Africa stands as a continent endowed with immense natural wealth—holding approximately 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, 12% of oil, and 40% of global gold, while also boasting the majority of the planet’s cobalt, platinum, and uranium reserves (UNEP – UN Environment Programme). Ironically, this abundance has too often translated into exploitation rather than empowerment. Today, Africa loses an estimated US $195 billion annually of its natural capital due to illegal mining, illicit financial flows, wildlife trafficking, unregulated fishing, and unchecked environmental degradation (UNEP – UN Environment ProgrammeEarth.Org).
This rampant, indiscriminate exploitation—often facilitated by poor governance, weak regulatory systems, and external extraction pressures—jeopardises not only the ecosystems that sustain livelihoods but also long-term socioeconomic development. In regions like the Sahel, over 80% of once-fertile agricultural land has degenerated into desert, reflecting the dire consequences of environmental mismanagement (Earth.Org).
As these patterns deepen, natural resources increasingly provide short-term returns for a few while eroding Africa’s capacity for sustained, equitable growth. It is critical to unpack the roots and risks of this exploitation, and to lay the groundwork for sustainable, just practices that honour both ecological integrity and human dignity.
That is the general situation in Africa. This article, however, focuses on the situation in the Sahel, where terrorism has joined forces with political instability and violence to exacerbate the situation to unprecedented proportions, thus threatening the lives of generations unborn.
The Sahel
The Sahel is a semi-arid belt across Africa that forms the ecological transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savannas to the south, stretching roughly from the Atlantic coast in Senegal eastwards toward the Red Sea in Sudan. Its width varies from a few hundred to about 1,000 km, and the ecoregion covers several million square kilometres. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The Sahel commonly includes parts or all of: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria (north), Chad, Sudan and sometimes Eritrea, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Policy work often focuses on the five G5 Sahel states (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Sahelian populations are young and fast-growing: fertility rates and median ages remain high compared with global averages, contributing to a large youth cohort and strong population growth pressures on services and land. (UNDP). The Sahel is ethnically diverse—major groups include Hausa, Fulani (Peuhl), Zarma/Songhai, Tuareg, Kanuri and many alongside former colonial languages (French, English, Arabic) as official/administrative tongues. Islam is the dominant religion across most of the belt. Economies are mixed: rain-fed agriculture, pastoralism/transhumance herding, and riverine irrigation (e.g., Niger River) are the main livelihoods, all highly climate-sensitive. (CIA)
Conflict, displacement and climate shocks have sharply increased demographic stress: as of early–mid 2025, there are millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees tied to Sahel crises, and tens of millions in need of humanitarian assistance; food insecurity has also risen sharply in 2024–2025. These trends are documented in recent UN OCHA dashboards, the 2025 Sahel humanitarian overviews, and WFP/UN food-security reports. (OCHA)
The Tragedy of the Sahel
The Sahel is caught in a tragic nexus where violent extremism, weak governance, and a gold-rich landscape converge to drive both conflict and environmental degradation. Terrorist groups exploit these conditions to assert territorial control, fund their operations, and deepen ecological harm. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is widespread across the Sahel—particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—employing millions informally and accounting for up to 50% of regional gold production (ISS Africa). Such mining frequently occurs in areas outside of state control, where armed groups like JNIM and Islamic State–Sahel impose “taxes” and protection fees on miners—effectively governing these zones and earning steady revenue streams (ISS Africa, allAfrica.com).
Ecological Impacts of Illegal Gold Extraction
Chemical contamination: Mercury and cyanide are routinely used to extract gold, polluting water systems and harming human health. In Senegal’s Kedougou region, mercury levels near mining sites were found to exceed safety standards by up to 100×, highlighting the danger to water, soil, and food chains (AP News).
Deforestation and habitat loss: Artisanal mining operations clear land, uproot forests, and devastate flora and fauna. In Mali, wood is heavily consumed to build mining infrastructure, such as chutes, which compounds ecosystem disruption (sahelien.com | EN, The African Miner).
Aquatic degradation: Illegal dredging in rivers—such as along the Senegal and Falémé—continues despite bans, disrupting riverine ecosystems shared with neighbouring countries (sahelien.com | EN).
