Browsing by Author "Yeboah, Joseph"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Assessment of the Collaboration and Commitments among Mining Communities, Mining Companies and the Governmental Institutions towards the realisation of Reclamation Goal (A Case Study of the Reclaimed Kubi Mined Site)
    (2006) Yeboah, Joseph
    Mining is an age old activity in Ghana and dates back to several decades. Starting as a simple alluvial activity it has transformed to the present day industrial level characterized by massive underground drills and heavy surface excavations which come with numerous environmental problems such as land degradation, thus, necessitating the reclamation of affected lands to ensure that society retains multiple use opportunities of such sites. This study which is a case study of Anglogold Ashanti’s reclamation of the their Kubi concession, was to determine the level of involvement of the Kubi communities in reclamation planning and decision making and their overall understanding of the reclamation process, the commitment of the company to reclamation activity in terms of management and hence the general performance of the established trees, species diversity and site conditions of the reclaimed site. Questionnaires were administered to community members while tree height and diameter measurements, species numbers and types and soil samples were taken from repeated sample plots that were laid on the reclaimed site. The study revealed that communities were not involved in the reclamation decision making contrary to provisions under the Environmental Assessment Regulation. Secondly, the communities could not foresee how the reclaimed site could be useful to them in the future as their expectations were clearly different from that of the company. While the exotic species such as Senna seamia and Acacia mangium performed well on the site, almost all the indigenous species such as Ceiba pentandra, Entandophragma angolense and Terminalia ivorensis were stunted because of poor management and accounted for only 3.6% of the reclamation species on the site instead of the 40% indigenous species recommended by the EPA The soil chemical condition with a mean pH of 5.5 was good with most of the soil nutrients tested within the average range for most standard soil classifications. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to find out the heavy metal levels on the reclaimed site because of their potential to contaminate underground water and streams since the communities depend solely on such streams.