PHOTO: Lead Researcher Prof.Remi Brazillier, Paris University
A research conducted in Cbarpolu County of mining towns and villages and their populations has found a sharp contrast between residents, on the benefits and draw backs of artisanal mining on the communities and their inhabitants.
The study has at the same time suggested no consensus on the implications for child labor”, some of the findings revealed. The research was carried out by the Paris University with Prof. Remi Brazillier as head of research team.
Some spoke of the economic benefits of mining, while others reasoned that though it is money in pockets, the health and environmental consequences were very grave.
Of 232 towns and villages screened, data were gathered, processed and analyzed from 90 0f the towns.
A key objective of the study is to propose and evaluate policies and programs aimed at reducing the negative spillovers of artisanal mining on health and the environment. It underscored the need for policies aimed improving working conditions in the artisanal mining sector.
The research team also recommends regulations of artisanal mining but at the same time warned against dismantling the sector, as that would gravely have negative impacts on those whose livelihoods are solely dependent on it.
On the demography of mining and non-mining communities, the survey found that “Mining towns have 625 inhabitants on average against 281 for non-mining towns. Interestingly, we compare this population size with the ones from the national census conducted in 2008 (at the beginning of the mining boom).
It also spoke of some of the potential disadvantages of mining as shifting of the labor force especially towards the industrial mining sector. “We find that most town chiefs think that mining is likely to increase male but also (although to a lower extent) female labor.
Most of the evidence so far has been concentrated on industrial mines, which is unfortunate, since it is acknowledged that women play a much larger role in artisanal mining than in the large-scale mining sector” the survey showed.
As some of its possible next steps, the team hinted that “using our detailed data on artisanal mines geo location, we will be able to specifically assess the role of artisanal mining activities on job opportunities. We plan to get a closer measure of the type of tasks that women are involved in, directly and indirectly related to the opportunities in artisanal mines. We will document the patterns of job creation for both genders, and we will also pay attention to the intra-household dynamics in terms of time allocation between agriculture, mining, and domestic production across genders.”
The research was financed by the International Growth Centre (Small project LIB-20265). Additional supports were provided by Politique Scientifique of Pantheon-Sorbonne University the EUR PgSE. Institute For Quality Research and Development Liberia, among others.