Alleviating some Environmental Impacts resulting from Artisanal and Small-scaleMining Sector: A Critical Review

This paper highlights the importance of transforming Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector into a more sustainable enterprise and shows  the reclamation of despoiled mined sites as an opportunity to return land to beneficial uses which do not compromise future development of the sites. It presents some of environmental impacts produced by ASM and the contribution of a geomorphological approach to alleviate them. The methodology consisted of the review supported by field survey in small-scale mining areas to summarize the most relevant scientific findings and the importance of stabilizing the land that will support sustainably reclamation structures. The impacts include haphazard excavations with no land reclamation plan, pits, trenches inadequately protected, siltation of open water bodies, soil and rock wastes, negative change of soil properties, and accelerated erosion of the mine sites. To transform the sector into a more responsible industry, ASM has to be placed within two integrated perspectives: (i) building the capacity of ASM sector, and (ii) promoting restoration approach by building a critical knowledge mass through collaboration of relevant stakeholders, with emphasis on multidisciplinary approach.The study opens a relevant new research field and emphasises on the collaboration of mining stakeholders including local communities to develop an integrated approach to address challenges that ASM industry is facing in developing countries. This review highlights the impacts of small-scale mining sector on land use potentials and it is essentialcontribution towards the sustainability of ASM industry and reclamation of despoiled mined lands. Key Words: small-scale mining sector, environmental impact, geomorphologic approach, sustainabilit

Spatio-temporal Analysis of Urban Growth and Its Effects on Wetlands in Rwanda: The Case of Rwampara Wetland in the City of Kigali

This study aimed at analyzing the spatio-temporal patterns of urban growth and its effects on Rwampara wetland, located in the City of Kigali,  Rwanda. First, the study was based on the application of remote sensing technology, where 4 Landsat images (1987, 1999, 2009 & 2018) were  classified using maximum likelihood classification algorithm. This helped in analyzing the Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) trends in the study area. Secondly, it used the existing LULC data for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2018 in order to investigate the overall changes in LULC in Kigali City. Finally, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from local people and decision-makers about their past and future management strategies of Rwampara wetland. In this regard, 30 local communities (mainly natives from the study area), 15 local government authorities at sector and district levels as well as 4 senior government authorities in the central administration were interviewed. The findings revealed that over the past 4 decades, urban growth in Kigali City has rapidly increased at the expense of resource degradation in Rwampara wetland. Specifically, there has been an increase of about 77% of the built-up area over the last 31 years (1987-2018) which has led to the decrease of the wetland surface area from 24 ha in 1987 to only 7.7 ha in 2018. The results also revealed that demographic factors (i.e. a high population growth rate and high population  densities) were mainly responsible for urban growth and degradation of wetland resources in the area under investigation. Keywords: urban growth, wetland, wetland resources, wetland degradation, wetland managemen