Oumar Ouattara, Bébé Kambiré
Collection Environnement et Biodiversité, Editions Resol-Tropiques, 2020 - 122 pages

As a result of the previous political and military crises in Côte d'Ivoire, clandestine gold panning has taken off in particular. From 2004 onwards, this activity developed in Hiré, in parallel with industrial gold mining. This study analyses the impacts of this activity on natural ecosystems and the population. The exploitation of documentary data, the field survey of gold panners, the exploitation of high-resolution satellite images and field observations have provided the necessary data for this study. The results show that despite the economic benefits of gold panning on the lives of the population, the rush to space and the exploitation techniques used by gold panners have harmful consequences on the natural and human environment. Indeed, the forest area has been heavily deforested, leading to soil impoverishment. More than 7,769 ha of forest have been degraded. Bare soil covers 3,718 ha. On a human level, gold panning generates income but is a source of health risks.