 5/2021. https://www.irena.org/-/media/Irena/Files/Technical-papers/IRENA_Critical_Materials_2021.pdf?rev=e4a9bdcb93614c6c8087024270a2871d(21.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[ii] International Energy Agency, Mineral requirements for clean energy transitions. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/mineral-requirements-for-clean-energy-transitions (21.08.2024); Carly Leonida, Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals through mining. https://theintelligentminer.com/2023/01/19/meeting-the-sustainable-development-goals-through-mining/; Fair Cobalt Alliance, #WEF23 - Mining is key to a Just Energy Transition. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wef23-mining-key-just-energy-transition-fair-cobalt-alliance/?trackingId=TNmwTnUHTw2hNORNtkYpjg%3D%3D (21.08.2024); Hannah Ritchie, Mining quantities for low-carbon energy is hundreds to thousands of times lower than mining for fossil fuels. https://hannahritchie.substack.com/p/mining-low-carbon-vs-fossil (21.08.2024); Michael Thomas, A Fossil Fuel Economy Requires 535x More Mining Than a Clean Energy Economy. https://www.distilled.earth/p/a-fossil-fuel-economy-requires-535x (21.08.2024); Tobiah Palm, Zeldzame metalen ontdekt in Zweden. ‘Europa heeft meer mijnbouw nodig’. https://www.trouw.nl/duurzaamheid-economie/zeldzame-metalen-ontdekt-in-zweden-europa-heeft-meer-mijnbouw-nodig~b76e0051/ (21.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[iii] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[iv] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, UNDP, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, World Economic Forum, Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Mapping_Mining_SDGs_An_Atlas_Executive_Summary_FINAL.pdf (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[v] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[vi] Parker et al., Potential impacts of proposed lithium extraction on biodiversity and conservation in the contiguous United States. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723072674 (27.02.2025).
[vii] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[viii] Rockstaröm et al., We need biosphere stewardship that protects carbon sinks and builds resilience (2021). https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2115218118 (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[ix] Petersen et al., Incorporating free-flowing rivers into global biodiversity targets: Prioritization and targeted interventions to maintain ecological integrity (2022). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aqc.3898 (20.02.2025); Abell et al., Looking Beyond the Fenceline: Assessing Protection Gaps for the World's Rivers (2017). https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12312 (20.02.2025); Perry et al., Global Analysis of Durable Policies for Free-Flowing River Protections (2021). https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2347 (20.02.2025).
[x] Anuradha Kumari and Sarika, “Riverine biodiversity and importance: Potential threat and conservational challenges”, Chapter 13 of Ecological Significance of River Ecosystems Challenges and Management Strategies (2022). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323850452000091 (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xi] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xii] Palsa & Pulk, How can businesses protect rivers and their biodiversity? https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xiii] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, UNDP, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, World Economic Forum, Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Mapping_Mining_SDGs_An_Atlas_Executive_Summary_FINAL.pdf (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xiv] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xv] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “You can’t eat lithium”: Community consent and access to information in transition mineral mining exploration. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/tmt-2021/you-cant-eat-lithium-community-consent-and-access-to-information-in-transition-mineral-mining-exploration-in-europe-and-north-america (21.08.2024); Iris Crawford and Scott Odell, Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems for the environment? https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment (21.08.2024); Lèbre et al., The social and environmental complexities of extracting energy transition metals. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9 (21.08.2024); Thea Riofrancos, Shifting Mining From the Global South Misses the Point of Climate Justice. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/07/renewable-energy-transition-critical-minerals-mining-onshoring-lithium-evs-climate-justice (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf (21.08.2024); Pascal Laffont, Critical minerals for clean energy transitions. https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/GCF21_s4_Laffont_1.pdf (21.08.2024); Samuel Block, Mining Energy-Transition Metals: National Aims, Local Conflicts. https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/mining-energy-transition-metals/02531033947 (21.08.2024).
