The government has successfully reclaimed Shelter Belt, the largest of nine forest reserves that had fallen under the control of illegal miners for almost a decade.
The operation was carried out with the assistance of security services, marking a significant step in the fight against illegal mining.
Addressing Parliament on Friday, February 28, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, revealed that 44 out of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves are under severe threat from illegal mining activities.
He noted that nine of these reserves had been completely overrun due to illegal miners wielding sophisticated weapons, making it difficult for the Forest Commission to maintain control.
Speaking to Citi News, the Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reclaiming lost forest reserves and restoring polluted water bodies.
“We talked about the 44 forest reserves that have been destroyed, but we won’t stop there. We will ensure the forests are recovered through afforestation under the ‘Tree for Life’ initiative. I am proud to say that, with the help of the security forces and housing sector, we have recovered the largest forestry reserve. We are taking things one step at a time and will work towards turning our waters blue again.”
He further disclosed plans to restructure the licensing system for mining, eliminating unclear classifications such as small-scale and medium-scale mining.
“We are going with policies to restructure how we give licences. There is nothing called small-scale, or medium-scale mining, we are going to restructure licensing and decentralized licensing,” he added.
