The adverse effects of illegal mining and sand winning could be felt in the almost every facet of the community; from economic, social and ecological consequences, the productive farmlands are being destroyed. The vegetation cover, water bodies have suffered the greediness of these miscreants.
Also, these activities have caused the spread of water-borne diseases, harm to wildlife and destruction of biodiversity as well as conflicts in host communities. Aside destroying crops and lands, illegal mining and sand winning activities also pose some threats to human health. Moving trucks emit excessive noise and dust, causing pollution, pits and gullies created at these sites on farms and close to homes, become breeding grounds for mosquitoes during rainy seasons. Lands have been perpetually damaged and rendered unproductive. Whiles beautiful landscapes that offered pleasant scenery have been permanently ruined.
A study conducted by Assin Kushea Cooperative Cocoa Farmers Society Limited with support from Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, DANIDA and USAID assessed effects of sand illegal mining on agriculture in the Assin North District in the Central Region of Ghana, sought to find out the long-term effect of illegal mining in terms of the impact on livelihood and also food security in the area.
It pointed out that illegal mining activities though banned, mostly occur in productive agricultural areas- destroying arable lands, creating open pits, destroying cocoa farms and polluting rivers.
Areas once noted for good vegetation and topography have turned into Savannah grasslands, with their own attendant consequences on food production.
The study noted out that agricultural sector is not lucrative due to high input costs, high risk and inefficient traditional methods of production. Fertilizers and seedlings are expensive.
To make it attractive, agricultural experts, traditional rulers and local residents have decided to develop an effective land reclamation guideline with an enforcement strategy to avoid imminent environmental crisis with severe consequences on livelihoods.
Additionally, even for those who have been licensed, it is important that the state agencies responsible for enforcing environmental laws ensure that they strictly abide by the regulations governing their operations to minimise the adverse effects of their activities on other sources of livelihood where they operate.
“The rampaging effects of mining and sand winning in the study has left in its wake, visible adverse effects that include dust pollution and its attendant respiratory tract infections, open pits that collect water and breed mosquitoes to spread malaria, destruction of the topography and permanently ruining the scenery of beautiful landscape in addition to the destruction of vegetative cover and also increasing the susceptibility of the affected areas” Seth Gyasi, Chairman of Assin Kushea Cocoa Farmers Society told the media in an interview.
He mentioned that “Although there is a growing awareness of the importance of sound environmental management amongst stakeholders in study area, mitigation strategies are possibly offset by inconsistencies and non-availability of comprehensive regulatory bye-laws, guidelines, and standards, as well as monitoring and enforcement”.
Recommendation
To address the impacts of illegal mining and sand winning in the affected communities within the Assin North District, the association recommends that the assembly must take urgent steps in consultation with stakeholders such as local chiefs, farmers, the association of small-scale miners, the association of sand and stone contractors as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop detailed bye- laws and guidelines to regulate the operations of illegal mining and sand winners in the municipality in accordance with part 5 of the Local Government Act 1993 (Act 462) which gives the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) the mandate to formulate bye-laws and guidelines in order to among other things, regulate the exploitation of natural resources including gold and sand winning.
EPA should develop and strengthen binding and enforceable standards and specifications for the effective regulation of the gold mining and sand winning industry.
This, should be done in consultation with all relevant stakeholders in the extractive industry in the municipality. The authorities, can properly designate areas for these soils to be collected and also ensure that prospective gold miners and sand winners adequately complete all processes regarding effective land use, evaluation and reclamation to allow for the protection of other people’s welfare in society.
Another critical measure that can adequately insulate farmers from the adverse effects of illegal gold mining and sand winning is to make it mandatory for the miners and sand winning firms or individuals to have a comprehensive land reclamation strategy and also establish an enforcement committee to ensure that the land is fully reclaimed in accordance with stipulated standards and best practices.
The association also recommends that “every prospective gold miner or sand winner must be bonded to deposit a lump sum into a special account to be jointly managed by the body responsible for the enforcement of the bye-laws and guidelines on gold mining and sand winning so that in the event that the mining concern or sand winner fails to reclaim the land after closure, the amount would be used to pay for the services of a qualified firm to restore the land into a state that can efficiently support crop cultivation”.
This, the association noted will empower the EPA to ensure that gold miners and sand winners adhere to guidelines and standards as outlined in the reclamation bonds recommended. In this case, however, failure to adhere to the prescribed guidelines proposed should therefore be deny the winning contractors the refunds rights to access open new pits anywhere in the country.
Again, the MMDA’s should ensure formulation, monitoring and enforcement of bye-laws which may involve development and implementation of reclamation plans and bonds.
Sensitisation and awareness creation should be integrated in this component to ensure that people are aware of what is involved in mining and sand winning vis-a-vis what mitigation measures are required. Involvement of chiefs, landowners and other key persons in communities, especially in the study area, is very important in the reclamation process since they can pester contractors to follow agreed guidelines when given the powers to do so within an acceptable framework.
Furthermore, tolls and levies collectors by the Assin North District Assembly from sand winning and mining contractors and tipper trucks should be invested specifically into interventions that will mitigate the adverse effects of mining on the affected communities.
It will be useful for the chiefs and family heads to involve the farmers in the negotiation for the allocation of land for mining and sand winning to ensure that the interest of these farmers is insulated and appropriate compensation and entry times also clearly defined and agreed upon.
The various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the Ghana Police Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must be well-resourced and legally empowered to prosecute individuals and companies that embark on illegal mining and sand winning and allied activities without requisite permits and a firm post winning land reclamation strategy put in place.
The recommendation from the association concludes that “Ghana’s resolve to mitigate the negative effects of climate change may face serious hiccups should the authorities continue to relax in clamping down on not only illegal mining and sand winning at unauthorised locations but also fails to reclaim already destroyed land as an extension to the operation vanguard”.