‘GHANA’S forests are being destroyed by illegal mining activities,’ warns the country’s Forestry Commission, as the West African nation competes with South Africa to be Africa’s top gold producer.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, John Allotey, the head of Ghana’s Forestry Commission, revealed that illegal mining had affected seven out of the country’s 16 regions, with 34 out of 288 forest reserves destroyed, totalling an area of 4,726 hectares, larger than cities like Athens or Brussels. ‘Illegal mining activities not only reduce the size of forests but also pollute rivers and create deep holes that are then difficult to rehabilitate,’ said Allotey.
Since taking office in 2017, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has vowed to eliminate ‘galamsey,’ the local name for illegal mining operations where deadly accidents frequently occur. Despite the government’s efforts, authorities regularly uncover illegal mining activities, which have a devastating impact on the environment.
Environmentalists in Ghana have criticised the government’s efforts to curb illegal mining, pointing out insufficient law enforcement, corruption, and unemployment as the driving factors behind deforestation activities. Ghanaian environmentalist Nehemiah Odjer-Bio of Friends of the Earth said, ‘Ghana has a tropical forest rich in biodiversity, with different species of trees and animals that all perform important functions for the country and the world. We must do more to protect them.’
To tackle illegal mining, the Ghanaian authorities have revised laws, put in place measures and systems to protect forests, and removed excavators from illegal mining sites. However, the Forestry Commission has called for increased surveillance, military operations in sensitive areas, and additional funding to combat the problem. In addition to illegal mining, deforestation in Ghana is also driven by agricultural expansion, illegal logging, forest fires, overgrazing, and infrastructure development.
