The Experts below are selected from a list of 32571 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Sebastien Brosse - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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influence of small scale Gold Mining on french guiana streams are diatom assemblages valid disturbance sensors
Ecological Indicators, 2012Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The ongoing Gold-rush in French Guiana could cause severe disturbance to ecosystems. Although illegal, small Gold Mining sites are rapidly expanding. Few studies have attempted to measure the consequences of the increased Gold Mining on the biota of small forest streams, and to date no study has dealt with primary producers. Here we measured the response of diatom assemblages to Gold Mining in ten sites differently affected by the Mining activity (i.e., reference, formerly Gold-mined and currently exploited). Our results showed that both taxonomic and functional structure of the diatom assemblages were influenced by the intensity of Gold Mining activity. A significant relationship between soil erosion and diatom motility ability has been demonstrated. These findings show that diatom assemblages are sensitive to Gold Mining disturbance and suggest that diatom communities may be used as sensors of the environmental stress caused by small-scale Gold Mining activities.
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small scale Gold Mining erodes fish assemblage structure in small neotropical streams
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The current Gold rush experienced by the Guiana shield is profoundly disturbing freshwater ecosystems. Indeed, streams act as receptors for the water that drains Gold Mining sites and that contain a high load of sediment and toxicants. We here investigated how Gold Mining activities affect the structure of fish assemblages in small forest streams in French Guiana. We selected six streams subjected to different types of Gold Mining impact (reference, former Gold Mining and currently exploited sites) to measure the impact of Gold Mining on downstream fish assemblages, but also to determine the resilience of fish assemblages after stopping Mining activities. Although overall descriptors of the assemblage such as species richness and fish biomass were not sensitive to Gold Mining, the fish taxonomic composition was strongly influenced. Furthermore, we showed that the functional structure of fish assemblages was significantly affected by the Mining activities favouring smaller and ubiquitous fish at the expense of bigger and habitat specialist species. Even in areas where Mining activities had stopped for some time, site resilience was incomplete.
Loic Tudesque - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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influence of small scale Gold Mining on french guiana streams are diatom assemblages valid disturbance sensors
Ecological Indicators, 2012Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The ongoing Gold-rush in French Guiana could cause severe disturbance to ecosystems. Although illegal, small Gold Mining sites are rapidly expanding. Few studies have attempted to measure the consequences of the increased Gold Mining on the biota of small forest streams, and to date no study has dealt with primary producers. Here we measured the response of diatom assemblages to Gold Mining in ten sites differently affected by the Mining activity (i.e., reference, formerly Gold-mined and currently exploited). Our results showed that both taxonomic and functional structure of the diatom assemblages were influenced by the intensity of Gold Mining activity. A significant relationship between soil erosion and diatom motility ability has been demonstrated. These findings show that diatom assemblages are sensitive to Gold Mining disturbance and suggest that diatom communities may be used as sensors of the environmental stress caused by small-scale Gold Mining activities.
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small scale Gold Mining erodes fish assemblage structure in small neotropical streams
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The current Gold rush experienced by the Guiana shield is profoundly disturbing freshwater ecosystems. Indeed, streams act as receptors for the water that drains Gold Mining sites and that contain a high load of sediment and toxicants. We here investigated how Gold Mining activities affect the structure of fish assemblages in small forest streams in French Guiana. We selected six streams subjected to different types of Gold Mining impact (reference, former Gold Mining and currently exploited sites) to measure the impact of Gold Mining on downstream fish assemblages, but also to determine the resilience of fish assemblages after stopping Mining activities. Although overall descriptors of the assemblage such as species richness and fish biomass were not sensitive to Gold Mining, the fish taxonomic composition was strongly influenced. Furthermore, we showed that the functional structure of fish assemblages was significantly affected by the Mining activities favouring smaller and ubiquitous fish at the expense of bigger and habitat specialist species. Even in areas where Mining activities had stopped for some time, site resilience was incomplete.
Gavin Hilson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Artisanal Gold Mining: A New Frontier in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone?
