Management of environmental impacts of gold mining in Southern Ghana.

Abstract

Many environmental and socio-economic problems have been known to be associated with surface gold mining operations in southern Ghana over many years. In this study, these mining impacts are examined using four case study areas and linked to the type and scale of mining operations and the social and physical geography of each region. Information on mining impacts and adverse impact management was obtained from four mining companies, and 800 residents from 16 communities, in the study area using questionnaires, personal interviews and field observations. Additional information was also obtained from relevant government and other institutions. A critical assessment of the current status of the environment and socio-economic situation of, as well as environmental management measures pursued in, the four mining areas reveals that despite a number of prevailing problems, many mining impact mitigation measures are being pursued in the region. These measures are aimed at environmental protection and minimisation of socio-economic impacts of mining. However, common to most of the mines is the use of largely disjointed, and in some cases, ad hoc approaches in the design and implementation of environmental management programmes. A more co-ordinated and cohesive approach to managing mining impacts is required, to ensure environmentally sustainable and socially responsible mining in the region. The use of an Environmental Management System (EMS) is proposed. A community-centred framework based on the geo-environmental characteristics of the study area upon which such a system could be built is presented. This framework could be adopted or adapted for the development of a viable EMS for surface gold mining, which, in turn, would lead to environmentally and socially responsible mining in the study area in particular, and southern Ghana in general.