Managing the impacts of mining on Ghana’s water resources from a legal perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasirudeen Abdul Fatawu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Legal Perspective

Recent floods in Ghana are largely blamed on mining activities. Not only are lives lost through these floods, farms andproperties are destroyed as a result. Water resources are diverted, polluted and impounded upon by both large-scale minersand small-scale miners. Although these activities are largely blamed on behavioural attitudes that need to be changed, thereare legal dimensions that should be addressed as well. Coincidentally, a great proportion of the water resources of Ghana arewithin these mining areas thus the continual pollution of these surface water sources is a serious threat to the environmentand the development of the country as a whole. The environmental laws need to be oriented properly with adequate sanctionsto tackle the impacts mining has on water resources. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure needs to bestreamlined and undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and not the company itself.

Mapping global water projects: improving access to donor investment information on the web

Water Policy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
J. Lisa Jorgensona
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Projects ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Water Project ◽  
The Web

This paper discusses a series of discusses how web sites now report international water project information, and maps the combined donor investment in more than 6000 water projects, active since 1995. The maps show donor investment:  • has addressed water scarcity,  • has improved access to improvised water resources,  • correlates with growth in GDP,  • appears to show a correlation with growth in net private capital flow,  • does NOT appear to correlate with growth in GNI. Evaluation indicates problems in the combined water project portfolios for major donor organizations: •difficulties in grouping projects over differing Sector classifications, food security, or agriculture/irrigation is the most difficult.  • inability to map donor projects at the country or river basin level because 60% of the donor projects include no location data (town, province, watershed) in the title or abstracts available on the web sites.  • no means to identify donor projects with utilization of water resources from training or technical assistance.  • no information of the source of water (river, aquifer, rainwater catchment).  • an identifiable quantity of water (withdrawal amounts, or increased water efficiency) is not provided.  • differentiation between large scale verses small scale projects. Recommendation: Major donors need to look at how the web harvests and combines their information, and look at ways to agree on a standard template for project titles to include more essential information. The Japanese (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank provide good models.

Industrial pollution and vegetable farming in sharada industrial layout of Kano municipal area council

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-58
Author(s):  
Ikenna Uzonu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Industrial Effluents ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Secondary Treatment ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Vegetable Farmers ◽  
Groundwater Samples ◽  
Dug Wells ◽  
Vegetable Farming

This work examined the effects of industrial effluents on surface water used for vegetable irrigation in Kano City of Kano State. As the population of Kano increases, more demand is placed on these industries for products thus leading to the generation of large volumes of effluents that are discharged directly into nearby streams without treatment. The usage of this surface water for vegetable irrigation by a significant number of vegetable farmers is a matter of major concern due to the presence of pollutants. Some of the field measurements were carried out insitu while others were taken to the laboratory for analysis. Groundwater samples were taken from a borehole and two hand-dug wells while surface water was taken from point of discharge and two other points along the Challawa River which is the main source of water for vegetable irrigation. Composite soil samples were taken from four points within the vegetable farms. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Ministry of Environment standards were used as baseline standards for limits. Results show that presence of Fe, Pb, Mn, Cr and Cd were found to be above the FMEnv limits in the soil, the presence of SO4, Cu and K were also found to be above the FMEnv limits as well in groundwater while BOD, NO2 and Cr were above the FEPA limit for surface water. Some of the recommendations include constant monitoring for the presence of heavy metals in soils and irrigation water and that the need for the construction of both primary and secondary treatment plants has become essential.

scholarly journals Mining Impact on Livelihoods of Farmers of Asutifi North District, Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Felix Agariga ◽  
Simon Abugre ◽  
Ebenezer K. Siabi ◽  
Mark Appiah
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Livelihood Systems ◽  
Domestic Use ◽  
The Impact

