The Relevance of Duration in Stakeholder Collaboration to Prevent Illegal Gold Mining in Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of illegal gold miners and gold mining stakeholders in Zamfara, Nigeria, on the efficacy of a stakeholder collaboration in reducing illegal gold mining (IGM) activities. The study was conducted between 8 September 2020 and 16 March 2021, using a multilevel convergent mixed methods research design. Illegal gold miners identified in seven communities within Anka, Bukkuyum and Mara were invited to participate in a paper and pen survey, resulting in 605 returned questionnaires. Equally, eight stakeholders were sampled for interview. A joint display comparison of the results from the illegal gold miners and the stakeholders indicated mixed reactions in their perceptions. Both the illegal gold miners and stakeholders perceived that the short collaboration between the media and other stakeholders affected the prevention of IGM behaviour. However, compared to the miners, the stakeholders were more satisfied with the short media collaboration.