A research projet on artisanal and small-scale gold mining in West Africa

Actu de l'Iram

A research project involving Iram and the research unit PRODIG (University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne and AgroParisTech) started in 2020. It seeks to better understand the impacts of the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) development in West Africa. Specifically, it looks for analysing and illustrating the interactions between ASGM activities in Upper Guinea and agriculture in Forest Guinea.

This work is based on geography and comparative agriculture (study of agrarian systems) with an approach at different levels:

  • At territories scale (mining area and the territories of gold miners origin), this research studies the ASGM impacts on the environment, the local economy, the governance of resources, the employ-ment of young people and the evolution of inequalities.
  • At household scale, this research focuses on people who work on ASGM, their activities and the incomes they earn from this work.

Lastly, this study focuses on the likely evolution of agricultural and extractive activities and their social, economic and environmental impacts. What responses do ASGM and agriculture interactions bring to current and future development challenges?

Research results would be usable by various Guinean and international players: public institutions, funding agencies and development actors, in order to adapt their activities to these new dynamics and promote the sustainable development of territories.

This research project is carried out within Iram as part of a thesis work led by Robin Petit-Roulet, supervised by Géraud Magrin (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UFR 08 Geography), Nadège Garambois (AgroParisTech) and François Doligez (Iram). This project received a CIFRE grant from the Association nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT) and a contribution from the Comité technique ‘Foncier et développement’ and the Agence française de développement (AFD).

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