The Implications Of Artisanal Gold Mining Practices On Livelihood Security In Uganda

Introduction

Artisanal gold mining (AGM) is one of the emerging economic activities providing alternative livelihoods globally with more than 13million artisanal miners and about 150 million people indirectly reliant on AGM (ILO, 1998). A large proportion of artisan miners mainly in Africa are women and children who are also important in supporting sustainable livelihood security. However, their extensive involvement in the informal mining operations sharply affects other livelihood interventions for which they hold key roles (Hentschel, 2003). In Uganda, Artisanal Gold Mining is on the increase and is largely a poverty-driven activity used as a coping mechanism with thousands of local communities currently engaged in the mining practice (MEMD, 2011). The communities in the mining sites live in deplorable sanitary conditions, use toxic chemicals such as mercury in the gold extraction and have severely degraded fragile ecosystems that support their livelihoods (Kinene 2012). The government of Uganda still regards AGM as an illegal practice providing no regulatory and policy framework to guide the mining operations. The absence of evidence based strategies for sustainable mineral exploitation exacerbates the situation (MEMD 2009). Despite the growing trend of community engagement in artisanal gold mining practice, the implications of the mining on the livelihood security are largely unknown.