Gravel Mining Case Study


Goptapa Gravel Mines

This is actually many gravel mine sites in the area of a major bend in the Lesser Zab River just north of the Village of Goptapa at the border between Erbil & Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Kurdistan, northern Iraq.

How is gravel mining done at this site?
  • Who (government entity) controls this area?
This area is under the jurisdiction of Erbil, Kirkuk and Sulaimani Governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan as it sits on the border between these areas. This area is originally agricultural and/or grazing land with wooded riparian areas along the river.  The farmers own the land.  They are not allowed to build houses or any buildings, so most of the land that was owned by farmers from Goptapa villagers, was sold after 1991 to gravel miners and different individuals.  Previously sale of this land was not allowed under strict rules implemented under the Saddam Hussain regime. When the farmers start to sell their land they lost control of it and the problems from gravel mining began.
  • Who regulates gravel mining at this site?
The Geology Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Ashti District of Koya and the Koya Directorate of Environment regulate the Goptapa area. In addition there were monthly visits from the Erbil Governorate Agricultural Department (Geology Division) but with the economic crisis in 2016 it is likely that these visits have all but stopped.
  • What type of gravel mining is done at this site?
This area is known for “in-stream” gravel mining, meaning that large excavating machines operate and remove gravel and sediments from in the river’s bed and from adjacent gravel bars within the floodplain of the river. Sorting of gravel (to sort the gravel by size) is usually done in the upland area nearby the river, using a large mechanical sorter and water pumped from the river. As of the Fall of 2016, out of the 12 known gravel mines in this area seven of them were active and work was conducted from 5 am until 5 pm. 
  • How long has gravel mining been going on at Goptapa?
Gravel mining has been going on since the 1980s in this area, but in the 80s there were only a few gravel mines operating.  After the 1991 political uprising farmers starting selling their land. It was very difficult to continue farming as the Kurdish regional government provided very little support to farmers and cheaper imports started coming in to the region from Iran and Turkey. Since that time all the green areas have been destroyed, wildlife of this area started having difficulties and the river has been abused ever since. 
  • How many companies are mining gravel at Goptapa?
In this area, WI has estimated that there are about 12 gravel mines, but they are not always in operation at the same time. Seven were active by the fall of 2016. 
  • How many people are employed/involved in the Goptapa Gravel Mine?
Every gravel mine employs between 15 to 20 peoples. 
  • What is the gravel used for? 
Gravel mining is usually used for construction, primarily the building of houses. 
  • How much money do these companies make mining gravel?
Profits from these activities are not publicly shared but one of the mine owners stated that each gravel mine could support at least 15 families. It is calculated that a mine can sell one truck of sand for 100,000ID, and they produce about 20 trucks of sand per day. They can also truck of large gravel at a price of 10,000ID per truck load and they ship out about 12 trucks of large gravel per day.  In addition, one truck of smaller gravel, which is used for making cement is 10,000ID per truck load and they ship out 7 truck of smaller gravel per day. Thus a typical gravel mine has a gross daily income of 1887.52 USD.
  • Are these companies and people from Goptapa or from elsewhere? Where?
Yes, most of the people and employees are from Goptapa and the towns and villages nearby, such as Kanysard, Ashti district and the larger town of Koya. 
  • What rules apply to gravel mining activity?
There are some laws governing these activities. Employees from the Geology Division of Erbil Governorate's Agriculture department visit every month to see if anybody is doing anything wrong. The gravel miners are not supposed to work on land that is not included in the original plans and beyond the permission they were given for their operations.  But they all do cross the line and they are cutting all the trees around.  Whenever their contracts finish in an area, by law, they are supposed to restore the land and the river and plant more trees, but this has never been done. The Erbil Directorate of Environment is supposed to assess the gravel mines regularly but they are not doing so due to their lack of enforcement powers and political will.
  • What protections are there for communities and the environment?
There is no protection for people and no protection for the environment at this time. People from Goptapa village are suffering from noise, air, water and soil pollution.  The area where the mines are located used to be forested and full of wildlife.  Locals stated that you could fish, swim and drink the water, but this is impossible now. The river has changed, there are so many big gravel hills and deep trenches in the river that it is now dangerous to swim there and frequently throughout the years people have been killed in the river because of this. There are also no fish because of the gravel mining and farmers are struggling to continue because the water quality is degraded and not good for agriculture.  Groundwater and peoples’ drinking wells have also been impacted. People in general are really suffering from these gravel-mining activities.  There are big concerns about loosing all the green areas, which are being left as wastelands.
 
Community Concerns
​People from Goptapa village are suffering from noise, air, water and soil pollution.  Locals stated that you could fish, swim and drink the water, but this is impossible now. The river has changed, there are so many big gravel hills and deep trenches in the river that it is now dangerous to swim there; there are no fish because of the gravel mining, and farmers are struggling to continue because of mass gravel mining. 

Environmental Concerns
The area where the mines are located used to be forested and full of wildlife.  Animal, bird, fish and other organisms are heavily impacted in the gravel mining areas.  A Odonata survey (a survey of adult dragonflies and damsel flies were are an important indicator of ecosystem health) found virtually none in the area of the mines. The river is impacted by increased sedimentation downstream affecting water quality for many kilometers and there is water, soil and air pollution from heavy machinery impacting the area as well.

Other Concerns
Agriculture has been on the decline in this area for some time due to a lack of government investment and cheap food imports from outside the country.  Most people do not have secure livelihoods from farming. This is one of the reasons the land was sold off in the first place.

Because local people are employed in the mines and few viable jobs exist in the area, care is needed to address the social and environmental impacts of gravel mining.  Without proper planning, these sites could be just abandoned when pressure is applied to address the problems that have occurred and the sites would be left without proper restoration.

Who can you talk with to address your concerns about gravel mining?
Links about this and related issues in Iraq:

Gravel Mining Destroys our Rivers (Video)
Sustainable Sand and Gravel Extraction  (Example)
Hungry Water: Effects of Dams and Gravel Mining on River Channels
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