Application of remote sensing and GIS technologies to assess the impact of surface mining at Tarkwa, Ghana

The industrial and small-scale mining industries have provoke serious environmental degradation in the form of deforestation, soil erosion and soil and water contamination by Hg and other heavy metals. Remote sensing and GIS technologies were used to investigate the temporal and spatial extent of environmental degradation from 1986 to 2000 in the Tarkwa mining area. While most of the study area was a healthy ecosystem in 1986, by 2001, over 60% of the land was degraded to the point where it could not be used for any commercial activity. An additional 35,000 ha of land has been polluted and remediation would be very expensive. This state of environmental degradation through mining activities was further aggravated by extreme human population encroachment of the region. This study puts into perspective the need for the government to institute strict environmental regulations to protect mining areas.