Ghana has lost over 5,252 hectares of forest land to illegal mining activities, while 44 of the country’s 288 forest reserves have been degraded, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has revealed.

River turbidity levels now exceed 5,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) — ten times the acceptable limit — due to contamination from mercury, cyanide, and other toxic chemicals used in illegal mining, commonly known in Ghana as galamsey.

“It requires the collective will of communities, industries, stakeholders, traditional leaders and environmental advocates,” the Daily Graphic quoted Buah as saying.

Updating stakeholders on progress in tackling illegal mining, Buah disclosed that 150 excavators, five bulldozers and multiple weapons had been seized, while 71 individuals had been arrested. He added that enforcement efforts had made seven of nine previously inaccessible forest reserves open for monitoring.

Despite these interventions, the minister said: “Illegal mining persists, fuelled by weak political will, inconsistent enforcement and complicity at various levels of governance.”

Buah listed additional factors, including security lapses, lack of geological data, delayed prosecutions, foreign infiltration, and the use of armed gangs to resist enforcement. He also cited the importation of unregulated equipment as a key enabler.

He stressed that the government remained resolute in its mission and called for renewed citizen participation to root out illegal mining and safeguard national resources, according to the Daily Graphic.

Among the government’s new measures is the replacement of the Community Mining Scheme with a Cooperative Mining Scheme.

Buah announced reforms to the licensing process, stating that new licences would be issued at the district level, involving traditional leaders and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Additionally, all excavators imported into Ghana will be registered and tracked, with existing ones also brought under monitoring. The machines will be geo-tagged and subject to 24/7 surveillance, with remote immobilisation in cases of non-compliance.

A reinforced joint task force made up of the military, police, and the Forestry Commission is now operational to dislodge illegal miners from protected areas.

The minister encouraged Ghanaians to report illegal activities to help build a mining sector anchored in “sustainability, equity and national pride.”

He also noted that while the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector plays a vital economic role — contributing a third of Ghana’s gold production and employing about 3mn people — its future remains threatened by the impact of illegal mining.

“Yet, its potential is undermined by the scourge of galamsey, which ravages our environment, pollutes water bodies and threatens public health,” Buah warned.