Journal of Development Studies, 2011Co-Authors: Roy Maconachie, Gavin HilsonAbstract:This paper argues that a formalised small-scale Gold Mining sector could ameliorate Sierra Leone's emerging 'crisis of youth'. Burgeoning pockets of unemployed young men now found scattered throughout the country, the mobilisation of whom proved instrumental in prolonging civil war in the 1990s, have fuelled fresh concerns about renewed violence. If supported, small-scale Gold Mining could provide immediate economic relief in the form of direct employment and downstream activities. Its promotion, however, is contingent upon a radical change in mindset in policymaking circles. Gold Mining continues to be associated with diamond Mining, an industry which perpetuated the country's civil war.
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structural adjustment and subsistence industry artisanal Gold Mining in ghana
Development and Change, 2005Co-Authors: Gavin Hilson, Clive PotterAbstract:Since the implementation of Ghana's national Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), policies associated with the programme have been criticized for perpetuating poverty within the country's subsistence economy. This article brings new evidence to bear on the contention that the SAP has both fuelled the uncontrolled growth of informal, poverty-driven artisanal Gold Mining and further marginalized its impoverished participants. Throughout the adjustment period, it has been a central goal of the government to promote the expansion of large-scale Gold Mining through foreign investment. Confronted with the challenge of resuscitating a deteriorating Gold Mining industry, the government introduced a number of tax breaks and policies in an effort to create an attractive investment climate for foreign multinational Mining companies. The rapid rise in exploration and excavation activities that has since taken place has displaced thousands of previously-undisturbed subsistence artisanal Gold miners. This, along with a laissez faire land concession allocation procedure, has exacerbated conflicts between Mining parties. Despite legalizing small-scale Mining in 1989, the Ghanaian government continues to implement procedurally complex and bureaucratically unwieldy regulations and policies for artisanal operators which have the effect of favouring the interests of established large-scale miners.
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promoting sustainable development in ghanaian small scale Gold Mining operations
The Environmentalist, 2002Co-Authors: Gavin HilsonAbstract:This paper provides an overview of the initiatives that have been undertaken by the Ghanaian government to promote more sustainable development in resident small-scale Gold Mining operations, and recommends a series of strategies for perpetuating a pattern of continued improvement. Since the passing of the ‘Small Scale Gold Mining Law’ (PNDCL 218) in 1989, which effectively legalized small-scale Gold Mining as an industry in Ghana, the government, in particular, the Minerals Commission, has made a concerted effort to regularize operations, and to provide technical and financial support to miners. Under the auspices of the German non-profit Gesellschaft Technishe Zusannebarbeit (GTZ), a small-scale Gold Mining registration system has been implemented, district support centres for small miners have been constructed and the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation (PMMC) has been created, which purchases products from small-scale miners at near-market prices. Careful analysis reveals, however, that these efforts have collectively only had a marginal impact, and that the industry is still in dire need of aid. Specifically, to perpetuate further a pattern of improved sustainability--improvements in both the socio-economic and environmental arenas--additional technical and financial support must be provided, and sound environmental management practices implemented. The Minerals Commission has been burdened with these tasks and challenges but because it is largely understaffed, it is highly unlikely that it will be able to facilitate sufficient improvement in the sector on its own. Nevertheless, marked improvements can be achieved if: (1) avenues for technological dissemination are created and improved; (2) research partnerships are forged with local universities; (3) experienced consultation is hired when needed; and (4) other governmental agencies, namely the Mines Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Geological Survey, provide the Minerals Commission assistance with prospecting, monitoring, regulation and environmental auditing activities.
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harvesting mineral riches 1000 years of Gold Mining in ghana
Resources Policy, 2002Co-Authors: Gavin HilsonAbstract:Abstract This paper provides a concise historical account of Gold Mining in Ghana, from the pre-colonial period, through to the present. For over 1000 years, the Ancient Kingdom of Ghana, the former Gold Coast Colony, and present-day Ghana, have produced a substantial portion of the world’s Gold. Initially frequented by Arab traders who had crossed vast stretches of the Sahara, the trading routes of the Ancient Kingdom of Ghana had stimulated significant conflict among groups, in particular, the Europeans, who, for centuries, battled for control of the West African Gold monopoly. The region’s first Gold Mining companies were formed shortly after the British established the Gold Coast Colony in 1874, and, following two successive Gold rushes in the early-1900s, Gold prospecting and extraction were widespread in Obuasi, Tarkwa and Prestea. However, the industry soon entered a period of depressed production, which began at the time of country independence in 1957, and ended shortly after implementation of the country’s Economic Recovery (ERP) Plan in 1983. The Ghanaian Gold Mining industry has since grown rapidly, supplanting cocoa cultivation as the country’s chief economic activity. In the past 20 years, production increases in the order of 700% have been achieved, and today, output from resident Gold mines accounts for some 37% of national exports and 97% of mineral exports.
