Physical and economic impact of sand mining to the people of Kikajjo Village in Wakiso district

Abstract

The study entitled Physical and Economic impact of sand mining to the people of Kikajjo Village in Wakiso district was carried in Kikajjo village where it sought to find out the physical impacts of sand mining on the environment of Kikajjo village, to find out the contribution of sand mining revenue to the miners and community kikajjo village, to identify the challenges in sand mining to the people of Kikajjo village and to identify solutions to these challenges. A total of 40 respondents were interviewed. The research justified that there are both positive and negative environmental impacts to sand and mining. It revealed that swamp sand is the soil component mined most in construction industry because of its strength as a resource and has many uses which include building strong structures, plastering, making foundations and bricks. The researcher discovered that pits at extraction sites were increasing on every visit while swamps at sampled areas were widening and deepening. Method of mining commonly used is open pit. There are two main methods of loading being used by miners which are the use of front end loaders by licensed miners while illegal miners mostly prefer the cheaper way of hiring manual loaders who use shovels. Sand mining and extraction are very important activities for economic development in both developed and developing world. Generally, mining disturb land surface areas, leaving huge open pits which are difficult physically and economically to rehabilitate at the time mining cease. Excessive mining leads to depletion of resources on both swamp beds and open lands. There is need for laws across the globe by high level decision makers to enforce solutions to environmental problems and implement all the stated recommendations.