ARTISANAL GOLD MINING: ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE, LOSS OF MINING WEALTH, LOCAL SURVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT. WHAT STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED? CASE OF VAVATENINA DISTRICT

PHYSICAL SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Artisanal gold mining is the occupation where many households have opted to work in order to cope with the socio-economic difficulties that the country has gone through. This activity presents several threats to the environment, including: loss of cultivated surface area, soil destruction manifested by the loss of sediment transported by erosion, loss of soil biodiversity, water pollution and disruption of wildlife life. On the other hand, it is a profession that also offers socio-economic benefits, including the reduction of a high unemployment rate, the reduction of rural exodus, the survival of the local population and, by extension, local development. In order to develop this artisanal gold industry while reducing the threats to the environment, strategies will have to be taken, among others: raising the awareness of all the actors in the industry, the rehabilitation or restoration of the exploitation areas. An environmental improvement plan will have to be proposed in order not only to support artisanal miners with environmental mitigation and restoration programs during mining and after the closure of the small mine, but also to promote best practices in environmental management.

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