Socio-Environmental Diagnosis of Mining Activity in the District of Montepuez – Mozambique

Abstract

The changing socio-environmental dynamics in the Montepuez district of Mozambique has been motivated by the exploitation of natural resources (especially precious and semi-precious stones), attracting multinationals such as Montepuez Ruby Mining, which in 2011 obtained a concession for an area of 36,000 hectares, in which ruby, tourmaline, aquamarine, garnet and some varieties of corundum are explored. In an optimistic scenario, this activity may bring socioeconomic benefits to both the local population and the country’s economy, but it will also triggers a series of negative impacts on the environment, namely on soil, air and biodiversity. Thus, through the use of the indicator measurement tool, we explored the socio-environmental dynamics in the Namanhumbir Administrative Post for the period 2014-2019. The approach is assumed as a comparative study, complemented with field data collection regarding information on the dimensions of (Socio-environmental Wellbeing), whose sustainability indicators portray the reality of the region, based on the guidelines of the National Plan for Territorial Development, in view of the advance of large mining projects and their impacts on local communities. The results point out that Namanhumbir, is in a “Potentially Unsustainable” situation, for the socio-environmental dimension with an index (64.8) for the period 2014, and an “Intermediate” classification of (65.4) in the year 2019, indicating in this context the need for proactive actions by the public authorities to improve the sub indicators of social welfare, especially in the participation of communities in decision-making on public policies for local development.