Illegal mining affecting Ghana’s biodiversity?

Ghana is one of the leading producers of gold globally, with the West African country producing 2.8 million ounces of gold in 2020, according to the Ghana Chamber of mines.

The country slumped to second place behind South Africa on the continent after Ghana’s production of the precious mineral dipped by 29.9 per cent from 4 million ounces in 2020 to 2.8 ounces in 2021.

Despite being one of the mainstay of Ghana’s economy, the natural resource appears to be an albatross hanging around the neck of Ghanaians as activities of illegal miners remains a huge threat to the country’s biodiversity.

Much as gold fetches the country huge amount of foreign exchange, it has also become a source of worry for authorities in the face of global efforts to combat climate change.

It is worth noting that Ghana has a lot to do in the fight against illegal mining and other activities militating against efforts to combat climate change, following the appointment of Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet.

After taking over from Bangladesh as the new Chair of the CVF, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that Climate Change was the biggest threat to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

But wanton destruction of the environment including forest reserves and river bodies in the name of mining is threatening Ghana’s biodiversity and ecosystem in his own backyard.

In 2017, the President was on record to have put his Presidency on the line to demonstrate his commitment to tackle the problem, but it has rather assume alarming proportion five years down the line.

The menace which is driven by the increasing unemployment among the youth, has led to massive destruction of river bodies, forest reserves and the environment in general as the desperate youth adopt unconventional mining methods to extract gold.

Illegal Mining in Ghana

Popularly known in local parlance as “Galamsey”, illegal mining has become so rife in Ghana to the extent that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) recently reported that Ghana would soon import water for consumption if the rate at which rivers are being polluted across the country is not halted.

In April 2021, the Communication Director of GWCL, Stanley Martey described the turbidity rate of water bodies in the country as “terrible” and said the situation was not only affecting the company’s productivity, but also the logistics used in the filtration process of domestic water.

He further disclosed that pumps placed on rivers to abstract water were frequently getting choked by sand and stone particles largely due to illegal mining and sand winning.              

The challenges faced by the company responsible for the supply of potable water to urban communities in Ghana has been corroborated by the Water Resources Commission (WRC) which has also reported that 60 per cent of river bodies have been polluted through illegal mining.  

According the WRC, apart from illegal mining, industrial waste, household disposals and farming are other major factors causing water pollution in Ghana.

The fact, however, remains that illegal mining remains the major driver of destruction to water bodies and other critical elements in the ecosystem that must be protected if the country’s fight against climate change would make any significant impact.

Sadly, even cocoa farms that are equally important to the national economy are also not spared by the activities of these nation wreckers who are determined to destroy anything that stand in their way.

In their quest to mine the precious mineral, especially in rural communities, they either invade cocoa farms forcefully, or negotiate with farm owners to cut down the cocoa trees for some meagre compensation, to pave way for their illegal business.

They would mine haphazardly and leave behind uncovered mining pits without any reclamation plans, thereby endangering the lives of innocent citizens.

Also at the mercy of illegal miners, mostly funded by Chinese, are forest reserves which absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere           

According to the Forestry Commission of Ghana (FC), over three million rural Ghanaians depend on the forest for their livelihoods. Forestry plays significant role in the provision of food, fuel, clothing, shelter, furniture, natural medicine, potable water supply sources, bush meat and land for agriculture.

The trees and ground vegetation in forest ecosystem slow water movement and help stabilize soil, thereby preventing soil erosion which eventually reduce pollution of streams, rivers and lakes.

These notwithstanding, self-centered citizens with the help of Chinese nationals and unscrupulous compatriots continue to plunder forest reserves and pollute river bodies, ignoring the long-term effect on the environment and humanity.

The government in its quest to clamp down on the menace has over the years introduced various measures, including the deployment of military teams but to no avail.

This, many people belief, is because of the complicity of influential political actors, traditional leaders and powerful businessmen who are deeply involved in the thriving “enterprise”.

It is alleged that most of the people with the mandate to protect the environment are either involved or in collusion with perpetrators is stealing the natural resource in the most despicable manner. 

Even more disheartening is the alleged involvement of chiefs and politicians and how they go after people who are bold enough to call them out.

A case in point is the closure of a local radio station in the Ashanti Region by the Traditional Council for allowing its platform to be used by a leader of a political party to attack chiefs in the region looking on for illegal mining to thrive.

Mr. Akwasi Addai Odike, the Leader and Founder of the United Front Party (UFP) who made the allegation was also banished from the Manhyia Palace, the seat of the Asante Kingdom.

In all the furor surrounding illegal mining in Ghana, it is the country’s rich biodiversity that continue to suffer the consequences.