Rural environmental protection has received increasing attention in recent years. The economic development and population growth of rural areas results in many problems, such as environmental pollution, land degradation, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, income loss, and public health risks. Although much progress has been made, many major challenges to rural environmental management remain to be addressed. The question of how to deal with these problems through sustainable approaches has become an urgent issue in rural areas.

Despite its contributions to the development of the country, the mining sector in Sierra Leone, has been attributed to a multitude of impacts on the environment. This article focuses on assessing the environmental impacts of mining in mining edge communities in Sierra Leone. A survey of 360 people from three mining edge communities (Sierra Rutile Limited (SRL), Bonthe district; Octea Mining Company (OMC), Kono district and Sierra Leone Mining Company (SLM), Port Loko district) was conducted.

Land degradation affects a significant portion of the Earth’s ice-free land area and several countries have embraced the challenge of restoring large parts of their degraded lands. Success in these efforts depends on various factors, including the amount of resources invested, the technical capacity available and the degree of involvement of stakeholders. Burkina Faso has committed to restoring 5 Mha of degraded land by 2030.