Artisanal Gold Mining Drives Up to 28% of Deforestation in Africa’s Gold-Rich Regions, Study Finds

Artisanal Gold Mining Drives Up to 28% of Deforestation in Africa’s Gold-Rich Regions, Study Finds
Up to 1 in 12 Forest Losses in Africa Linked to Artisanal Gold Mining, which is responsible for up to 28% of deforestation in Africa’s gold-rich regions, a groundbreaking new study led by Professor Victoire Girard of Nova School of Business and Economics has revealed.
Across the continent, the surge in global gold prices accounts for 8% of total forest degradation since 2001, exposing the devastating environmental toll of the informal gold rush fuelling livelihoods for millions, not just across Africa but also globally.
The research, published in The Economic Journal, combines two decades of satellite imagery, household data, and geological mapping to provide the first continent-wide causal evidence of artisanal and small-scale gold mining’s (ASGM) impact on Africa’s environment.
The findings highlight a stark tension: while booming; artisanal mining activities have unsustainable impacts on the continent’s forests and wider economy.
The study has three key messages:
1. As gold prices climb, miners move deeper into forested zones, clearing land at a rate that now rivals commercial agriculture. The deforestation is primarily direct, caused by tree clearing for mining pits and camps, rather than secondary economic growth.
2. The research shows that State-protected areas cut mining-induced deforestation by 50 percent, though illegal mining continues within some park boundaries.
3. The authors emphasize that artisanal mining also plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of many African households. The study suggest that mining doesn’t make the typical miner extremely rich, but still a large amount of people do depend on mining for the lack of better alternative. The latest data suggest that between 130 and 270 million people depend on artisanal mining worldwide, with Africa home to roughly a third of all artisanal miners. In this context, a simple ban of mining activities would be unlikely to succeed.
Overall, while the activity boosts local wealth, particularly during climate shocks that devastate crops, the environmental cost is immense and current policies of forest protection are insufficient.
“These results have potentially important policy implications. [E]stimates suggest that a large share of deforestation in Africa can be directly attributed to an activity that, although potentially crucial for rural livelihoods, generates relatively little detectable economic growth.” Says Professor Girard.
The authors call for urgent, pragmatic policies such as conditional cash transfers or crop insurance schemes, to provide sustainable alternatives to mining and protect forests across Africa’s gold-bearing regions.
“These results call for further research on forest preservation in gold-suitable areas, ideally through policies acknowledging the centrality of the activity for rural livelihoods, for example, through conditional cash transfers or index-based insurances.” says Professor Girard.
If you would like to speak to, Professor Victoire Girard or know more about the research, please contact Adam Kelly-Moore at BlueSky Education - adam@bluesky-pr.com