[xvi] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “You can’t eat lithium”: Community consent and access to information in transition mineral mining exploration. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/tmt-2021/you-cant-eat-lithium-community-consent-and-access-to-information-in-transition-mineral-mining-exploration-in-europe-and-north-america (21.08.2024); Iris Crawford and Scott Odell, Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems for the environment? https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment (21.08.2024); Lèbre et al., The social and environmental complexities of extracting energy transition metals. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9 (21.08.2024); Thea Riofrancos, Shifting Mining From the Global South Misses the Point of Climate Justice. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/07/renewable-energy-transition-critical-minerals-mining-onshoring-lithium-evs-climate-justice (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf (21.08.2024); Pascal Laffont, Critical minerals for clean energy transitions. https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/GCF21_s4_Laffont_1.pdf (21.08.2024); Samuel Block, Mining Energy-Transition Metals: National Aims, Local Conflicts. https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/mining-energy-transition-metals/02531033947 (21.08.2024).
[xvii] Parker et al., Potential impacts of proposed lithium extraction on biodiversity and conservation in the contiguous United States. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723072674 (27.02.2025).
[xviii] Sammy Witchall, The Environmental Problems Caused by Mining. https://earth.org/environmental-problems-caused-by-mining (27.02.2025).
[xix] Agrani Paudel, Water Pollution: Sources, Pollutants, Types, Effects, Prevention. https://microbenotes.com/water-pollution/ (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xx] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “You can’t eat lithium”: Community consent and access to information in transition mineral mining exploration. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/tmt-2021/you-cant-eat-lithium-community-consent-and-access-to-information-in-transition-mineral-mining-exploration-in-europe-and-north-america (21.08.2024); Iris Crawford and Scott Odell, Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems for the environment? https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment (21.08.2024); Lèbre et al., The social and environmental complexities of extracting energy transition metals. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9 (21.08.2024); Thea Riofrancos, Shifting Mining From the Global South Misses the Point of Climate Justice. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/07/renewable-energy-transition-critical-minerals-mining-onshoring-lithium-evs-climate-justice (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions (21.08.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf (21.08.2024); Pascal Laffont, Critical minerals for clean energy transitions. https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/GCF21_s4_Laffont_1.pdf (21.08.2024); Samuel Block, Mining Energy-Transition Metals: National Aims, Local Conflicts. https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/mining-energy-transition-metals/02531033947 (21.08.2024); Amnesty International, Philippines: Nickel mining projects approved despite inadequate consultation and serious risks to communities’ health and environment. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/philippines-nickel-mining-projects-approved-despite-inadequate-consultation-and-serious-risks-to-communities-health-and-environment/ (27.02.2025).
[xxi] Samar Ahmad, The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet. https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/ (27.02.2025).
[xxii] See our past newsletter: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxiii] Responsible Mining Foundation and Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the SDGs: a 2020 status update. https://www.responsibleminingfoundation.org/app/uploads/RMF_CCSI_Mining_and_SDGs_EN_Sept2020.pdf (27.02.2025).
[xxiv] German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Mining in the Andean countries – How does it fit together? https://rue.bmz.de/rue-en/releases/forum-nachhaltiger-bergbau-79418 (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxv] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxvi] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxvii] Responsible Mining Foundation and Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the SDGs: a 2020 status update. https://www.responsibleminingfoundation.org/app/uploads/RMF_CCSI_Mining_and_SDGs_EN_Sept2020.pdf (27.02.2025).
[xxviii] European Central Bank (ECB), Occasional Paper Series No 333, Living in a world of disappearing nature: physical risk and the implications for financial stability (2023). https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops/ecb.op333~1b97e436be.en.pdf (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxix] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxx] Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/mining-and-sustainable-development-goals (26.08.2024). See also: https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-forests-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxxi] Palsa & Pulk, How can businesses protect rivers and their biodiversity? https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxxii] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025). See also https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxxiii] Palsa & Pulk, How can businesses protect rivers and their biodiversity? https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxxiv] Tickner et al., Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss: An Emergency Recovery Plan (2020). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338344940_Bending_the_Curve_of_Global_Freshwater_Biodiversity_Loss_-_An_Emergency_Recovery_Plan (20. 02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
[xxxv] Tickner et al., Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss: An Emergency Recovery Plan (2020). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338344940_Bending_the_Curve_of_Global_Freshwater_Biodiversity_Loss_-_An_Emergency_Recovery_Plan (20. 02.2025); Gianuca et al., River flow intermittence influence biodiversity-stability relationships across spatial scales: Implications for an uncertain future (2024). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39162046/ (20.02.2025). See also: https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-rivers-and-their-biodiversity (27.02.2025).
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