Decentralising natural resource governance in Ghana: critical reflections on the artisanal and small-scale mining sector

This paper critically examines the impact of decentralization on contemporary and future governance arrangements in Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. The sector, while providing valuable employment in rural areas, is beleaguered by environmental and social issues. Proponents of decentralization argue that re-distributing decision-making authority leads to more responsive, transparent and efficient natural resource management. The analysis presented here, however, demonstrates how weak decentralization has exacerbated the complex, conflictual and clandestine nature of local resource politics surrounding ASM. If future decentralization reforms are going to reverse this trend and improve the governance of ASM in Ghana, then facilitating the participation of traditional authorities is imperative. It is argued that doing so requires addressing the reticence regarding the role of chiefs in resource governance; simply ironing out existing technical issues with decentralization reforms is unlikely to improve the social and environmental performance of ASM in the country. In light of the chronic resource management deficiencies in Ghana, epitomized in the ASM sector, fostering frank political debates on resource governance is becoming urgent

Shifting sand, shifting livelihoods? Reflections on a coastal gold rush in Ghana

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is often characterised as rush-type activity undertaken by people looking to ‘get-rich quick’. An alternative view posits ASM as poverty-driven activity which provides a valuable source of employment to a rural population where agriculture has failed to provide an adequate income. Against this dichotomy, this article critically reviews the short-lived, but high profile, gold rush which occurred on the beaches of Elmina, a fishing town in Ghana’s Central Region. At its peak, more than 1000 people, including local fishermen and career miners from the Western Region and Eastern Region of the country, were mining on the beaches. Drawing on interviews with miners and local business owners, the analysis explores the dynamics of the rush and its implications for understanding the ASM sector in Ghana. The discussion highlights the challenges associated with managing resources in dynamic and heterogeneous contexts, reconciling separate and conflicting sectoral priorities and the need to go beyond simplified and dualistic representations of the sector

REDD+ and Large-Scale Mining – What Scope for Forestry-based Legacies in Ghana?

With support from the World Bank‟s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), Ghana is pursuing a strategy to Reduce Emis-sions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). This process has drawn attention to the environmental impact of mining, particularly in forested areas. Debates regarding the impact of mining on forests, in both the large and small-scale sectors, hinge on the relative success of reclamation. This paper presents an exploratory assessment of the potential for large-scale min-ing companies to engage with the REDD process and include a forestry based component in their legacy. Such schemes could support the sustained success of rehabilitation programmes, improve community relations and mitigate climate change. Antece-dents for schemes, which include improved data collection and availability, community engagement and the implementation of pilot schemes, are outlined before reviewing the key challenges and most salient risks. It is concluded that while forestry based legacy schemes ought to appeal to large scale mining companies seeking to increase their environmental and social legitimacy, more work needs to be undertaken in order to establish programmes and mitigate the risks involved

Trees for development? Articulating the ambiguities of power, authority and legitimacy in governing Ghana’s mineral rich forests

The growth of mining activities in Africa in the last decade has coincided with increased attention on the fate of the continent’s forests, specifically in the contexts of livelihoods and climate change. Although mining has serious environmental impacts, scant attention has been paid to the processes which shape decision-making in contexts where minerals and forests overlap. Focussing on the illustrative case of Ghana, this paper articulates the dynamics of power, authority and legitimacy of private companies, traditional authorities and key state institutions in governing mining activities in forests. The analysis highlights how mining companies and donors promote a neoliberal model of resource management which entrenches their ability to benefit from mineral exploitation and marginalises the role of state institutions and traditional authorities in decision-making. This subsequently erodes state authority and legitimacy and compounds the contested nature of traditional authorities’ legitimacy. A more nuanced examination of foundational governance questions concerning the relative role of the state, traditional authorities and private interests is needed

Characterization of Municipal Water Sources for the Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Basin Region

