Open-Air Quarries in the Urban Commune of Zinder (South-East Niger): An Opportunity with Strong Externalities

Abstract

The framing of this theme would contribute to a better analysis of the benefits of open-air quarrying in Zinder, and should make it possible to understand and measure the socio-environmental externalities of this type of activity in an urban environment. The approach method consisted of carrying out surveys combined with field observations and interviews with the various stakeholders as well as the local population. The results obtained made it possible to identify both positive and negative impacts. The positive impacts are above all the advantages derived from these aggregate quarries, in particular, the creation of direct and permanent jobs and the increase in community income. The price of piling up a truck costs around 28,000 CFA ($56 CAN) and that of loading is around 10,000 F CFA ($20 CAN). This has the effect of removing young people (20 - 39 years old) from the circuit of migration outside the region and even the country. The possibility of using the extraction sites by the local population was identified, in terms of profits relating to fish farming, off-season crops, animal drinking and reclaimed plots. The study also noted negative externalities, such as the temptation of young boys to become involved in extractive activities for immediate gains at the expense of school attendance. Added to this is the upheaval in the topography of the urban landscape, pollution and nuisances (noise, visual and olfactory), while the disappearance or clogging of quarry ponds is the cause of frequent flooding in the neighborhoods. In short, corrective measures (e.g. the revegetation of sites) certainly make it possible to minimize the harmful impacts on the urban environment. But, to improve the performance and organizational capacity of the quarrying industry in Niger, even stronger regulation, training and awareness of stakeholders prove to be the necessary measures.