Extractive
activities such as mining are causing profound ecological and social damage in
Africa. Africa is home to 30% of the world’s mineral resources, including some
of the largest deposits of oil, gas, diamonds, gold, coltan and bauxite.
Governments
must ensure that nature is protected while trade and the economy expand. Some
44% of Africa’s major metal mines are inside or within 10km of a protected
area, while in at least five countries there has already been downgrading or
downsizing of protected areas to allow mining development.
Across
Africa, mining, both small-scale and industrial, is destroying wildlife and
nature at an alarming rate.
While
mining has largely been associated with economic growth, recently the scale and
impact of threats has increased.
As
the race to extract Africa’s natural resources heats up, investments are
fostering environmental degradation, with knock-on impacts for local people and
other economic sectors.
This
problem arises partly because of skyrocketing demand from new players, such as
China, as well as Western companies such as Tesla and Apple.
Between
2005 and 2016, approximately half of China’s outbound investments went into
energy and mining, with Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), attracting roughly one-third of this.
Meanwhile,
demand for commodities that rely on Africa’s minerals – coltan in phones and
laptops, lithium in electric vehicles – is rapidly rising.
Minerals
frequently occur in areas of rich biodiversity, but mining activities often
fail to take ecosystem services, such as provision of fresh water, or soil
fertility, into account.
Because
these services are provided “free” through ecological processes, their value is
disregarded.
The
resulting damage can be profound, with threats ranging from reduced crop yields
arising from loss of pollinators, to the extermination of species which support
ecotourism.
Cobalt
mining in Africa which provides more than half the world’s supply for
rechargeable batteries, is one growing threat.
Mining
waste is polluting rivers and drinking water, while exposure to dust from
pulverised rock causes breathing and other health problems in miners, including
tens of thousands of children.
Habitat
destruction from mining activities, and secondary effects such as bushmeat
harvesting for miners, have contributed to the decline of the critically
endangered eastern lowland gorillas.
A
quarter of all mines may require special measures in order to conserve globally
important biodiversity on the African continent.
A
Guest Editorial
