Photos by lynseyaddario | Illegal gold mining in the Amazon is seen from above in the Indigenous Kayapo territory in Brazil's Para state, in September. Illegal gold miners, called garimpeiros in Portuguese, cause deforestation and water pollution—plunging mercury into the air, rivers, and water sources, contaminating the water and the food chain and poisoning those who live off the land. The price of gold and precious metals have soared during the pandemic, which has led to an increase in illegal mining and deforestation in the Amazon—which also hit a record high in Indigenous protected areas since Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019. Roughly one- quarter of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed since the 1960s, and it can no longer absorb as much of the world's carbon emissions as it once did, which accelerates climate change. Photographs made with a grant from the National Geographic Society. insidenatgeo #climatechange #the Amazon #LynseyAddario #Brazil #kayapo