Land Use Changes within the Bogoso-Prestea Gold Concession, South West Ghana

Mining activities have existed in the Bogoso-Prestea area for over a century. The high demand for gold has led to intense mining activities in the area and has resulted in land use changes. This study evaluated a total area of 4 379.93 ha within the Bogoso-Prestea Gold Concession that has experienced land use change due to mining using estimation of areas and analysis of land use flows over a period of twenty years ie.1986 - 2006. Results from the study revealed that mining increased in land coverage from 4.69 ha in 1986 to 530.84 ha in 2006, an increase to 12.1% of the study area. Settlements increased to 4.95% in 2006 as compared to 0.41% in 1986, showing a significant rural migration primarily due to mining. Agricultural land use reduced from 97.8% in 1986 to 82.7% in 2006. The study also revealed that land use due to mining increased by only 0.67 % between 1996 and 2006 and if this trend continues, then land use due to mining under the prevailing conditions might not introduce any significant increment between 2006 and 2016.