Osun, the second wife of Alafin Sango, turned to a river after she lost in the contest of who succeeds their father, Ake.

[3] In 2018, the river suddenly began to change color and investigation by Urban Alert (a civic-tech nonprofit organization) has revealed that illegal and unregulated licensed gold mining activities at the headwaters upper course is the root cause.

Osun-Osogbo, in the heart of Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, founded some 400 years ago in southwest Nigeria, at a distance of 250 km from Lagos is the largest sacred grove to have survived and one that is still revered.

Set within the forest sanctuary are forty shrines, sculptures and art works erected in honour of Osun and other Yoruba deities, many created in the past forty years, two palaces, five sacred places and nine worship points strung along the river banks with designated priests and priestesses.

The new art installed in the grove has also differentiated it from other groves: Osogbo is now unique in having a large component of 20th century sculpture created to reinforce the links between people and the Yoruba pantheon, and the way in which Yoruba towns linked their establishment and growth to the spirits of the forest.

Criterion (iii): The Osun Sacred Grove is the largest and perhaps the only remaining example of a once widespread phenomenon that used to characterize every Yoruba settlement.

Some of the recent sculptures are vulnerable to lack of regular maintenance which given their materials – cement, iron and mud – could lead to potentially difficult and expensive conservation problems.

The Grove is also vulnerable to over-visiting and visitor pressure that could erode the equilibrium between the natural aspects and people necessary to sustain the spiritual qualities of the site.

Although their form reflects a new stylistic departure, the works were not created to glorify the artists but rather through their giant size and intimidating shapes to re-establish the sacredness of the Grove.

The new sculptures have achieved their purpose and the Grove now has wider than local significance as a sacred place for the Yoruba people.

There is a management committee made up of all cadres of stakeholders, that implements policies, actions and activities for the sustainable development of the site.

[6] The river, which traverses five states in the area before emptying into the Gulf of Guinea, has recently been contaminated by nearby villages' mining operations.

Further physio-chemical and microbiological test has revealed that the Osun River is heavily contaminated with mercury, lead, cyanide, and other injurious elements.

Residents of Osun identified Chinese backers who engaged armed security personnel and operated in secrecy.

[13][15] The free discharge of domestic and bathroom wastewaters into the environment from the majority of homes in the location also contributes to the pollution, arising from personal care and cosmetic products, including facial scrubs, toothpastes, shower gels, and nail polishes, which constitute the discharged wastewaters.