Gael Grenouillet - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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influence of small scale Gold Mining on french guiana streams are diatom assemblages valid disturbance sensors
Ecological Indicators, 2012Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The ongoing Gold-rush in French Guiana could cause severe disturbance to ecosystems. Although illegal, small Gold Mining sites are rapidly expanding. Few studies have attempted to measure the consequences of the increased Gold Mining on the biota of small forest streams, and to date no study has dealt with primary producers. Here we measured the response of diatom assemblages to Gold Mining in ten sites differently affected by the Mining activity (i.e., reference, formerly Gold-mined and currently exploited). Our results showed that both taxonomic and functional structure of the diatom assemblages were influenced by the intensity of Gold Mining activity. A significant relationship between soil erosion and diatom motility ability has been demonstrated. These findings show that diatom assemblages are sensitive to Gold Mining disturbance and suggest that diatom communities may be used as sensors of the environmental stress caused by small-scale Gold Mining activities.
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small scale Gold Mining erodes fish assemblage structure in small neotropical streams
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The current Gold rush experienced by the Guiana shield is profoundly disturbing freshwater ecosystems. Indeed, streams act as receptors for the water that drains Gold Mining sites and that contain a high load of sediment and toxicants. We here investigated how Gold Mining activities affect the structure of fish assemblages in small forest streams in French Guiana. We selected six streams subjected to different types of Gold Mining impact (reference, former Gold Mining and currently exploited sites) to measure the impact of Gold Mining on downstream fish assemblages, but also to determine the resilience of fish assemblages after stopping Mining activities. Although overall descriptors of the assemblage such as species richness and fish biomass were not sensitive to Gold Mining, the fish taxonomic composition was strongly influenced. Furthermore, we showed that the functional structure of fish assemblages was significantly affected by the Mining activities favouring smaller and ubiquitous fish at the expense of bigger and habitat specialist species. Even in areas where Mining activities had stopped for some time, site resilience was incomplete.
Muriel Gevrey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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influence of small scale Gold Mining on french guiana streams are diatom assemblages valid disturbance sensors
Ecological Indicators, 2012Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The ongoing Gold-rush in French Guiana could cause severe disturbance to ecosystems. Although illegal, small Gold Mining sites are rapidly expanding. Few studies have attempted to measure the consequences of the increased Gold Mining on the biota of small forest streams, and to date no study has dealt with primary producers. Here we measured the response of diatom assemblages to Gold Mining in ten sites differently affected by the Mining activity (i.e., reference, formerly Gold-mined and currently exploited). Our results showed that both taxonomic and functional structure of the diatom assemblages were influenced by the intensity of Gold Mining activity. A significant relationship between soil erosion and diatom motility ability has been demonstrated. These findings show that diatom assemblages are sensitive to Gold Mining disturbance and suggest that diatom communities may be used as sensors of the environmental stress caused by small-scale Gold Mining activities.
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small scale Gold Mining erodes fish assemblage structure in small neotropical streams
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Sebastien Brosse, Gael Grenouillet, Muriel Gevrey, Kamran Khazraie, Loic TudesqueAbstract:The current Gold rush experienced by the Guiana shield is profoundly disturbing freshwater ecosystems. Indeed, streams act as receptors for the water that drains Gold Mining sites and that contain a high load of sediment and toxicants. We here investigated how Gold Mining activities affect the structure of fish assemblages in small forest streams in French Guiana. We selected six streams subjected to different types of Gold Mining impact (reference, former Gold Mining and currently exploited sites) to measure the impact of Gold Mining on downstream fish assemblages, but also to determine the resilience of fish assemblages after stopping Mining activities. Although overall descriptors of the assemblage such as species richness and fish biomass were not sensitive to Gold Mining, the fish taxonomic composition was strongly influenced. Furthermore, we showed that the functional structure of fish assemblages was significantly affected by the Mining activities favouring smaller and ubiquitous fish at the expense of bigger and habitat specialist species. Even in areas where Mining activities had stopped for some time, site resilience was incomplete.