Perspectives of Mining and Communication : Identifying constructivity and destructivity of conflicts in the Akyem and Wassa areas in Ghana

Sammanfattning: Over several centuries, mining activities have resulted in the creation of varied environmental complications. Most mining activities are carried out in locations with proximity to human settlements. The interplay of mining activity and society has created  several mining-related conflicts throughout the world, and in developing countries especially, these conflicts are much prevalent. These conflicts could be analysed in a variety of ways: analyzing the conflicts based on goals, interests and value interference; or on the bases of issues related to interaction between two or more parties. This paper takes into consideration the two concepts of constructivity and destructivity of conflicts as they relate to natural resource management and indicate that it is possible for a country or society like Ghana to discover constructive potential in a phenomenon that is mostly deemed destructive. The conflict situations in two mining communities (Akyem and Wassa) are taken into consideration for this paper. This does not deal with issues of conflict management, rather, it takes a look into the interaction between these communities and the associated mining company to determine whether the relationship between them possess constructive or destructive potentials. Based on interviews and information available on the internet, this paper determines that there exist elements of constructivity and destructivity in both areas. In the Akyem area, the destructive aspects reside in the relationship between Newmont and the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM). The relationship between Newmont and the local representatives take on a constructive aspect. Even though there is some sort of tension between the local people and Newmont, the situation can still be considered as constructive because they are still able to engage in dialogue in an attempt to coexist. In the Wassa area on the other hand, the story is different thus taken a destructive nature between Golden Star Resources and the communities. The involvement of the government however presents an opportunity for constructivity in the situation.