Broader contamination and toxins: Across West Africa, unregulated mining pollutes rivers, degrades farmland, depletes safe drinking water, and undermines industries like cocoa farming. In Ghana, illegal mining (“galamsey”) has polluted rivers to the extent that clean water access may decline by 75%, possibly forcing water imports by 2030 (The Guardian, UGSpace).
Terrorism’s Role in Fuelling Environmental Harm
Terrorism deepens these crises by encouraging unregulated mining rather than suppressing it:
State retaliation and mining closures: To curb terrorist financing, Burkina Faso suspended or closed artisanal mining sites in 2022 and 2023. These moves resulted in substantial economic losses—over 66,800 tonnes to 57,600 tonnes of gold decline, loss of thousands of jobs, and depressed local incomes—yet likely pushed mining further underground and into the control of armed groups (allAfrica.com, newcentre4s.org).
Uninterrupted illegal operations: Even after closures, mining persists in areas beyond governmental reach—often under the de facto governance of extremist groups who exploit the community’s reliance on livelihoods (allAfrica.com).
Fragmented governance and environmental neglect: Armed groups’ governance, while providing some local services, usually permits harmful mining and logging—even within protected reserves—negating environmental safeguards (ISS Africa).
Broader Environmental Conflict Dynamics
Terrorism amplifies the environmental crisis via structural and societal erosion:
Climate fragility as a tool and consequence: Extremists exploit resource scarcity, including water scarcity caused by climate change, and have deliberately destroyed water infrastructure at increasing rates (up 40% between 2019 and 2024) to control resources and populations (climatechange.gov.ng).
Interrupted industrial mining: Terrorism has forced the closure or reduced operations of formal industrial mines in Burkina Faso, leading to revenue shortfalls and increased artisanal activity, in turn, deepening environmental stress (WTW).
Biodiversity and land loss in fragile regions: In the Sahel, environmental transformation—like habitat loss from mining or poorly managed protected areas—can actually exacerbate conflict, creating vacuums that extremists exploit (EU Institute for Security Studies).
Mitigation Initiatives
Local (Sahelian) Measures
Sahelian states such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have taken steps to reassert control over artisanal and small-scale mining, which has been heavily exploited by armed groups. For instance, Burkina Faso suspended export permits for artisanal gold in 2024 to curb smuggling and reorganise the sector (Reuters, 2024). Similarly, governments in Mali and Niger have revoked or paused certain mining concessions and sought to nationalize strategic operations in order to block illicit channels exploited by non-state actors (Ecofin, 2023). Security forces in these countries also conduct military and police operations around mining sites and along transport routes to prevent terrorist groups from taxing miners or smuggling ore across porous borders (UNODC, 2021). Beyond enforcement, Sahelian governments have experimented with formalisation schemes—registering artisanal miners, issuing permits, and creating official buying centres—to separate legitimate livelihoods from criminal networks (Wilson Center, 2023).
African Union Measures
At the continental level, the African Union (AU) has explicitly recognised the role of illegal resource exploitation in fuelling insecurity in the Sahel. In a November 2024 communiqué, the AU Peace and Security Council called for enhanced efforts to curb illegal exploitation of natural resources by terrorist and criminal groups, urging member states to adopt coordinated approaches that link security, governance, and trade oversight (AU PSC, 2024). The AU has also promoted the use of its Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the Nouakchott Process as frameworks for cross-border collaboration on resource governance and conflict prevention (AU, 2022). In addition, the AU supports technical measures such as traceability systems for gold, improved customs cooperation, and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) assistance, recognizing that illicit gold often enters global supply chains through weak financial oversight (UNODC, 2021).
ECOWAS Measures
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has played a complementary role by emphasising harmonised policies and parliamentary oversight on illegal mining. ECOWAS parliamentary bodies have urged member states to “arrest illegal mining” by strengthening legislation and aligning national frameworks to ensure consistent regulation across the region (ECOWAS Parliament, 2021). The organisation has also promoted cross-border cooperation through joint patrols, intelligence sharing, and harmonised customs controls to prevent the smuggling of gold and other resources across Sahelian borders (ECOWAS Commission, 2022). Moreover, ECOWAS has considered sanctions and political measures against actors or networks proven to profit from illicit resource exploitation, recognising the links between these activities and terrorist financing (ECOWAS, 2022).
