Abstract
This study focuses on the assessment of “the advancement of the mining front (gold panning) in and around protected areas”. The aim of this article is to evaluate, using geomatics tools, the recent advance of the mining front (gold panning) in Benue National Park (PNB) and Bouba-Ndjidda (PNBN) for their planning purposes. We adopted a methodological approach articulated from the field surveys to the processing of satellite images and the integration of the data into a GIS. Thus, 30 gold panning sites were visited, including 16 in the PNB and 14 in the PNBN. From the mapping of the pressures exerted by this activity, it appears that 143.8 km and 73.8 km of cumulated linear were exploited respectively in the GNP and the PNBN; moreover, the results allowed us to detect that the surfaces degraded by gold panning are more important in Benue than in Bouba Ndjidda. The massive influx of migrants from the more populated areas of the Far North of Cameroon as well as neighboring countries (Chad, Nigeria and the Central African Republic) has not only brought about the growth of a pioneering agricultural front, but also the mining front, following the gold rush from 2009; which has led to huge environmental consequences in these protected areas.
Highlights
Africa is rich in important natural resources, mainly mining
This study focuses on the assessment of “the advancement of the mining front in and around protected areas”
From the mapping of the pressures exerted by this activity, it appears that 143.8 km and 73.8 km of cumulated linear were exploited respectively in the GNP and the PNBN; the results allowed us to detect that the surfaces degraded by gold panning are more important in Benue than in Bouba Ndjidda
Summary
Africa is rich in important natural resources, mainly mining. The share of African world production of gold is estimated at 25% [1]. The mining sector in several African countries has made significant investments, mainly driven by World Bank reforms in the 1990s and 2000s, and by a relaxation of the national mining codes and its high course [4]. The semi-mechanized, mechanized and artisanal exploitation intensified
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