A viewpoint on small-scale gold mining in Ghana: a regulatory perspective on current practices, mercury use and the UNIDO and EU projects

摘要

This paper opens the special issue by providing an overview of small-scale gold mining in Ghana. Furthermore, it highlights the sector's mercury pollution problem, and describes two important interventions - projects funded by UN and EU - recently made to address the problem. Despite having considerable shortcomings, these projects have laid important groundwork for a comprehensive mercury pollution abatement strategy in Ghana. Various aspects of these projects are examined further in the special issue.