In addition to the above local and regional interventions, the World Bank and Belgium launched a fund to enhance transparency and sustainability in ASM across the Sahel (World Bank); similarly, Canada supports conflict-sensitive, rights-based approaches in Burkina Faso and Mali (OECD). Also, the U.S. Department of State granted $300,000 to promote mercury-free gold processing in Côte d’Ivoire and the Sahel, aiming to reduce toxic impacts (artisanalgold.org). Additionally, NASA projects use satellite data to detect deforestation tied to artisanal mining, aiding policymakers and conservationists (appliedsciences.nasa.gov).
Conclusion
In the Sahel, terrorism and environmental destruction form a destructive feedback loop. Extremist groups benefit from unregulated gold mining, which devastates ecosystems and exerts pressure on vulnerable populations. Meanwhile, environmental degradation fuels grievances that extremist actors exploit. Breaking this cycle will require coordinated efforts to bring artisanal mining under regulation, advance sustainable practices, restore state authority, and protect natural resources—ensuring both security and environmental resilience.
References
• UN / ISS: Artisanal mining accounts for ~50 % of regional gold production; extremists control mining areas and impose taxes (ISS Africa, allAfrica.com)
• Mercury contamination in Senegal exceeds safety thresholds up to 100× (AP News)
• Deforestation, chemical use, and dredging in Mali (Kayes, Falémé, Senegal River) (sahelien.com | EN, The African Miner)
• Ghana’s environmental and economic toll from galamsey (polluted rivers, cocoa damage, water scarcity, revenue loss) (The Guardian, UGSpace)
• Burkina Faso closures—gold production drop, job losses, artisanal resistance (allAfrica.com, newcentre4s.org)
• Terrorism’s role in undermining industrial mining and fueling artisanal expansion (WTW)
• Extremists destroying water infrastructure, 40% increase in deliberate destruction (climatechange.gov.ng)
• Conservation and conflict dynamics—protected areas, biodiversity, and violence (EU Institute for Security Studies)
• Sustainable ASM governance by World Bank & Belgium (World Bank)
• Canada’s peace-oriented support for ASM in Sahel (OECD)
• US-funded mercury-free processing in Sahel (artisanalgold.org)
• NASA Earth observation of forest loss from artisanal mining (appliedsciences.nasa.gov)
• UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme. Our Work in Africa. UNEP, 2024. Available at: https://www.unep.org/regions/africa/our-work-africa
• Earth.Org. Africa’s Natural Capital: A Continent at a Crossroads. Earth.Org, 2024. Available at: https://earth.org/africa-natural-capital/
• Encyclopædia Britannica. (2025). Sahel. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Sahel
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2023). Human Development Report – The Sahel Region. UNDP. Retrieved from https://hdr.undp.org
• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (2025). The World Factbook – Africa: Sahel Countries. CIA. Retrieved September 2025, from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). (2025). Sahel Humanitarian Overview 2025 & Needs and Response Plans. UN OCHA. Retrieved September 2025, from https://www.unocha.org/sahel
- African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). (2024, November 26). Communiqué of the 1209th meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on curbing illegal exploitation of natural resources in Africa. Addis Ababa: African Union.
- African Union (AU). (2022). The Nouakchott Process and its contribution to peace and security in the Sahelo-Saharan region. Addis Ababa: African Union Commission.
- Ecofin Agency. (2023, September 12). Mali and Niger tighten control over gold mining amid growing illicit exploitation. Ecofin Agency.
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission. (2022). Report of the ECOWAS Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Mining in West Africa. Abuja: ECOWAS.
- ECOWAS Parliament. (2021, December 10). ECOWAS Parliament calls for stronger action against illegal mining in West Africa. Abuja: ECOWAS Parliament.
- Reuters. (2024, February 15). Burkina Faso suspends artisanal gold export permits to fight smuggling. Reuters News.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2021). Gold flows from the Sahel: Illicit trade and implications for stability. Vienna: UNODC.
- Wilson Center. (2023). Artisanal gold mining and conflict financing in the Sahel. Washington, DC: Wilson Center.
