The environment, its natural resources and development capacity remains a contentious element in the development process of human society. In Ghana, similarly as Africa and other developing countries, there is a huge dependence of environmental resources for economic growth and development. A limited technology and production competency within the local sphere has meant the need for foreign investment and capital in the exploitation of natural resources. In addition, the presence of these financially viable and profit appealing resources pulls along interested foreign interests. Mining gold resources is directly engulfed in this environment and natural resource exploitation process. However, over the years, in as much as revenue has translated into development projects and social services, the environment and social impact has become much visible to local communities within catchment areas. Gold mining in its very core activity is ‘conflictual’ in the sense that it brings structural changes in terms of geographical, social, physical, economic and environmental dimensions. With mining companies alluding to these as ‘necessary evils’, local community refute and demand abrogation of large scale gold mining on their ‘land’. These two primary actors in Ghana are therefore involved in a contentious game of ‘conflicts, disputes and incompatible goals’. In several mining communities in Ghana the situation is existent and persistent leading to occasional clashes and protests. Through an informant data collection approach and secondary data collection, this study analyzed cases of company-community disputes over gold mining and the underpinning issues, the dispute resolution strategies, and the weaknesses in the existing framework. The study revealed that mining’s enormous impact on the environment is not necessary the physical, but also the social and cultural livelihood of indigenous communities. Cases of disputes centered on compensation, resettlement packages, unfulfilled promises, mistrust and lack of alternative livelihoods for economically displaced groups. The dispute resolution strategy was also seen as being too bureaucratic, poorly connected to the cultural and social intricacies of local communities and primarily company oriented. Local planning has played little role in the ensuing process and often seen as a third organization. The study proposed a need for a new framework that considered communities as integral but not peripheral in the general national framework for mining, a cultural-social sensitive resolution framework connected to the peculiarities of each mining community, a re-conceptualization of conflict in a positive dimension in terms of providing avenue for understanding existing weakness in the mining company and community relation, development of sensitive, sustaining and empowering local alternative livelihoods and community led co-designed sustainable development plans.
L'ambiente, le sue naturali risorse e la capacità di sviluppo rimane un contenzioso elemento nel processo di sviluppo della società umana. In Ghana, simile come in Africa e altri paesi in via di sviluppo, c'è un enorme dipendenza verso le risorse ambientali per la crescita economica e sviluppo. Una limitata tecnologia e la competenza produttiva nella sfera locale hanno dato un significato al bisogno per gli investimenti esteri e capitale nello sfruttamento delle risorse naturali. In aggiunta, la presenza di questi finanziariamente vitali e proficuamente attraenti risorse attirano gli interessi stranieri. Le risorse d'oro nelle miniere sono direttamente ingolfate in questo processo ambientale di sfruttamento delle risorse naturali. Sebbene, negli anni, le molte entrate si sono tradotte nello sviluppo di progetti e servizi sociali, l'ambiente e l'impatto sociale sono divenuti più visibili alle comunità locali nelle aree di raccolta. Il cuore dell'attività nell'estrazione dell'oro è, “conflittuale” nel senso che porta dei cambiamenti strutturali in termini di dimensioni geografici, sociali, fisici, economici. Con le compagnie di miniera che alludono a queste come “cattiva necessità”, le comunità locale si rifiuta e domanda un'abrogazione su larga scala dell'estrazione dell'oro sul loro “territorio”. Questi due principali attori in Ghana sono perciò coinvolti in un contenzioso gioco di “conflitti, dispute e obbiettivi incompatibili”. In diverse comunità minerarie in Ghana la situazione è esistente e persistente conducendo a scontri e proteste occasionali. Attraverso un approccio di dati informatici raccolti e una seconda raccolta dati, questo studio analizza casi di dispute tra compagnia e comunità sulle questioni sottostanti, la disputa per le strategie risolutive e le debolezze nella struttura esistente. Lo studio ha rilevato che l'enorme impatto minerario sull'ambiente non è necessariamente fisico, ma anche sociale e culturale della vita delle comunità indigene. Casi di controversie incentrate sul compenso, pacchetti di risistemazione, promesse mancate, sfiducia e mancanza di vite economicamente alternative per gruppi profughi. La disputa sulla strategia risolutiva veniva vista anche come essere troppo burocratica, poco connessa all'aspetto intrinseco culturale e sociale delle comunità locali e orientata principalmente alla compagnia. La pianificazione locale ha avuto un ruolo marginale nel conseguimento del processo e spesso vista come una terza organizzazione. Lo studio propone un bisogno per una nuova struttura che considera le comunità come integrali e non marginali nella generale struttura nazionale mineraria, una struttura risolutiva culturalmente e socialmente sensibile connesso alle peculiarità di ogni comunità mineraria, una riconcettualizzazione del conflitto in una dimensione positiva in termini che provvedono la via verso la comprensione delle debolezze esistenti nella relazione tra compagnie minerarie e comunità, sviluppo sensibile, sostenibile e rafforzato della vita alternativa locale e comunità guidata a co dei piani di sviluppo sostenibile
Mining, environment and community conflicts : a study of company community conflicts over gold mining and its implications for local community planning in Ghana
OKYERE, SETH ASARE
2013/2014
Abstract
The environment, its natural resources and development capacity remains a contentious element in the development process of human society. In Ghana, similarly as Africa and other developing countries, there is a huge dependence of environmental resources for economic growth and development. A limited technology and production competency within the local sphere has meant the need for foreign investment and capital in the exploitation of natural resources. In addition, the presence of these financially viable and profit appealing resources pulls along interested foreign interests. Mining gold resources is directly engulfed in this environment and natural resource exploitation process. However, over the years, in as much as revenue has translated into development projects and social services, the environment and social impact has become much visible to local communities within catchment areas. Gold mining in its very core activity is ‘conflictual’ in the sense that it brings structural changes in terms of geographical, social, physical, economic and environmental dimensions. With mining companies alluding to these as ‘necessary evils’, local community refute and demand abrogation of large scale gold mining on their ‘land’. These two primary actors in Ghana are therefore involved in a contentious game of ‘conflicts, disputes and incompatible goals’. In several mining communities in Ghana the situation is existent and persistent leading to occasional clashes and protests. Through an informant data collection approach and secondary data collection, this study analyzed cases of company-community disputes over gold mining and the underpinning issues, the dispute resolution strategies, and the weaknesses in the existing framework. The study revealed that mining’s enormous impact on the environment is not necessary the physical, but also the social and cultural livelihood of indigenous communities. Cases of disputes centered on compensation, resettlement packages, unfulfilled promises, mistrust and lack of alternative livelihoods for economically displaced groups. The dispute resolution strategy was also seen as being too bureaucratic, poorly connected to the cultural and social intricacies of local communities and primarily company oriented. Local planning has played little role in the ensuing process and often seen as a third organization. The study proposed a need for a new framework that considered communities as integral but not peripheral in the general national framework for mining, a cultural-social sensitive resolution framework connected to the peculiarities of each mining community, a re-conceptualization of conflict in a positive dimension in terms of providing avenue for understanding existing weakness in the mining company and community relation, development of sensitive, sustaining and empowering local alternative livelihoods and community led co-designed sustainable development plans.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/88051