Abstract
The environment is in grave danger reminiscent of the global catastrophe. Global capitalism has led to environmental decay and contributed to incapacity of states. The chapter analyzes the contribution of mining to development and its impact on the environment, using mixed qualitative–quantitative methods. Increased foreign investments in the mining sector, facilitated by neoliberal reforms and globalization, have made it the cornerstone for growth and revenue generation. However, huge foreign investments and successful infrastructure development have not paved the way for sustainable economic growth and development. Instead, legal and illegal mining has caused extensive damage with air and water pollution; soil and land degradation; and contaminated food. Such environmental degradation thwarts sustainable development and is hazardous to health and is largely attributed to state incapacity to manage the environment.
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Osei-Hwedie, B.Z., Kurantin, N., Osei-Hwedie, K. (2019). Globalization and Environmental Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Chakrabarti, G., Sen, C. (eds) The Globalization Conundrum—Dark Clouds behind the Silver Lining. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1727-9_10
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