Economic displacement and livelihood threats: The impact of industrial resource extraction on local economies

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v5i4.2710
Published: Aug 1, 2025

Abstract:

Purpose: This study seeks to deconstruct the complex factors underlying the conflict between local miners, the Ada East District Assembly, and Electrochem Ghana by applying a Political Ecology framework.

Research methodology: A qualitative analysis and the Political Ecology theoretical lens are used to examine underlying factors of the case. It draws on empirical evidence from similar conflicts in the region; and contextualizes the Ada East situation within broader patterns of industrial resource extraction and their impact on local economies.

Results: Two core theses of Political Ecology emerge as most relevant to the case: (1) Power and Access to Resources, which examines how control over natural resources by corporations can marginalize local people and (2) Environmental Justice, which highlights the disproportionate socio-environmental costs borne by local communities.

Conclusions: This study concludes that the conflict between local miners, the Ada East District Assembly and Electrochem Ghana is deeply rooted in competing interests over resource control, governance dynamics, and socio-environmental inequalities, as illuminated through the lens of Political Ecology.

Limitations: The analysis is limited to secondary data from comparable cases, which vary in contextual specifics.

Contribution: The study contributes to the literature on Political Ecology by demonstrating how this framework can be applied to assess real-world conflicts over resource access and industrial expansion. It also emphasizes the importance of equitable governance and sustainable resource management in mitigating such conflicts.

Keywords:
1. Economic Displacement
2. Livelihood
3. Local Economies
4. Political Economy
5. Resource Extraction
Authors:
Anita Bans-Akutey
BlueCrest University College, Accra, Ghana
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How to Cite
Bans-Akutey, A. (2025). Economic displacement and livelihood threats: The impact of industrial resource extraction on local economies. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 5(4), 297–309. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v5i4.2710
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Issue & Section
Vol. 5 No. 4 (2025): August
Articles
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References

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    Atta-Quayson, A. (2024). Assessing the Potential of Salt as' Development Minerals' in Ghana. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).

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    Azimi, H. (2021). Investigating the Relationship between Knowledge Management and Social Capital. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 3(1), 53-67. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v3i1.1144

    Bans-Akutey, A. (2025). Dynamics in the Carrying Capacity of Ghana’s population. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 5(2), 119–130. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v5i2.2365

    Bans-Akutey, A., & Tiimub, B. (2021). The Effect of Leadership Styles on the Dynamics of a Group. Academia Letters, 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2061

    Bebbington, D. H. (2013). Extraction, Inequality and Indigenous Peoples: Insights from Bolivia. Environmental Science & Policy, 33, 438-446. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.07.027

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    Naab, R., & Bans-Akutey, A. (2021). Assessing the Use of E-Business Strategies by Smes in Ghana During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 2(3), 145-160. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v2i3.800

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    Roberts, J. (2020). Political ecology The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Columbia University.

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    Schilling, J., Schilling-Vacaflor, A., Flemmer, R., & Froese, R. (2021). A Political Ecology Perspective on Resource Extraction and Human Security in Kenya, Bolivia and Peru. The Extractive Industries and Society, 8(4), 100826. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.10.009

    Shah, Z., Zaman, K., Khan, H. u. R., & Rashid, A. (2022). The Economic Value of Natural Resources and its Implications for Pakistan’s Economic Growth. Commodities, 1(2), 65-97. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/commodities1020006

    Tiamgne, X. T., Kalaba, F. K., & Nyirenda, V. R. (2022). Mining and Socio-Ecological Systems: A Systematic Review of Sub-Saharan Africa. Resources Policy, 78, 102947. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102947

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    Torvikey, G. D., Gyapong, A. Y., & Adomaa, F. O. (2022). Contestation and Resistance: Women, Artisanal Salt Mining, and Struggles Around the Capitalist Reorganisation of Salt Production in the Ada Songor Lagoon Area.

    Udodiugwu, M. I., Obikaor, U. J., Eneremadu, K. E., Onwuegbuchulem, N. C., & Anyaegbunam, C. E. (2025). Promoting Environmental Sustainability Through Eco-Friendly Products: A Critical Review for Sustainable Development. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 6(3), 247-252. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v6i3.2305

