ARTISANAL DIAMOND MINING FOR SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN TSHIKAPA, KASAI PROVINCE, DRCONGO

Abstract

In the Kasai region, and more specifically in Tshikapa, artisanal diamond mining is as important a livelihood strategy for local communities as agriculture. Indeed, for most miners, it is their main activity. Diamond mining therefore plays a major role in the economy of local communities, and is an important source of income for these communities, but one that is accompanied by misery. Yet the mining code requires all mining and other extractive industries to invest in local development. Artisanal diamond mining has a huge impact on the environment. The results of the survey carried out as part of this study showed that this exploitation has deteriorated the environmental fabric, making the soil unusable for hunting, farming and other activities. Generally speaking, mining pits remain unfilled, causing erosion and gullies, watercourses are polluted and sometimes screening is carried out in the same springs or rivers regularly used for household chores and in some cases even to collect water for drinking, significant deforestation to extend mining activities, many people abandon the fields and take up diamond mining to earn a quick buck. This is why it is so important to raise awareness among all local communities, artisanal diamond miners and all other players in the sector of the need to protect the environment through sustainable management of the mining environment.