In French Guiana, gold mining accused of role in destroying Amazon rainforest

The gold mining village.

The soldiers died from toxic fumes while trying to blow up an illegal gold mining installation underground. France has deployed hundreds of troops to French Guiana's remote jungle to clamp down on the criminal activity.

As the UN COP25 climate change conference opens in Madrid, we focus on the issue of deforestation. The Amazon rainforest - a major climate regulator - is under immense strain from logging, mining and farming activities. We take you to France's part of the Amazon, in French Guiana. Gold mining - by big companies and small extractors but also thousands of illegal miners - is accused of playing a role in destroying the forest there. Our colleagues from France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Malcolm Surer.

After fighting alongside the French in the Indochina war and the Americans during the Vietnam War, the Hmong people were forced to flee Laos when the Communists took power. On their arrival in the village of Cacao in French Guiana in 1977, they had to build everything from scratch: roads, schools, houses and farms. Today, the Hmong people seem to have successfully integrated into multi-ethnic French Guianese society. But what future do their children have? Our reporter takes us to the Amazon rainforest to meet this ethnic minority forced into exile on the other side of the world.

The illegal activity has caused major environmental damage in Colombia, one of the world's most biodiverse countries. Officials say the spike in mining is also deeply concerning "because it has ties to organized crime."

Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa. Its extraction poses serious threats to the environment, but one organization is training small-scale miners to engage in safer, eco-friendly mining methods.