ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH SAND MINING AT SAFORO-AKUAPEM

INTRODUCTION

Saforo is a farming community in the Akuapem-North District under the Akropong constituency.
Saforo has a human population of about 4,000 (by the Ghana Statistical Service as at 2013). Saforo is
17.6Km from Aburi and 48.7Km from Accra (google map) via N4 road. For the past decades, farming
which is the major occupation at Saforo has served as a means of living for about 75% of its
residents. The other 25% engage in sand mining(winning) due to the abundance of sand at Saforo.
Saforo has about 60% of its land area to be sandy.

OBJECTIVES
• Define sand mining.
• State the causes of sand mining at Saforo. State the effects of sand Mining(winning).
• How to control and minimize the negative impact of sand mining at Saforo.

DEFINITION

Sand mining(winning) is the removal of sand from its natural configuration for various uses. Or sand
mining(winning) is the gathering and carrying away of parts of the solid earth such as sand and
gravel as raw materials for various uses(Answers.com). Sand is used for different kinds of projects
such as raw material for concrete, for construction, reclamation, as an abrasive agent etc. These
uses have various economical and social benefits as well as other negative effects on the
environment. These negative effects include;

1) Removal of vegetation leading to erosion.

2) Changes in the nature of the land (Land degradation).
3) Creation of ditches which collect water and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
4) Destruction of terrestrial habitat for soil dwelling organisms.
5) Disruption of the normal functioning of the ecosystem.
6) Destruction of rural roads due to the movement of heavy duty trucks which transports sand.

Even though sand mining(winning) has the above stated bad effects on the environment, it has
various advantages. They include;

1) It provides income for land owners.

2) It serves as employment to some residents of Saforo. 3) It provides sand
for general purposes.
Sand can either be smooth or rough based on its texture. Below are two images of smooth and
rough sand.
 Smooth Sand

Rough Sand
From research, sand mining(winning) started five years back at Saforo. From data gathered through
observation and interviews with some residents of Saforo and truck drivers, the total number of
trucks that transport sand from Saforo to its neighbouring towns is forty of which each truck
transports between 3-6 trips of sand daily. Sand mining(winning) takes place from Monday to
Saturday at Saforo from 4:30am-6:00pm each day. Sand mining (winning) is normally done using a
wheel loader to remove some parts of the solid earth or a shovel manually used by men. Generally,
sand mining(winning) involves;
1. Clearing of the land surface (e.g. vegetation)

2. Collecting sand from the solid earth.

3. Transferring sand into the truck.

4. Transporting sand from the mining site by trucks for various uses.

Images of abandoned sand mining(winning) sites at Saforo.

The pictures below indicated the damage that sand mining(winning) vehicles cause to rural
roads.
Below are two pictures indicating the differences between a fresh land and a land where
sand mining (winning) has taken place.
 (Fresh untouched land) (An old sand winning site)

The table below shows the number of trucks and trips of sand transported from Saforo during the
week.
Days Number of cars Trips of sand transported
Monday 37-40 190
Tuesday 36-38 156
Wednesday 30-36 130
Thursday 25-30 110
Friday 22-27 85
Saturday 15-24 70

A chart of trips of sand transported against number of trucks

200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
37-40 36-38 30-36 25-30 22-27 15-24

Number of trucks

METHODOLOGY
  Site visits
 Observation
 Interviews

CONCLUSION

In order to correct and minimize the early stated negative effects of sand mining(winning) at Saforo,
the solutions stated below must be considered and practised.

1) Sand mining must be done in such a way that the land becomes levelled after
collection of the sand.
2) Planting of trees to replace vegetation.
3) Reclamation of land.
4) Persons responsible for irreversible damage caused to the environment as a result of
sand mining(winning) must be made to pay a fine for the damage.

RECOMMENDATION
1) Even though sand mining(winning) has various environmental problems, it also serves as a
source of living to most residents living at Saforo. Also, in view of its economic benefits, sand
mining(winning) must not be banned. Rather, the above stated solutions in the ‘’conclusion’’
must be practised to minimize its odds on the environment.

REFERENCES
 Answers.Com
 Sand mining (By Baba Salifu)
 Sand winning and land degradation (A case study by University of Malaysia)