The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has bried Parliament on the state of the country’s forest reserves and water bodies and outlined key measures being implemented by government to curb illegal mining (galamsey) activities.
STATE OF GHANA’S FOREST RESERVES AND WATER BODIES
- Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to address this august house on the pressing issues facing our nation, particularly the devastating scourge of illegal mining, commonly known as Galamsey, and its catastrophic effects on our precious forests and water bodies. I stand before you today not only to provide an update on the dire situation, but also to outline the solutions we have identified and the expedited actions we are taking to address this national emergency. I am here today to solicit the unwavering support of this House and my Honorable Colleagues to join me in this fight. This is not a battle for one individual but a collective struggle that demands unified efforts to achieve meaningful and lasting results.
- Mr. Speaker, Ghana boasts a total land area of approximately 23.8 million hectares. Of this, about 3.6 million hectares—15% of our total land area—are designated as either Forest Reserves (2.3 million hectares) or Wildlife Protected Areas (1.3 million hectares), managed by the Forestry Commission. These include 288 Forest Reserves and 21 Protected Areas scattered across the country.
- As we all know, our forests and wildlife resources have long been major contributors to Ghana’s economic development. They provide formal and informal employment, sustain livelihoods, offer rich biodiversity for ecotourism, and generate foreign exchange through timber exports. Beyond their economic value, our forests play a critical role in climate regulation, serving as a nature-based solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
- Mr. Speaker, despite the numerous benefits we derive from the forest and our increasing knowledge about the importance of forests to our ecosystem and well-being, Ghana’s forests continue to be under serious threat of deforestation and forest degradation due to factors known to all of us. Ghana is currently faced with unprecedented threats to our forest resources and water bodies due largely to illegal small-scale mining (galamsey). This situation has assumed crisis proportions with dire national security and public health consequences that require immediate attention.
- Mr. Speaker, it would interest you to note that, out of the 288 Forest Reserves that I mentioned earlier, a whopping 44 of these reserves are under serious attack by illegal miners, and an estimated area of over 5,000 hectares has been devastated (about 7,500 standard football pitches). This is mostly occurring in the Ashanti (Bekwai, Nkawie), Western (Tarkwa & Daboase) and Western North (Bibiani, Enchi & Juaboso) Regions.
- Mr. Speaker, the approach adopted by these illegal mining thugs is quite alarming and frightening. They are heavily armed with very sophisticated weapons and very violent with large numbers of excavators, making it extremely difficult for the Forestry Guards and the Rapid Response Teams to control them since they have no such sophisticated weapons to fight back.
- Over 9 out of the 44 Forest Reserves have completely been taken over by these illegal mining thugs with impunity, and the Forestry Commission no longer has access to these reserves. This situation is dire and must be condemned by all citizens of Ghana.
- Mr. Speaker, the impact of illegal mining on our water bodies is critical and equally alarming. Among the three water Basin systems in Ghana (Volta, South-Western, and the Coastal Basin systems), the South-Western Basin System is most impacted. The rivers that form the South-Western Basin are Ankobra, Pra (Offin, Birim & Oda), Tano, and Bia. According to the Ghana Water Company, the normal turbidity levels for water under treatment should not exceed 500 NTU. However, the current turbidity levels of these water systems are between 5,000 – 12,000 NTU. The Ghana Water Company has had to shut down some treatment plants in Tarkwa at a point due to over-pollution from galamsey.
- Mr. Speaker, the pollution does not end with turbidity. These water bodies are also contaminated with toxic chemicals such as cyanide, mercury, and hydrocarbons, used recklessly by illegal miners. This is utterly unacceptable! We cannot afford to reach a point where access to clean, potable water becomes a daily struggle for our citizens.
- Mr. Speaker, this is the grim reality of the state of our Forest reserves and water bodies we have inherited. It is a legacy of environmental degradation that we must confront head-on as part of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama’s Reset Ghana agenda. The outlook is undoubtedly bleak, but we are resolute in our commitment to reversing this crisis
- In line with the Reset agenda, I wish to provide highlights of some short and medium to long-term measures I have embarked upon to address the situation.
- In the short term, Mr. Speaker, we want to clear all water bodies from illegal mining activities through the use of River Guards under our Blue Water Initiative. Details of this initiative will be provided during the launch of this initiative in the coming weeks.
- Engagement of stakeholders at all levels to, among other things, strengthen our regulatory and law enforcement regime and get the buy-in of stakeholders on measures being pursued – Traditional authorities, MMDCEs, civil society groups, security agencies, state regulators, Judiciary, my colleague Members of Parliament and all well-meaning Ghanaians.
- This is the reason why I am here today. I wish to seek your commitment and the commitment of leadership and all political actors to join me at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and other collaborating Ministries to fight this war.
- It cannot be business as usual. We are adopting all-inclusive transformational approaches in this war.
- Mr. Speaker, as another short-term measure, I inaugurated a Working Committee of Experts on Wednesday, 12th February 2025, to undertake a review of the mining sector and licensing regime and recommend immediate radical reforms to sanitize illegal mining activities within forest reserves and water bodies. The Committee is expected to submit its report to me by the end of this month.
- Mr. Speaker, We are also collaborating with the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology and actively discussing the modalities for revoking LI 2462 to establish a more responsible legal framework for small-scale mining, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas.
- Mr. Speaker, our short to medium-term approach is to roll out the Government’s Tree For Life Reforestation Initiative. This ambitious initiative aims to restore degraded landscapes by transforming areas ravaged by illegal mining and other drivers of deforestation into ecologically functional landscapes. It will promote sustainable forest management, conservation, and reforestation to combat biodiversity loss, water pollution, climate change, and environmental degradation—threats that now pose an existential risk to our nation.
We recognize that many young people turn to illegal mining due to a lack of sustainable employment opportunities. As part of our long-term strategy, we are exploring avenues to create alternative, sustainable livelihoods to reduce dependency on galamsey.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude with a heartfelt appeal to all Ghanaians and Members of Parliament to join me in this fight against galamsey. Let us unite to support the measures outlined today. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and future generations to safeguard our environment and secure a sustainable future for our beloved nation. The time to act is now. Together, we can and must prevail.
Thank you Mr. Speaker!!
