Climate change and anthropogenic activities are compromising land’s capacity to support essential ecosystem services. Assessment of the drivers of land degradation (LD) at the local level is crucial to achieving the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ’s target of a land degradation-neutral world by 2030. This study evaluated the drivers land degradation in Ghana’s Birim North mining district from 2010 to 2024, using a combination of land use and land cover change (LULCC) analysis, and digitized mine site mapping in Google Earth Pro. Results revealed that artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) sites expanded significantly, reaching 169.50% of their 2020 extent by 2024. LULCC analysis highlighted substantial forest loss, with 325.57 km² of forest in 2010 declining by 49.45% in 2024, largely converted to mining sites and other land cover types. Large-scale mining (LSM) activities, particularly the Zijin Golden Ridge Limited (Akyem mine) formerly called Newmont Golden Ridge Limited (Akyem Mine), became prominent in 2015, further accelerating land conversion in the area. ASM sites decreased by 15.66% between 2015 and 2020, attributed to the Ghanaian government’s 2017 anti-illegal mining initiative. The spatial assessment revealed mining activities, rapid urbanization, and deforestation as the main drivers of LD in the area. These findings provide critical insights for policymakers and stakeholders, supporting the development of tailored solutions to rehabilitate degraded lands, promote reforestation, and mitigate illegal mining impacts.
Tetteh et al. (Mon,) studied this question.