Assessing the effects of gold mining on environment: A case study of Shekiso district, Guji zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Environmental sustainability has become a serious problem in the world. Similarly, on environmental of the mining in the Shekiso district has become a severe issue at present. Such events have fueled an often contentious debate about how to identify areas that should be declared off-limits to mining because of too-rapid social and environmental sensitivity. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effects of the gold mining on the environment at a selected kebele in the case of Shekiso District, Guji Zone, Ethiopia. The primary data used for this study was obtained from 283 randomly selected sample in the study area. This data was collected using a structured interview, focus group discussions, observation, and key informant interviews, then analyzed using descriptive statistics. Besides, a semi-structured interview was used to collect data from the mining and energy office in Shekiso District. The key informant was selected specifically to infer the effects of gold mining on the environment in the study area. The survey results indicate that mining serves as a key source of income (53%), a source of raw materials (30%), and employment (17%). On the other hand, gold mining is a root cause of environmental problems such as water shortages (8.8%), dehydration of the brook (10.6%), soil erosion (20.8%), damage to the street (17.6%), and destruction of the ecosystem (7.0%). Besides that, about 8.8%, 8.8%, and 6.3% of households stated that mining operations cause deforestation, air pollution, and destruction of aquatic life, respectively. Generally, due to a lack of environmental awareness programs through education in many gold mining communities, safeguarding sustainable use of the natural environment poses several challenges in study area. As a result, local governments should raise awareness, facilitate registration, and address rules and enforcement in an effort to enhance ecologically friendly mining.