Strategies for managing large-scale mining sector land use conflicts in the global south

Abstract

In recent years, land use conflicts between large-scale mining sector and local communities have increased in the global south. However, with proper planning, it is possible that both companies and local communities can co-exist in the landscape. Thus, this paper explores land use conflicts in an emerging mining region as a function of: (i) anticipated displacement and (ii) improper understanding of affected communities. Fieldwork and in-depth study was conducted at Ghana's emerging North-west gold province. Participatory mapping, and focus group discussions were used in this study. The study found11Conflicts that are not easily identifiable due to their non-violent nature but, do accumulate and erupt into severe violent conflicts when not properly addressed. FAO, 2000. Conflict and Natural Resource Management. latent contestations against mineral exploration in the area. It further established baseline indicators of land use conflict risks in the area. The study also found that despite the looming large-scale mining sector activities in the area, there are no existing strategies for managing land use conflicts. Hence, the paper advances that robustly calculating and addressing a priori local concerns can enhance peaceful co-existence between the mining sector and local communities.