This practice led to intensive deforestation and destruction of important habitats for wild animals in an area previously rich in biodiversity - there were, among others, monkeys, jaguars, and many butterflies.

In 2018 alone, almost 10.000 hectares of the Peruvian Amazon were destroyed as a result of illegal gold mining. Another problem is the contamination of the environment with mercury because miners mix sediments with boiled mercury to separate gold from other minerals. As a result, up to 55 tons of mercury are released into rivers or the atmosphere every year.