Local communities in Ghana are heavily reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, they are increasingly shifting from engaging in agriculture to mining. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of mining (both small and large scale) on the livelihoods of community members of Kenyasi, Asutifi North District in Ghana. Data were collected from 201 farming households who were selected randomly and interviewed for a variety of information. The questionnaire responses received from the respondents were classified into items and each item's responses were tallied. The results of the studies show that the farmers’ livelihood systems were affected by the mining operations occurring around their communities. Water pollution, displacement of farmers from their lands, degradation of agricultural lands, and an increase in social vices and higher dropout rates of students from schools are some of the reported consequences of the mining activities. The pollution of the water resources poses a serious threat to the health and livelihood systems of these farmers as they depend on the water resources for agriculture and domestic use. In this study, we project that there could be increased grievances over scarce land resource and food insecurity that could lead to conflicts in the mining areas. The lack of land resources could have a tremendous effect on the social, economic, and political climate of a country and must be considered and addressed as some of the most immediate threats to Ghana's national security.

scholarly journals ANÁLISE DE RISCO DE CONTAMINAÇÃO DAS ÁGUAS SUBTERRÂNEAS E SUPERFICIAIS DA REGIÃO DE PETROLINA (PE) E JUAZEIRO (BA)

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
VERA L. FERRACINI ◽  
MARIA C. Y. P. PESSOA ◽  
ADERALDO S. SILVA ◽  
CLÁUDIO A. SPADOTTO
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Water Contamination ◽  
Middle Portion ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Pesticide Degradation ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Degradation Time

Analisou-se o potencial de contaminação das águas subterrâneas e superficiais do Submédio do Rio São Francisco por pesticidas aplicados nas culturas de manga e uva, mediante critérios da Environmental Protection Agency, do índice de GUS e critérios propostos por GOSS. Todos os critérios utilizados levam em consideração as propriedades dos produtos aplicados, não demandando custos elevados nem muito tempo para o levantamento das informações e para a avaliação do potencial de contaminação. Os resultados obtidos reforçam a importância de disponibilizar informações sobre as propriedades físico-químicas dos pesticidas, principalmente o coeficiente de adsorção, cujo valor permite a previsão da mobilidade do composto no solo. Este fator, integrado ao conhecimento do tempo de degradação do produto até a metade de sua concentração inicial (meia-vida) no solo, fornece informações sobre a sua influência no potencial de contaminação das águas. Os resultados deste trabalho propiciam o conhecimento dos pesticidas com maior potencial de contaminação dos recursos hídricos, os quais devem ser priorizados no monitoramento ambiental “in loco”. GROUND AND SURFACE WATER OF THE REGIONS PETROLINA (PE) AND JUAZEIRO (BA) Abstract The contamination potential of ground water and surface water in the sub-middle portion of San Francisco river basin was analyzed for pesticides applied in mango and grape cultivation by following the criteria of Environmental Protection Agency and to the index of GUS and criteria proposed by GOSS. All the criteria used take into consideration the applied products properties, by not demanding high costs nor a long time for rising information and evaluating contamination potential. The results obtained reinforce the importance of information publication on the physicochemical properties of pesticides, especially data on adsorption coefficient, whose values allow to predict the pesticide mobility in soils. This factor combined with the pesticide degradation time to the half of its initial concentration (half life) in the soil, provides information on pesticide water contamination potential. The results of this work allow the identification of the pesticides with higher contamination potential to water resources, which should be prioritized in environmental monitoring “in loco”.

Herbicide dynamics in the Bogue Phalia watershed in the Yazoo River basin of Mississippi

Weed Science ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Shaw ◽  
Stephen M. Schraer ◽  
Joby Prince ◽  
Michele Boyette
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Point Source ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Health Advisory ◽  
Yazoo River Basin ◽  
Surface Water Samples ◽  
The U.S

A two-year surface water reconnaissance of the Bogue Phalia and its tributaries was conducted in 1997 and 1998. Cyanazine and metolachlor in surface water samples were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Cyanazine and metolachlor were detected in 101 and 132 of 160 samples, respectively. Cyanazine concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 2.2 g L−1and exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lifetime health advisory level (HAL) of 1 g L−1in eight samples. However, concentrations never exceeded the HAL for shorter exposure times. Metolachlor concentrations never reached the lifetime HAL of 100 g L−1. Metolachlor concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 20.6 g L−1. Metolachlor was detected more frequently and found to be more persistent throughout the growing season than was cyanazine. Higher cyanazine and metolachlor concentrations were detected at sampling dates that coincided with herbicide applications. One of the Bogue Phalia's tributaries, Clear Creek, was found to be a point-source of cyanazine for the watershed.

