The Human Dimension in the Espinhaço Mountains: Land Conversion and Ecosystem Services

The Espinhaço Mountains have a long history of extractive economic cycles, from 18th-century gold mining to modern iron ore and gemstone extraction, which generated wealth at a high environmental cost. The region's rupestrian grasslands host unique biodiversity that supports three major Brazilian river basins and provides essential medicines, raw materials, and water. The authors advocate for the use of wealth generated by mining to fund sustainable land use management and biodiversity conservation.

• The Espinhaço Mountains have undergone multiple extractive-economic cycles since the 1700s, including gold, diamonds, iron ore, gemstones, ornamental stones, sand, and plant extractivism, which provided wealth for Brazil and the Portuguese Crown but caused significant environmental damage.
• The region's rupestrian grasslands contain exceptional biodiversity and endemic species that provide critical ecosystem services, including the maintenance of three major Brazilian river basins and the provision of water, raw materials, and medicines.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). The Human Dimension in the Espinhaço Mountains: Land Conversion and Ecosystem Services. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/the-human-dimension-in-the-espinhaco-mountains-land-conversion-and-ecosystem-services-book-chapter/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. The Human Dimension in the Espinhaço Mountains: Land Conversion and Ecosystem Services. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/the-human-dimension-in-the-espinhaco-mountains-land-conversion-and-ecosystem-services-book-chapter/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=The Human Dimension in the Espinhaço Mountains: Land Conversion and Ecosystem Services |date=13 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/the-human-dimension-in-the-espinhaco-mountains-land-conversion-and-ecosystem-services-book-chapter/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025human, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{The Human Dimension in the Espinhaço Mountains: Land Conversion and Ecosystem Services}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/the-human-dimension-in-the-espinhaco-mountains-land-conversion-and-ecosystem-services-book-chapter/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }