Rethinking social costs of wastes associated with the mining operations in Ghana from an environmental perspective.

Abstract

According to the Ghana Environmental Action Plan (1994), Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources, which have played a very important role in the agricultural and industrial efforts of the country. In the process of exploiting these resources to meet the legitimate socio-economic needs and aspirations of her people, however, adequate care has often not been taken to guard against the destruction of the environment. In the light of these problems caused by improper waste management there is much cause for concern, particularly, in the mining concentrated areas in Ghana. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine and explain the impact of poor management of wastes from mining on the environment. In view of this, it has been suggested that the government of Ghana and all the agencies concerned with environmental safety be actively involved in enforcing and ensuring that the mining companies in the country manage their wastes in an environmentally friendly manner. In addition, if the mining operators fail to effectively manage their wastes in an environmentally friendly manner and therefore affect the environment, they must also be made to pay part of the waste management cost. Perhaps, this can serve as a yardstick and a basis for effective monitoring of the activities of the mining firms to ensure sufficient air, soil and water quality in the country. Key words: assimilative capacity, replenishable resource, pollution, prevention costs, intergenerational externality.