ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF SAND MINING ON ENVIRONMENT OF ESAN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Every year, huge volumes of sand are mined from various places as raw materials for building projects. This 'study examined the effects of sand mining on the environment and livelihoods of people in Esan West Local Government of Edo state, the study identified the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identified the factors that push people into sand mining and examined the effects of sand mining on the livelihood of the people. In this research, primary data from three districts namely; Ofunama, Ora, Siluko, Udo, Ugbogue, Umaza and Usenwere used. Two hundred (200) respondents were chosen using the systematic, convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. The qualitative data were analysed using content and thematic analysis of events as they unfolded in the field. The result revealed that whilst a few of the farmers (5.4%) were within the lowest age cohort of20-29 years, as many as 33.90% of the sand miners were also found in that same age group. On the other hand, whilst a few of (he sand miners (3.6%) were within the highest age cohort of 60 years and above, a relatively larger proportion of the farmers (9.30%) were also in that same advanced age group. A significant proportion of the respondents had no formal education (26% for the fanners and 18% for the sand miners) as shown in Figure 2. It was revealed that the highest proportion of the fanners (46%) and the sand miners (50%) had only the basic levels of education. The study shows that, primarily unemployment push people into sand mining. Also, very high profits and regular income from the sales of sand were found to be some of the positive effects of sand mining on livelihoods. In addition, sand mining was found to have negative effects on livelihoods through destructions caused to vegetation cover and water bodies. The study further shows the failure of the local authorities in protecting the environment and other livelihood activities from the operations of the sand miners. The study recommends that sand mining sites should be properly demarcated by the local authorities to ensure that, environmental impact assessments are done on such lands prior to mining the sand.