8. The Significance of SDG16 “Strong Institutions” Toward the Adoption of Circular Economy Approaches for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Goal 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions can drive positive environmental, social, and economic changes in sub-Saharan Africa while transforming informal sectors. Peer-reviewed English language publications on Google Scholar were explored based on a systematic literature review using loop analysis modelling, mapping out currently underdeveloped gaps such as the intersection of circular economy and the ASM sector in African countries. By identifying the significance of circular economy adoption within the realm of sub-Saharan Africa, which is rightly rich in quarried natural resources, this chapter laid the groundwork for the significance of strong institutions for the adoption of a circular approach and environmental management. Thereby, the problem of mining waste was highlighted, and the state of institutions was identified as the main facilitator of a circular economy for the ASM sector. Countries with institutional voids, weak policies, and marginal international collaboration are instructed by this chapter to carry out formalization that can enable stakeholder participation as well as institutional and policy changes, which support targets and indicators of SDG16. Given the blurred margins of functioning systems in emerging economies such as the case of developing sub-Saharan African countries, often the indicators for implementation, monitoring, and distribution data may be inadequate. Therefore, stronger regard for further research is encouraged to target more refined versions of clearer circular economy approaches, which would offer clearer and supportive adoption guidelines, i.e., easier to implement in poor or informal communities. The chapter is aligned with the need of formalizing the ASM sector toward efficiency and the decarbonization of the global economy at all levels of production, starting with the sourcing of raw materials – “mining.”