Abstract:

Traditional extraction of building material is one of the economic activities in Mwanza City that supplies aggregates, sands, gravels, and stones. This study aimed at investigating the impacts of traditional extraction of building materials on biodiversity conservation and the livelihood of residing communities. Purposive sampling was used to obtain mining sites. Data were collected using households survey, focus group discussions, field visits, and the experiment. The sample size was 180 respondents. The sampling unit was people near mining sites, miners and ward leaders. The study revealed positive and negative impacts on biodiversity conservation and residing communities. The noted positive impacts included a source of income and a strategy for levelling building sites. On another hand, the perceived negative impacts were found to be land degradation, the disappearance of biodiversity, air pollution, uncovered areas/lands, effects on human health, and is the source of conflict. The study concluded that traditional extraction of building materials in residential has impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods of residing people. The study recommends that the government should develop an efficient and effective legal framework with strict laws. In addition, ward and wards leaders should be involved in the inspection and verification of genuine permits.