Massive lake pits caused by galamsey flood an abandoned cocoa farm in the Western Region of Ghana. Image by Edem Srem. Ghana, 2022.
President John Mahama has disclosed that illegal mining affected 48 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, saying the affected reserves have since been recovered and are undergoing reclamation.
Speaking at the Mining in Motion conference on Monday, October 19, the President said heavily armed illegal miners had occupied the affected reserves, leading to their designation as red zones for enforcement officers.
He said the reserves had recently been recovered, allowing reclamation work to proceed.
“We have 288 forest reserves, and of these forest reserves, 48 of them had been penetrated by illegal miners,” he said at the conference in Accra.
“And of the 48, 9 were declared red zones, which means the forest guards could not enter those reserves because the illegal miners were fully armed,” he added.
“I am happy to note that of those 9 red zones, we have cleared all of them of illegal miners, and are currently preparing those forest reserves for reclamation,” Mr John Mahama noted.
President Mahama commended those involved in the fight against illegal mining, acknowledging their efforts in reclaiming the reserves from the miners.
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