The Mexico and Toluca Valleys in central Mexico are part of one of the most heavily populated megalopolises in the western hemisphere where consistent access to safe, affordable, and quality water sources figures to be a decisive challenge in the era of climate change. This professional project report compiles a range of statistics and information about the vital liquid for 29 municipalities located in and around the Mexico City and Toluca areas. This contribution is derived from a broader team research endeavor that seeks to gauge the impacts and adaptive processes to climate change within those regions. By doing so, the aim of this report is to present both general and specific enumerations concerning water and water access in the subset of municipalities, ultimately attempting to connect each one to its source(s) of water and offer insight as to which populations are dependent on different sources. Recent and relevant data has been gathered exclusively from a variety of online sources, including governmental and institutional reports, documents and publications, national census surveys, maps, news articles, and other scholarly work. For the 29 municipalities, each one is presented covering four main indicators: (1) population totals, density, and changes in population growth since 2010; (2) the percentage of private household occupants with access to piped water, broken down by primary sources of obtainment; (3) the volume of municipal water consumption by sectoral allocation; and (4) sources of potable water supply, including descriptions of the water infrastructure and general hydrological characteristics of the municipality

Use of the R-group descriptor for alignment-free QSAR

An R-group descriptor characterises the distribution of some atom-based property, such as elemental type or partial atomic charge, at increasing numbers of bonds distant from the point of substitution on a parent ring system. Application of Partial Least Squares (PLS) to datasets for which bioactivity data and R-group descriptor information are available is shown to provide an effective way of generating QSAR models with a high level of predictive ability. The resulting models are competitive with the models produced by established QSAR approaches, are readily interpretable in structural terms, and are shown to be of value in the optimisation of a lead series

El Niño 2015/2016 impact analysis, monthly outlook December 2015

During the summer and autumn 2015, El Niño conditions in the east and central Pacific have strengthened, disrupting weather patterns throughout the tropics and into the mid-latitudes. For example, rainfall during this summer’s Indian monsoon was approximately 15% below normal. The continued strong El Niño conditions have the potential to trigger damaging impacts (e.g. droughts, famines, floods), particularly in less-developed tropical countries, which would require a swift and effective humanitarian response to mitigate damage to life and property (e.g. health, migration, infrastructure). This analysis uses key climatic variables (temperature, soil moisture and precipitation) as measures to monitor the ongoing risk of these potentially damaging impacts. The previous 2015-2016 El Niño Impact Analysis was based on observations over the past 35 years and produced Impact Tables showing the likelihood and severity of the impacts on temperature and rainfall by season. The current report is an extension of this work providing information from observations and seasonal forecast models to give a more detailed outlook of the potential near-term impacts of the current El Niño conditions by region. This information has been added to the Impact Tables in the form of an ‘Observations and Outlook’ row. This consists of observational information for the past seasons of JJA 2015 and SON 2015, a detailed monthly outlook from 5 modeling centres for Dec 2015 and then longer-term seasonal forecast information from 2 modeling centres for the future seasons of JF 2016 and MAM 2016. The seasonal outlook information is an indication of the average likely conditions for that coming month (or season) and region and is not a definite prediction of weather impacts

Contested Landscapes, Disputed Realities: An Investigation of Socio-Environmental Conflict From Mining in Northern Ecuador: An Honors Thesis

For decades, Ecuador has been one of the preeminent petrostates in South America. However, in response to recent drops in global demand and pricing for oil products, the country has made serious commitments to further develop its mineral resources. By opening a new natural resource sector, Ecuador has firmly cemented itself as a primarily extractivist nation. In the process, the national government has frequently come into conflict with activist and community groups who protest the encroachment of extractive industry. This thesis explores the various dimensions of socio-environmental conflict created by large-scale mining projects in northern Ecuador with specific attention to the Intag Valley. It will first discuss the broader motivating factors underlying the Ecuadorian government’s increased investment in mining. Then, mining is investigated as a central driver of socio-environmental conflict within the Intag Valley, drawing from archival accounts of the region’s lengthy history of mining-related confrontation. Four broad categories of conflict are subsequently defined here: territorial dispossession, environmental disharmony, social discord, and gender inequities. In each category, mining projects create instances for conflict to emerge between local inhabitants, natural landscapes, and pro-mining interests, leading to a wide assortment of intracommunity disruptions. The investigation elaborates how these conflicts have manifested in numerous attempts made to extract Intag’s mineral reserves. Consequently, local opposition to mining has been persistent and widespread throughout the Intag Valley, with various resistance tactics implemented to counter each element of socio-environmental conflict. Concluding insights show that mitigating the impacts of mining-generated socio-environmental conflict should take policy priority in Ecuador under a foreign investment-oriented administration. Overall, to understand how and in what forms mining creates socio-environmental conflict holds salience for communities in Ecuador, and elsewhere around the world, who struggle to confront extractivist development agendas