ExIt - ImpactAnt research is on global change.
We study the impact of human activities and Extractive Industries on the natural environment and Planetary Health.
The approach we adopt is highly interdisciplinary, combining tools from envirionmental forensics, environmental epidemiology, ecology, veterinary science, remote sensing, and citizen science. We bridge the natural and social sciences to study the Global Change from an integrated perspective.
To achieve this, we have 2 complementary strategies:
We target different spatial and temporal scales to have access to areas and time periods with different levels of anthropogenic impacts (e.g. remote areas, past climate changes).
Subsistence hunting is a crucial source of protein for rural and indigenous communities in tropical rainforests worldwide. However, previous studies suggest that lead-based ammunition may pose serious health risks to these populations. The INDILEAD project will investigate this issue by analyzing blood lead levels in indigenous communities from the tropical forests of Cameroon (Baka people), Peru, and Indonesia (Punan-Tubu people). Additionally, the study will identify key exposure pathways to better understand the risks associated with lead contamination.
To limit the increase in global mean temperature to 1.5 °C, CO2 emissions must be drastically reduced. Accordingly, approximately 97%, 81%, and 71% of existing coal and conventional gas and oil resources, respectively, need to remain unburned. The UNBURNED project will develop the first global geospatial platform integrating policy-relevant information on fossil fuel reserves, state-level political indicators, biodiversity indicators, and social and economic indicators associated with fossil fuel divestment plans, impacts and activities. The platform will be presented in the COP29 next November and will propose sensitive areas that should remain entirely off-limits to fossil fuel extraction.
Up to 11% of worlds rainforests overlap with conventional oil and natural gas reserves. In this context, the occurrence of petroleum-extraction activities in the Amazon and their impact on the environment and those indigenous populations living in the vicinity of these areas has generated a great deal of controversy. A major cause for concern has been the reported high levels of oil-related lead in the blood of members of remote indigenous communities. On a different vein, the use of lead-based ammunition, which in 2003 had a global consumption of 120,000 tons, is a very important source of direct lead release to soil at the global level. This study aims at providing new insights into lead (and other heavy metals) pollution in remote areas of the planet, and at establishing their potential sources.