History of aggregate mining in Lesotho, 1967-2022

Abstract

Owing to the ever-increasing importance, particularly in public and private construction, the global demand for aggregates has been increasing. The extraction of sand and gravel, however, has had adverse environmental consequences in the global south. In this light, this study examines the history of aggregate mining in Lesotho between 1967 and 2022. It explores the evolution of the policy framework that governed aggregate extraction and the socio-economic and environmental imperatives that shaped these policies. Moreover, the study examines the interface between state policy and communal responses and initiatives within an evolving socio-economic and environmental background. Using archival records and oral sources, this study will explore the intersection of economic and environmental issues as they shaped aggregate mining from a historical perspective. It draws from and seeks to join the growing historiographical conversations on the environmental history of Southern Africa and the imperatives, particularly those studies that unpack the link between economic development, rural livelihoods and environmental sustainability. In the main, this study argues that, notwithstanding the espousal of environmentally sensitive policies to govern the two industries over time, aggregate mining continued to have an adverse environmental impact due to an overriding need by communities to sustain theirivelihoods, hence the proliferation of an illegal but thriving industry during the period under review.