The Ivorian Office for Parks and Reserves raises awareness among customary authorities and opinion leaders in the department of Nassian

The Nassian Prefecture Hall welcomed customary authorities, opinion leaders, religious guides, youth presidents and association presidents on Monday, August 23, 2021 as part of awareness-raising activities on the theme: “raising awareness among customary authorities and opinion leaders in the fight against gold mining in the park”

This awareness-raising is initiated by Lieutenant Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger, Director of the North-East Zone of the OIPR and his team in order to collect the proposals of the various actors to effectively fight against gold mining in the park.

Opened by the Secretary General, Mr. N'GUESSAN Kamon, this session was moderated by Mr. MALAN Assemian, Departmental Director of Mines and Geology of Bouna, Lieutenant Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger, Director of North-East Zone, Mr. KOUAKOU Konan Jonas, Brigade Commander of the Nassian Gendarmerie. These interventions were translated into the Malinké and Koulango languages.

Mr. MALAN Assemian, the Departmental Director of Mines and Geology of Bouna reviewed the conditions for gold mining in Côte d'Ivoire. He mentioned that any mineral substance contained in the ground, in the subsoil, in the subsoil, in the water, on the continental shelf and natural substances is primarily a property of the State in accordance with the law establishing the mining code. He said that the exploitation of these substances is subject to State authorization. Explaining the provisions of the mining code, the Departmental Director of Mines noted that the law prohibits the exploitation of gold in protected areas. This is also why, adds Mr. MALAN Assemian, the opinion of the OIPR is required on all authorization requests sent by operators to the Ministry of Mines.

The Brigade Commander of the Nassian Gendarmerie, Mr. AMOIKON Konan Jonas, spoke to the participants about the security situation in connection with illegal gold mining and outlined the criminal sanctions provided for against anyone engaging in this illegal activity. After presenting the statistics of arrests at the level of the Nassian department, the Brigade Commander of the Gendarmerie noted that illegal gold mining is draining an impressive number of people and increasing insecurity in the area. He then recalled the criminal sanctions provided for illegal gold mining and invited all populations to collaborate with the defense and law enforcement forces in order to fight effectively against this scourge.

Addressing the third theme relating to the consequences of illegal gold mining, Lieutenant-Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger indicated that the negative impacts of this scourge are at the social, environmental and security levels. He noted that gold miners are increasingly using students in their dirty work. As proof of this, he wants the statistics available at the level of his service, which clearly show that 30% of the gold miners seized in the first half of 2021 are students. He took advantage of his intervention to launch an urgent appeal to the parents of students to make their children more aware of the abandonment of illegal gold mining and to better focus on their studies. The place for children, adds the first person in charge of the OIPR North-East Zone Directorate, is in school. No parent should mortgage their child's future. Finally, Lieutenant Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger invited all the populations of the Nassian department, both community leaders and opinion leaders to help the OIPR find an effective and sustainable solution to the phenomenon of gold mining in the park.

After this series of speeches, space was made for exchanges. In this regard, the participants made several proposals, including strengthening surveillance by managing outposts and involving local residents in surveillance, and supporting populations on the periphery of the park in carrying out their projects.

Following these proposals, Lieutenant Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger said he took good note. He recalled that the Comoé National Park is a common good, a world heritage that must be preserved in view of the many services it provides to the whole world. He invited the population to denounce any suspicious movement and the aggressors of the park. The Director of North-East Zone informed the populations of the existence of a complaint management mechanism that could allow them to let managers know their concerns or the information they have: “Now, a complaint management mechanism exists, do not fail to let us know what you see or what you know. You can do it anonymously so that we put an end to this phenomenon of gold mining in the PNC,” said the Area Director, Lieutenant-Colonel KOUADIO Yao Roger.

At the end of this session, the Secretary General of Nassian Prefecture thanked the OIPR North-East Zone Directorate for this awareness-raising session and invited all residents of the park to work alongside the OIPR in the preservation of the PNC.