Assessing the impact of small-scale mining activities on land use land cover and the sustainability of mining practices in Ghana: A case of the Atiwa East district

Samuel Kofi Mensah, Emmanuel Kwesi Nyantakyi, Gifty Serwaa Mensah, Ebenezer K. Siabi, Nana Osei Bonsu Ackerson, Prince Antwi-Agyei, Peter Donkor and Sarah Elikplim Siabi

Resources Policy, 2025, vol. 109, issue C

Abstract: Small-scale mining (SSM), though an important economic activity, has caused extensive damage to water bodies, forest, agricultural land, threatening sustainability of man and the immediate environment. This is largely attributed to destructive and wasteful mining practices dominating the sector. This study assessed the impact of SSM activities on land use land cover and the sustainable practices in Ghana, using the Atiwa East District as case study. The study specifically focused on the spatio-temporal changes in land use land cover, the impact of SSM on land use land cover as well as the factors that influence sustainability in the sector. Two hundred and ten (210) respondents were selected for the study. The supervised spectral angle mapper classification algorithm in QGIS together with visual interpretation was used to classify images into various Land Use Land Cover (LULC) categories.

Keywords: SSM; LULC changes; Sustainable mining; Sustainable development goals; Ghana (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:109:y:2025:i:c:s0301420725002612

DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105719

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