As a result of illegal small-scale mining, also known as “galamsey”, 34 forest reserves in Ghana have been severely impacted.
In total, 4,726 hectares of forest were destroyed or degraded as a result of illegal mining in these reserves.
Ashanti Region forest reserves Apamprama, Subin Shelterbelt, and Oda River Forest are among the most severely affected.
John Allotey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, said this at the Minister’s briefing on the “State of the Nation’s Forests” in Accra, Ghana on Tuesday.
He stated that the Commission was having difficulty controlling illegal mining in these reserves because of the large number of illegal miners, violent armed miners, or large numbers of excavators used for mining.
“Illegal mining operators are now using recruited armed security with sophisticated assault rifles and other weaponry,” he said of those working in forest reserves.
“The majority of these illegal activities occurred at night, and the Forestry Commission’s field staff lacked the required military training to combat them,” he said.
Allotey, therefore, called for military intervention to assist the Commission’s field officers to handle the arduous task of arresting the miscreants.
Meanwhile, the Commission had trained 964 of its field officers at the Asutuare Military Camp on weapon handling.
It had also formed thirteen Rapid Response Teams and acquired one thousand pump-action rifles for its operations.
Allotey, when asked about the forest’s impact on the economy, said that Ghana made $200 million annually from timber exports and GHS 800 million from the domestic market.
The Commission is planting trees on 690,436 hectares of mined land as part of various restoration initiatives, such as the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy, Forest Plantation, Enrichment Planting, and Trees-on-Farm.
To restore between 100 and 1,500 hectares of mined land, Ghana is implementing the Ghana Forest Investment Programme and the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-scale Mining Project.
He stated that Ghana was already reaping the benefits of some afforestation and reforestation programs, citing the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ initiative, which was a World Bank-funded effort to increase operational productivity.
This is accomplished by promoting climate-smart forest landscapes and aggressively restoring degraded forest lands worth $50 million.
The initial payment of $4.5 million for cutting emissions and building up carbon credit was already received by the country.
Allotey stated that 69% of the funds would be allocated to certain forest communities for the purposes of cocoa agroforestry, irrigation, artificial pollination, and the establishment of forest plantations, as well as the establishment of alternative livelihood programmes and biodiversity conservations.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, stated that the Akufo-Addo-led government had well-considered policies and programs to protect and preserve the forests and restore the degraded cover.
He reaffirmed the government’s determination to eradicate all illegal mining cartels operating in forest reserves and severely punish those responsible through the legal system.
He called for national, bipartisan, and cooperative efforts to combat the galamsey threat.
As of 2021, Ghana’s forest cover has decreased from 8.2 million hectares in 1902 to 6.6 million due to agricultural expansion, road infrastructure, and urbanization.
