Socio-Ecological Impacts of Artisanal Goldmining in Ikolomani, Kakamega County, Kenya
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Date
2025-06
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
The extraction of gold in Ikolomani Sub-county of Kakamega County in Kenya has been taking place for over a century and is an integral part of the economic well-being in that region of Kenya. The study sought to investigate the social and ecological impacts of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in the area. The three specific objectives of this study were to; evaluate the quality of soil as a result of ASGM; analyze the status of food security as a consequence of ASGM; and assess the impacts of ASGM on the biological development of children in Ikolomani. The broad hypothesis of the study is that ASGM has negative impacts on these socioecological factors. The study employed a combination of research designs; experimental, correlational, and descriptive. The first objective was primarily tested experimentally by collecting soil samples from the mines, the farms and the forested areas and then testing the physicochemical properties at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) laboratories. Maps from Google Earth as well as naturalistic observations, were also used to assess changes in the land use. The second and third objectives were tested using descriptive cross-sectional surveys in the form of two semi-structured questionnaires, child focused essays, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and expert informant interviews. The two sets of questionnaires were distributed randomly to the primary informants, comprising 60 ASGM workers and 50 food vendors after purposively targeting a population of (N=31,134) inhabitants. Furthermore, 10 expert informants were interviewed, and 5 focus groups were conducted. More information was also captured photographically. The expert informants were sampled from the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA), the local schools, the local hospitals, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the County Government of Kakamega and the local administrative chiefs. Data was analysed per objective using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. To assess the quality of soils as a result of ASGM, soil sample results, interviews, naturalistic observations and questionnaires were used. To assess food security as a result of ASGM, food security dimensions such as availability, accessibility and utilization were analysed using data from both the food vendors and miners. To assess the biological development of children, the data from the questionnaire, child development score card and key observations were statistically analysed using descriptive statistics and Microsoft excel. Further, ANOVA and Chi-square statistics were used to test the relationship between the soils quality, food security and biological development of children and ASGM. Inferential statistics such as correlation and regression were used to assess the overall strength and direction of the relationship between the variables. The study results indicated that ASGM influenced 42.1 % of these social economic characteristics of the population at Ikolomani. The study established a positive correlation between ASGM and soil quality, food quality and biological development of children. The regression coefficients indicated that a unit increase in ASGM would result in an increase in soil pollution, food insecurity and poor biological development of children by .526, .387 and .216 respectively. The study concluded that despite ASGM having a significant economic impact on the community, it is negatively affecting them. Thus, the study recommends a policy regulated framework where the community can reap the economic benefits of mining with minimal impacts.
Description
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Environmental Studies and Community Development to the School of Agriculture And Environmental Sciences of Kenyatta University, June 2025.
Supervisor
1. Peter Wangai
2. Samuel O. Ochola