Analyzing the environmental impacts of calcite mining with a case study in Indonesian Karst Landscape
Author: Tries Apriliando I January 16th 2023
For a long time, cosmetics and personal care products with calcites have been commercialized as natural and eco-friendly. However, are these eco-friendly claims adequate from an environmental ethical perspective?? In this article, we will explore concerns regarding land destruction of Karst Landscape by mining activities, and discuss whether preference for natural calcite-containing cosmetics and personal care products are wise consumer choices. Also, we will take a deeper look into a case study in the evolution of Klapanunggal Karst Landscape (West Java, Indonesia) from 2018 to 2022 using geomorphological analysis and multi-temporal photo interpretation.
What is Calcite and where do they come from?
Calcite or Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) appears as white, odorless powder or colorless crystals, which is practically insoluble in water, and occurring extensively in rocks world-wide. round calcium carbonate (CAS: 1317-65-3) results directly from the mining of limestone (U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d). Calcium carbonate is the primary constituent sought from limestone mining. (Russell T. Runnels, 1951).
Why are they used in personal care products and cosmetics ?
Calcite has been widely used in cosmetics and personal care products such as make-up, soaps, toothpastes etc. This white, dry powder has been applied in the production of personal care products and skincare. Based on Cosmetic Info report, these carbonate salt have? has several functions as follows
Due to its visually whitening effect, calcium-extracted substances are among the most common ingredients and highly recommended for decorative cosmetic products. (cosmeticinfo.org, n.d.)
How does Limestone Mining Damage the Environment?
Limestone is primarily made of calcium carbonate. Most of the limestone is found in Karst Landscapes (terrain usually characterized by barren, rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams). Limestone not only quarried at the surface, but also through extensive systems of underground quarries. Apart from the negative effects directly derived from quarrying that we will be introducing below, there are also other issues to be addressed after extraction, when the sites are abandoned without any reclamation work, which often leads the land to become unsuitable for human living.
An Indonesian study in Klapanunggal Karst Landscape analyzed changes in the land cover through satellite imagery and estimated changes in forest areas that were converted into land for limestone quarrying. This comparative study was carried out over 3 years, juxtaposing November 2018 satellite images and January 2022 satellite images using SAS Planet software.
Through the geospatial data obtained using ArcGIS Pro software, the researcher found that there had been a relatively significant conversion of vegetated land into mining area within a period of 2018-2022, as seen in Figure 3. The total area of land cover change at the end of the study is 232,325 hectares (Apriliando, 2023)
Another study in the same area also shows changes in land cover based on data from the Klapanunggal Karst Landscape raster. The study aims to detect land destruction in the Klapanunggal Karst Landscape caused by open limestone quarrying on the surface in between 2014 and 2020.?
It was found that the limestone mining activities that took place from 1975 to 2014 have changed the land cover in the Klapanunggal Karst Landscape into a mine area with the size of 8.5 x 106 m2 into one devoid of vegetation. In addition, based on the comparison of the land cover map between 2014 and 2020, in these six years, the mining activities had also converted additional vegetated land cover into mined land, covering 3.9 x 106 m2.
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In addition, limestone mining activities in the Klapanunggal Karst Landscape have contributed to landform change. Based on Sentinel 1A imagery data processing, land deformation occurred in all areas identified as mining areas in the 2014-2020 period with a negative rate trend.
Based on its area, land deformation with a rate range of -47.75 to -39.50 cm/year followed by a rate of -39.50 to -31.25 cm/year dominates landform changes with an area of 7.9 x 106 m2 and 4.0 x 106 m2.
Why is aggressive land cover change in Karst Landscapes undesirable??
Karst Landscape is important for earth sustainability and human life because of the large area and large population involved. Preservation of karst environments is also important because they are extremely fragile, comparable with desert margins. Once damaged, their recovery can be slow and difficult. One of the most critical problems in karst areas is “rock desertification”, which is the transformation of a karst area formerly covered by soil and vegetation into a rocky landscape or lithologic desert almost devoid of soil and vegetation (Yuan, 1997).
Based on a study that analyzed LULC (Land Use & Land Cover) changes in four counties of karst area in Guizhou, China, from 1991 to 2001, LULC changes correlated to increased surface temperature at all counties. It means that the higher the land cover changes, the higher the surface temperature.
What is the Industry and Government Doing to Ensure Environmental Sustainability?
The findings and lessons learned from the study, intends to encourage the preservation of vegetated land and to minimize the loss of vegetated land to urban development or mining activities. It is necessary to have better planning to avoid development or expansions on rich vegetated land wherever possible. To protect the environment, the government might consider ecotourism to reduce the pressure on vegetated land resulting from increased demand for calcite. Demand for quality eco-tourism destinations will continue to grow as urban congestion, pollution, crowding, and concern for the natural environment all increase (Jonathan Nash, 2001). Additionally, regulations on the practices of conservation based on geodiversity are required to give it a solid legal foundation. Management schemes of protective karst areas under UNESCO such as world heritage or biosphere heritage need to be encouraged for the protection of karst areas of excellence.?
What can you as a consumer do?
Every single consumer can play an active role in driving sustainability. An empowered, responsible consumer is able to encourage business innovation, investment, and fair competition, thus driving sustainable product design, development and consumption. Strong demands for truly sustainable products can push governments to regulate unsustainable products such as mineral-based products which we have explored in this article. Also, as difficult as it can be in a marketplace full of exaggerated advertisement and promotion of half-truths, as consumers, it is imperative that we do not blindly believe sustainable claims we see on products. Even claims on certified products can potentially be misled, depending on the provenance of such eco-labels.? The aforementioned case is only one of many other cases. We will continue to provide educational information about environmental sustainability and your subscription and endorsement is a step toward a better future.
References:
Calcium carbonate (no date) National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Calcium-carbonate (Accessed: January 7, 2023).
Calcium carbonate (no date) Cosmetics Info. Available at: https://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredients/calcium-carbonate/ (Accessed: January 13, 2023).?
Honglin Xiaoa & Qihao Weng. (2006) The impact of land use and land cover changes on land surface temperature in a karst area of China, Journal of Environmental Management. Academic Press. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479706003045 (Accessed: January 7, 2023).?
Jonathan Nash. (2001) Eco-tourism: Encouraging conservation or adding to exploitation? (no date) PRB. Available at: https://www.prb.org/resources/eco-tourism-encouraging-conservation-or-adding-to-exploitation/ (Accessed: January 8, 2023).
Marwati, B. (2016) 9.5% karst areas in Indonesia damaged, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Available at: https://www.ugm.ac.id/en/news/12435-9-5-karst-areas-in-indonesia-damaged (Accessed: January 8, 2023).?
Pambudi, R.A. et al. (2020) Satellite imagery detection of land destruction in klapanunggal karst landscape induced by limestone surface mining, E3S Web of Conferences. EDP Sciences. Available at: https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/abs/2020/71/e3sconf_jessd2020_04002/e3sconf_jessd2020_04002.html (Accessed: January 5, 2023).?