scholarly journals Effect of gold mining on total factor productivity of farmers: Evidence from Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 327
Author(s):  
John K. M. KUWORNU ◽  
Yaw B. OSEI-ASARE ◽  
Michael O. ANSAH ◽  
Akwasi MENSAH-BONSU
Keyword(s):  
Total Factor Productivity ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Factor Productivity ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
Land Disputes ◽  
Cocoa Farmers ◽  
Brong Ahafo Region

Gold mining comes with several benefits to developing countries, manifested mainly in the form of employment and revenue, but simultaneously impacts negatively on the immediate environment. It affects the economic structure including agriculture and its productivity. Hence, this study investigated the effect of gold mining on total factor productivity of farmers in Ghana using 110 cocoa farmers from Asutifi North and Asutifi South districts of the Brong Ahafo Region, categorised into mining and non-mining areas respectively. About 83 % of the farmers in the mining areas were affected by gold mining through channels such as land disputes, relocation of farm/residence, high cost of labour, illegal small-scale mining and dust settlement on crops. Also, about 64 % of cocoa farmers in the mining areas lost their farm lands (between 0.4 and 3.64 ha as a result of gold mining. The Tornqvist Total Factor Productivity (TFP) indices for cocoa farmers in the non-mining areas (mean TFP of 1.404) were also statistically higher than those in the mining areas (mean TFP of 0.371). The study concluded that gold mining activities adversely affect productivity of farmers in the catchment areas. The study recommends, among others, that a policy of land-for-land should be in place and effectively implemented to ensure that mining companies in order to enhance and ensure continuity of livelihoods must fully replace lands lost through mining activities.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Motivation among Key Populations to Engage with Tuberculosis Screening and Testing Services in Northwest Tanzania: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9654
Author(s):  
Rabia Abeid Khaji ◽  
Venance Muzuka Kabwebwe ◽  
Annasia Goodluck Mringo ◽  
Thomas Faustine Nkwabi ◽  
Jacob Bigio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Workers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Key Populations ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Tuberculosis Screening ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Community Stakeholders

In northwest Tanzania, many artisanal small-scale miners (ASMs) and female sex workers (FSWs) live in informal communities surrounding mines where tuberculosis (TB) is highly prevalent. An active case finding (ACF) intervention to increase TB case notification was undertaken in two districts. Alongside this, a study was implemented to understand engagement with the intervention through: (1) quantitative questionnaires to 128 ASMs and FSWs, who either engaged or did not engage in the ACF intervention, to assess their views on TB; (2) qualitative interviews with 41 ASMs and FSWs, 36 community health workers (CHWs) and 30 community stakeholders. The mean perceived severity of TB score was higher in the engaged than in the non-engaged group (p = 0.01). Thematic analysis showed that health-seeking behaviour was similar across both groups but that individuals in the non-engaged group were more reluctant to give sputum samples, often because they did not understand the purpose. CHWs feared contracting TB on the job, and many noted that mining areas were difficult to access without transportation. Community stakeholders provided various recommendations to increase engagement. This study highlights reasons for engagement with a large-scale ACF intervention targeting key populations and presents insights from implementers and stakeholders on the implementation of the intervention.

Agricultural use of water

1980 ◽  
Vol 209 (1174) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
Agricultural Use ◽  
Village Communities ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

Irrigation for agricultural purposes is one of the essential claims on available water resources. Those resources have not been adequately utilized in many countries for a variety of reasons. Where finance has been allocated to irrigation schemes, the schemes have tended to be large-scale, and the performance often disappointing. Alternatively, small-scale irrigation schemes, while receiving less support and encouragement, can often be more effective. For both large-scale and small-scale irrigation schemes, the responses of individual farmers and village communities are critical factors. More technologies need to be developed that are adapted to local needs, resources and aspirations within the context of current socio-economic practices. Obviously, the wider the range of technologies available, the more likely it will be that the technology most appropriate to existing conditions will be identified and used.

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