“We have done nothing wrong”: Youth miners’ perceptions of the environmental consequences of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Ghana

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has gained prominence across sub-Saharan Africa for generating employment and ameliorating hardships for rural populations, especially, the youth. However, the associated destructive environmental impacts raise questions about its suitability as employment avenue for the youth when considered within the mining-sustainability discourse. This article contributes to the discussions on ASM and its effect on the environment by investigating how youth artisanal and small-scale miners perceive the environmental implications of their own operations in the Upper East Region (UER) of Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with forty-five (45) ‘youth’ miners and three (3) purposely sampled government officials. Overall, the findings suggest that ASM operators do not consider themselves perpetrators of environmental destruction. More importantly, most youth ASM operators seem to lack considerable knowledge on the long-term harm their work may be posing to the environment. Those who acknowledged that activities resulted in environmental degradation, argued that their financial needs for survival supersedes any immediate or long-term environmental cost. Given the low level of education among miners about the environmental implications of their activities, the findings call for an urgent need for proper education among ASM miners. Furthermore, in lure of the fact that government's policy of criminalizing ASM seems to constantly fail, there needs to be a shift from criminalizing ASM operators towards collaborative engagements in their quest to protect Ghana's fragile environment.