| Overview : While forest cover remains high, deforestation and forest degradation rates have increased substantially since the 1990s. Eighty-five percent of the recorded deforestation and 87% of forest degradation is due to mining. Various types of mineral and non-mineral mining take place, including gold, diamonds, bauxite and sand, among others, and the possibility of mining low-value minerals and rare earth is being explored. However, it is the gold mining sector that is leading to the most significant negative impacts on the country's forests, biodiversity, and health of its watersheds. Gold mining is primarily carried out by small -scale miners. There are over 16,000 small scale miners, and due to their location in the vast interior and institutional barriers, much of the activity is uncontrolled, unplanned and haphazard. |
