The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Sulemana Yusif, has called for the support of all stakeholders in the country in the fight against illegal mining.
He said the government alone could not fight illegal mining, and would require the support of all including chiefs, community leaders, non-governmental organisations, and academia, media and development partners to combat the menace.
Speaking at the Ghana National Landscape Forum in Accra yesterday, Mr Yusif said his outfit was enhancing stakeholder engagement, collaborating with communities, traditional leaders, civil society and all important stakeholders to foster collective ownership of fight against illegal mining.
Ghana’s forests, minerals, and water bodies, the deputy minister said were under siege, and deforestation, degradation, pollution, and climate change continued to threaten not just our ecosystems but our very livelihoods.
Organised by the Government of Ghana in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Ghana Statistical Service and the Forestry Commission and National Development Planning Commission is under the auspices of the World Bank, Progreen and Global Programme on Sustainability.
The three-day programme, on the theme “Natural Resources Management and Forest Economy for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth,” is being attended by professionals from the public and private sector, non-governmental organisations, academia working in the areas of Natural Resource Management (NRM) and environmental sustainability in Ghana.
It formed part of the National Capital Accounting programme being supported by the World Bank’s Global Programme on Sustainability, in developing land accounts, the ecosystem extent accounts and ecosystem services accounts using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting.
Mr Yusif said illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), in particular, had reached crisis levels, stripping the country of its lands, biodiversity, poisoning rivers, and endangering public health.
“We are seeing communities where once-lush forests have been reduced to barren pits, and rivers that once provided drinking water now ran brown with toxic sediments. The devastation is not just environmental—it is a blow to our food security and well-being. This is the reality we must confront,” Mr Yusif stated.
The deputy minister lauded the World Bank for its immense support to Ghana’s natural resources and environment sector, and said the theme for the programme was timely.
The Chief Executive Officer of the EPA, Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, said the gathering affirmed the government’s commitment, partnership, collective responsibility and mandate to safeguard Ghana’s environment and natural resources to chart sustainable pathways for a better future.
She said Ghana’s economy was largely dependent on natural capital, supporting key sectors such as agriculture, forestry, water, energy, tourism, etc. with the livelihoods of more than 50 per cent of the population directly linked to it according to the Ghana Statistical Service 2017/18 Ghana Census of Agriculture (GCA) National Report.
“In the pursuit of economic development, we have historically undervalued and overlooked the true contribution of natural capital. Our national accounts have traditionally focused on produced and financial capital often ignoring the depletion of forests, soil fertility, water quality, ambient air and other critical ecosystem services.
This blind spot in our development planning model has contributed to unsustainable land use, environmental degradation, and inequities in resource distribution. This can negatively impact the economy with the decline in productivity and resilience in the long term,” Prof. Klutse stated.
