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Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Are Not Associated with Nighttime Light Emissions

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  • Christopher C. M. Kyba

    (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
    Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany)

  • Grégory Giuliani

    (Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, GRID-Geneva, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
    Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, EnviroSPACE Lab, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland)

  • Florian Franziskakis

    (Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, GRID-Geneva, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
    Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, EnviroSPACE Lab, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland)

  • Klement Tockner

    (FWF Austrian Science Fund, Sensengasse 1, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Pierre Lacroix

    (Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, GRID-Geneva, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
    Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, EnviroSPACE Lab, Bd Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland)

Abstract

Maintaining records of artisanal and small-scale mining sites in developing countries requires considerable effort, so it would be beneficial if Earth observation data from space could assist in the identifying and monitoring of such sites. Artificial light emissions are common at industrial-scale mining sites and have been associated with small-scale illegal mining in some contexts. Here, we examine whether known artisanal and small-scale mining sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are associated with observations of night light emissions by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band (DNB). Light emissions from the mining sites were not observed: the radiance observed from the sites was near zero and nearly identical to that observed for a set of randomly-chosen locations in the same region. While it is the case that DNB night lights’ products provide useful data in other resource extraction contexts, they do not appear to be useful for identifying artisanal mining sites in the DRC.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher C. M. Kyba & Grégory Giuliani & Florian Franziskakis & Klement Tockner & Pierre Lacroix, 2019. "Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Are Not Associated with Nighttime Light Emissions," J, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:2:y:2019:i:2:p:13-161:d:224688
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nik Stoop & Marijke Verpoorten & Peter van der Windt, 2018. "More Legislation, More Violence? The Impact of Dodd-Frank in the DRC," SALDRU Working Papers 231, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
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    3. Virginia Haufler, 2010. "Disclosure as Governance: The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Resource Management in the Developing World," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 10(3), pages 53-73, August.
    4. Geenen, Sara, 2012. "A dangerous bet: The challenges of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 322-330.
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