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Vital Signs Ecosystem Threats

Vital Signs is a monitoring system for agriculture, nature and human well-being. We have built an image library from all five countries where Vital Signs is currently operating: Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Visit the archive for more country-specific images.

Aboagye Darcosta makes a pile of gravel that will later be crushed to extract the gold in central Ghana. What likely began as a commercial dig is continually reworked by local prospectors threatening their community's water supply.
Daniel Kofi Nycrokoh loosens gravel at the bottom of a pit, central Ghana.
Gold miners lift gravel from an unregulated and illegal pit in central Ghana.
Daniel Kofi Nycrokoh lifts a chunk of quartz out of a pit, central Ghana.
Miners dump muddy water lifted from an illegal gold mine in central Ghana. What likely began as a commercial dig is continually reworked by local prospectors threatening their community's water supply.
Miners dig through clay to start a new hole in an illegal gold operation in central Ghana.
Waste water turns ochre in an illegal gold mining operation in central Ghana. In addition to large multinational digs, the landscape is littered with small, illegal operations that have a significant impact on fresh water sources.
The processing boss holds a small ball of gold dust in central Ghana. Workers use mercury to process the ore with little to no protective gear.
Mercury is mixed in by hand to separate the gold from the rock flour, central Ghana.
Two men work in the smoke of an illegal charcoal production site near Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania.
Alex Byamukama makes charcoal a few meters outside the boundary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Charcoal production has been restricted in many countries due to the impact it can have on nearby forests.
Alex Byamukama makes charcoal meters away from the boundary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.
A charcoal merchant in the town of Nsawam, Ghana.
Aquinata Kinyamagoha carries fuelwood back to her home for cooking. Wood collection has become increasingly restricted outside of Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania, with few good alternatives.
Children gather firewood outside of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.
Bush meat is sold along the highway in southern Tanzania. As the world’s population grows to around 9 billion by 2050, the demand for food, feed and fiber is predicted to nearly double.
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