  1. Acheampong, M. (2018). Assessing the Impacts of Ghana's Oil and Gas Industry on Ecosystem Services and Smallholder Livelihoods. University of South Florida.
  2. Atta-Quayson, A. (2024). Assessing the Potential of Salt as' Development Minerals' in Ghana. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).
  3. Auty, R. M. (2007). Natural Resources, Capital Accumulation and the Resource Curse. Ecological Economics, 61(4), 627-634. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.09.006
  4. Azimi, H. (2021). Investigating the Relationship between Knowledge Management and Social Capital. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 3(1), 53-67. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v3i1.1144
  5. Bans-Akutey, A. (2025). Dynamics in the Carrying Capacity of Ghana’s population. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 5(2), 119–130. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v5i2.2365
  6. Bans-Akutey, A., & Tiimub, B. (2021). The Effect of Leadership Styles on the Dynamics of a Group. Academia Letters, 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2061
  7. Bebbington, D. H. (2013). Extraction, Inequality and Indigenous Peoples: Insights from Bolivia. Environmental Science & Policy, 33, 438-446. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.07.027
  8. Björkman, E. (2024). A Trojan Horse of Concrete: The Trajectory of the Belo Monte Dam Project In the Amazonian Rainforest of Brazil: A Case Study.
  9. Cernea, M. M. (2003). For a New Economics of Resettlement: A Sociological Critique of the Compensation Principle. International Social Science Journal, 55(175), 37-45. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2451.5501004
  10. Clark, T. P., Smolski, A. R., Allen, J. S., Hedlund, J., & Sanchez, H. (2022). Capitalism and Sustainability: An Exploratory Content Analysis of Frameworks in Environmental Political Economy. Social Currents, 9(2), 159-179. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/23294965211043548
  11. Crawford, G., & Botchwey, G. (2016). Foreign Involvement in Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana and its Impact on Resource Fairness Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics (pp. 193-211): Routledge.
  12. Figueroa, R. M. (2022). Environmental Justice The Routledge Companion to Environmental Ethics (pp. 767-782): Routledge.
  13. Gamu, J., Le Billon, P., & Spiegel, S. (2015). Extractive Industries and Poverty: A Review of recent Findings and Linkage Mechanisms. The Extractive Industries and Society, 2(1), 162-176. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2014.11.001
  14. Gustafsson, M.-T., & Schilling-Vacaflor, A. (2022). Indigenous Peoples and Multiscalar Environmental Governance: The Opening and Closure of Participatory Spaces. Global Environmental Politics, 22(2), 70-94. doi:https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00642
  15. Hilson, G., & Maconachie, R. (2020). Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Africa's Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector: Developments and Trajectories. Journal of Rural Studies, 78, 149-162. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.004
  16. Kálmán, G. (2024). In Search of Just Transformations: Exploring the Transformative Potential of Environmental Justice Movements in Central and Eastern Europe.
  17. Leff, E. (2021). Political Ecology: Deconstructing Capital and Territorializing Life: Springer Nature.
  18. Moussa, H. L., & Bans-Akutey, A. (2022). Technology and Banking Operations: Perspectives of International Students in a Ghanaian University. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 4(1), 21-33. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v4i1.1485
  19. Naab, R., & Bans-Akutey, A. (2021). Assessing the Use of E-Business Strategies by Smes in Ghana During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 2(3), 145-160. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v2i3.800
  20. Nairobi, N., Ambya, A., Afif, F. Y., & Pratikno, D. D. (2022). Ownership Rights and ASEAN-5 Economic Growth. Studies in Economy and Public Policy, 1(1), 1-13.
  21. Ofori, R., Takyi, S. A., Amponsah, O., & Gagakuma, D. (2023). Mining-Induced Displacement and Resettlement in Ghana: An Assessment of the Prospects and Challenges in Selected Mining Communities. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 13(1), 61. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-023-01075-y
  22. Otu, B. O., & Sarfo, K. (2023). The Political Ecology of Farmer-Herder Conflict in Ghana: A Case Study of the Kwahu Afram Plains South District. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 23(1), 84-106.
  23. Robbins, P. (2019). Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction: John Wiley & Sons.
  24. Roberts, J. (2020). Political ecology The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Columbia University.
  25. Sachs, J. D., & Warner, A. M. (2001). The Curse of Natural Resources. European Economic Review, 45(4-6), 827-838. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00125-8
  26. Schilling, J., Schilling-Vacaflor, A., Flemmer, R., & Froese, R. (2021). A Political Ecology Perspective on Resource Extraction and Human Security in Kenya, Bolivia and Peru. The Extractive Industries and Society, 8(4), 100826. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.10.009
  27. Shah, Z., Zaman, K., Khan, H. u. R., & Rashid, A. (2022). The Economic Value of Natural Resources and its Implications for Pakistan’s Economic Growth. Commodities, 1(2), 65-97. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/commodities1020006
  28. Tiamgne, X. T., Kalaba, F. K., & Nyirenda, V. R. (2022). Mining and Socio-Ecological Systems: A Systematic Review of Sub-Saharan Africa. Resources Policy, 78, 102947. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102947
  29. Tomislav, K. (2018). The Concept of Sustainable Development: From its Beginning to the Contemporary Issues. Zagreb International Review of Economics & Business, 21(1), 67-94. doi:https://doi.org/10.2478/zireb-2018-0005
  30. Torvikey, G. D., Gyapong, A. Y., & Adomaa, F. O. (2022). Contestation and Resistance: Women, Artisanal Salt Mining, and Struggles Around the Capitalist Reorganisation of Salt Production in the Ada Songor Lagoon Area.
  31. Udodiugwu, M. I., Obikaor, U. J., Eneremadu, K. E., Onwuegbuchulem, N. C., & Anyaegbunam, C. E. (2025). Promoting Environmental Sustainability Through Eco-Friendly Products: A Critical Review for Sustainable Development. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 6(3), 247-252. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/amor.v6i3.2305