cecosda effects of aluvial gold mining in the adamawa region of cameroon)

IMPACTS OF ARTISANAL

MINING ON THE

ENVIRONEMENT IN THE

ADAMAWA REGION -

CAMEROON

FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE………

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Declaration n° 00001195/RDA/J06/BAPP; Head Office: Yaounde (Biyem-assi); P O BOX: 30975 Tel : +237 222 311 875;

Web site : www.cecosda.org; Email: [email protected] Created on: 10/04/2015

Centre for Communication and Sustainable Development for All

http://www.cecosda.org/

mailto:[email protected]

CONTENT

1- ARTISANAL MINING IN THE ADAMAOUA REGION – CAMEROON

2- HOW IS ARTISANAL MINING DONE ?

3- ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

3 . 1 Damage to land resources;

3. 2 Water resources damage;

3. 3 Wildlife and domestic animals damage

3. 4 Aesthetic deformations

4- SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS

4.1 Hindrance to other economic activities;

4.1 Social conflicts;

5- CONCLUSION



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IMPACTS OF ARTISANAL MINING ON THE ENVIRONEMENT IN THE ADAMAWA REGION - CAMEROON



1. ARTISANAL MINING IN THE ADAMAOUA REGION –

CAMEROON



In the Adamawa region of Cameroon, alluvial gold deposits are

being exploited using traditional and informal methods usually

described as “Panning”. This is being done today by nearly 80

000 individuals throughout the country, with about 8 000 in the

Adamawa Region and it employs physical force of men.

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In the mining sites, the situation is characterized by high

human pressure on the natural environment which causes major

ecological disruptions and suggesting doubts about

environmental sustainability in these areas.




2. HOW IS ARTISANAL MINING DONE?

This process entails the clearing away

of vegetation covers of the top soils

and excavation process of the soils in

search for the alluvial gold.

Following the frequent movement of

miners to other more interesting and

potential resourceful sites, numerous

holes, trenches and mine working

sites are abandoned, thus promoting

an ecological imbalance



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3. ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS OF MINING ACTIVITIES

Erosion increases dramatically when the protective plant cover is

removed and the remaining soil is not stabilized. Studies show that

water flows from selected mines carry sediment loads up to 1,000

times greater than flows from unmined areas.



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Unless proper precautions are taken, any of these mining

techniques will significantly harm the environment. The older

mining areas of Fell, Legal Goro, and Meloum testify daily to this

reality. Some of these effects include:




3.1 - DAMAGE TO LAND RESOURCES



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Artisanal mining eliminates

existing vegetation and alters the

soil profile or the natural soil

layers. Mining disturbs and may

even destroy the beneficial micro-

organisms in the topsoil. Soil also

may be damaged if reclamation

operations mix the topsoil with

sub soils, diluting matter in the

surface soil




Irresponsible artisanal mining can

pollute streams and disrupt water

supplies. Sometimes water

pollution is easy to spot. Clear

water often turns reddish-orange if

it contains a high concentration of

iron. However, other types of

pollution are harder to detect. A

highly acidic stream, as a result of

acid mine drainage (AMD) may

look no different than a clean one

unless you notice that it has no fish

in it.

3. 2 -WATER RESOURCES DAMAGE

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Wildlife often suffers severely as a result of artisanal

mining. In the short term, all species are either destroyed or

displaced from the area of the mine itself. Mining also may have

adverse, long-term impacts on wildlife, including impairment of its

habitat or native environment. Many animal species cannot adjust to

the changes brought on by the land disturbance involved in artisanal

mining in these communities of the Nord Cameroon. In cases where

an important habitat (such as a primary breeding ground) is

destroyed, the species may be eliminated.



3.3- WILDLIFE AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS DAMAGE

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3.4 - AESTHETIC DEFORMATIONS



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Most communities in the Adamawa

region have a very interesting and

touristic flat terrain that attracts a lot of

people. But as a result of too much

pressure on the surface due to artisanal

mining, these communities are already

having undulating terrain nature with

manmade anticlines and synclines well

defined in all areas and limited

accessibility neither for site seeing nor

for other economic activities.




Despite the fact that artisanal mining operations have

economic and social benefits, the socio-economic effects

of the activities are enormous, and include:

4.1 Hindrance to other economic activities;

4.1 Social conflicts;



4- SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS

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4.1 - HINDRANCE TO OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

The artisanal miners constantly move from old mined sites with

reduced or exhausted yielding potentials to new potentially rich

mining sites, thus leaving behind vast vegetation cleared land

with numerous holes and trenches.

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These areas can no longer be productive for farming and

have no grass cover for animal farmers to feed their animals,

this leaving behind a huge gap in the economic and financial

resources of their communities.



4 . 2 - SOCIAL CONFLICTS

Several conflicts have been sited between the miners and the

headsmen and farmers which rises as a result of the land use

pattern. The miners in most cases trespasses into the lands

designated for faming when they discover that those areas are

potentially rich in alluvial gold. For fear of the various trenches that

the farmers and animal rarer will be left with, there is usually a

fight outbreak which leads to live lost, and a socio-economic

imbalance.

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Artisanal mining is an economic income

generating activity but it should be regulated

and policies fixed which favour environmental

rehabilitation, and education for youths and

children.

V. CONCLUSION

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THANK YOU!



Our Environment is Our Responsibility



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