Galamsey Crisis: 48 Forest Reserves Encroached, 9 Declared Red Zones – Mahama

Story By: Deborah Adorsu

President John Mahama has disclosed that illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, has affected 48 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, with the affected reserves now recovered and undergoing reclamation.

Speaking at the Mining in Motion conference on Monday, October 19 in Accra, the President said heavily armed illegal miners had occupied the affected reserves, leading to their designation as red zones for enforcement officers.

“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.

President Mahama said the government has now cleared all 9 red zones of illegal miners and is preparing those forest reserves for reclamation.

The disclosure comes as the government says it is making progress through the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), which has seized excavators and changfang machines and driven miners out of invaded reserves.

In an earlier update during his Resetting Ghana Tour in August, the President explained that the government had changed strategy — after clearing a reserve, a military detachment now remains there because illegal miners do not fear forest guards and previously returned after operations.

Ghana has 288 forest reserves in total.

The Forestry Commission had previously noted about 34 reserves under serious threat with about 4,726 hectares mapped as degraded.

The President commended all involved in the fight and said government will continue to spend more to keep soldiers in the forests to prevent re-entry.