Spatial Analysis of Mining Intensity in Buffer Zones of Protected Areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract. The Zamora Chinchipe province, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, concentrates 18% of the country's continental protected areas and simultaneously records the highest intensity of gold mining activity in the Amazonian region, creating a critical tension between conservation and extraction. This study evaluates the spatial distribution and intensity of mining activity, expressed in mining points/km², in the buffer zones of six protected areas of the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) in Zamora Chinchipe, through the integration of MapBiomas Ecuador 2023 land use and land cover maps, produced at 30 m spatial resolution via Random Forest classification, and the application of the Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) method in a GIS environment. The MapBiomas mining class, validated with an overall accuracy exceeding 85% for Ecuador, captures surface disturbance associated with artisanal and small-scale gold mining at landscape scale, providing a reliable and replicable input for spatial pressure analysis. The results reveal that 89% of medium and high-intensity hotspots are located less than 500 m from permanent water bodies, demonstrating the strong hydrographic dependence of alluvial mining. Significant differences are identified according to governance model: state-administered areas such as Podocarpus National Park and Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve show the highest mining intensities, while territories under local or community management such as Yacuambi and Tiwi Nunka record minimal pressures. This study demonstrates the potential of open-access satellite data and spatial analysis as accessible and replicable tools for guiding conservation policies in the face of mining expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon.