Can Microcredit Services Alleviate Hardship in African Small-Scale Mining Communities

This paper critically examines the challenges with implementing microcreditservices for small-scale mine operators—individuals engaged in labor-intensive mineral extraction and/or processing using low-tech methods—in sub-Saharan Africa. The region’s policymakers have shied away from launching microcredit programs for small-scalemining, frustrated by the disappointing results of the past and unsure about how to proceed with implementation. Recent efforts to provide microcreditservices for operators in Talensi-Nabdam District, Northern Ghana, however, illustrate how with a renewed level of commitment and the development of blueprints which adequately address the appropriate criteria, fairly robust schemes can be launched

Green and golden seaweed tides on the rise

Sudden beaching of huge seaweed masses smother the coastline and form rotting piles on the shore. The number of reports of these events in previously unaffected areas has increased worldwide in recent years. These 'seaweed tides' can harm tourism-based economies, smother aquaculture operations or disrupt traditional artisanal fisheries. Coastal eutrophication is the obvious, ultimate explanation for the increase in seaweed biomass, but the proximate processes that are responsible for individual beaching events are complex and require dedicated study to develop effective mitigation strategies. Harvesting the macroalgae, a valuable raw material, before they beach could well be developed into an effective solution