Just three days ago, on February 6, 2024, the Groupement spécial de lutte contre l'orpaillage illicite (GS-LOI) arrested 31 illegal gold miners in Ivory Coast. While the only ambition of these crooks is to get rich, the damage to the environment is immeasurable. These include water pollution, 80% of which is now caused by illegal gold panning in the West African country.
On February 3, 2024, a workshop assessing the 2023 activities of the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests was held in the town of Divo, 163.5 km from Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast. The meeting enabled the ministry’s officials to note that the country’s 12 watersheds are all polluted, and that 80% of this pollution is caused by illegal gold panning. The main rivers concerned are the Bandama (98,500 km2), Comoé (82,408 km2), Sassandra (75,000 km2) and Cavally (30,600 km2).
This assessment once again sounds the alarm against this practice, as the consequences are growing in the West African country. Mercury contamination is concentrated along aquatic food chains, reaching particularly high concentrations in the flesh of carnivorous fish.The result is contamination of local populations, who consume these aquatic vertebrates as part of their daily diet.
As well as affecting food and water security, illegal gold mining also leads to massive deforestation.
A call to redouble vigilance
Just three days ago, on February 6, 2024, the Groupement spécial de lutte contre l’orpaillage illicite (GS-LOI) created in June 2021 arrested 31 illegal gold miners in Côte d’Ivoire. The operation, carried out by one of its detachments, took place in the Fronan sub-prefecture, notably in the Kobo classified forest. These individuals were charged with “exploitation of mineral substances without a mining title, illegal prospecting, exploitation and marketing of precious stones and metals”, as well as money laundering.
As a reminder, between July 14, 2021 and May 27, 2022, more than 800 illegal gold panning sites were destroyed in Alassane Dramane Ouattara’s country, and 630 people arrested, as part of the fight against illegal gold panning.
While progress has been made, the Ivorian Minister of Water and Forests has instructed his departments to take more urgent action in the field to clean up the watersheds. “Actions will be stepped up, in collaboration with the Ivorian Ministry of the Environment and its technical department, and the Ivorian Anti-Pollution Centre (Ciapol), to help guarantee the people of Côte d’Ivoire the availability and quality of water, quality fishing and agriculture, health and food self-sufficiency for Ivorians”, Laurent Tchagba hammered home.
Inès Magoum
