The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has ordered the immediate cessation of land reclamation, mine-site rehabilitation, dredging and water-body restoration activities being undertaken without the required environmental permits.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, the Authority said it had observed an increasing number of such activities across the country without the necessary permits and regulatory oversight.
The directive applies to government-sponsored, publicly funded, privately funded and donor-supported projects.
The EPA specifically named the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Forestry Commission, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the Minerals Commission and the Mineral Development Fund among the public institutions required to ensure compliance before physical works begin or continue.
It said reclamation and restoration activities fall under Ghana’s environmental assessment and permitting regime pursuant to Regulation 40 of the Environmental Protection (Environmental Assessment) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2504).
The activities covered include the rehabilitation of abandoned mining sites, backfilling and reshaping excavated land, revegetation, dredging and desilting rivers, modifying river channels, and restoring degraded wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.
The EPA directed all entities currently undertaking the activities without the requisite permits to stop operations immediately and report to the nearest regional office or its head office for regulatory assessment.
It stressed that government sponsorship, public funding, mining leases, concessions, licences, memoranda of understanding or approvals from other institutions do not replace an environmental permit issued by the Authority.
Institutions awarding contracts have also been directed to verify environmental permit status before allowing contractors to mobilise to project sites.
The Authority said it supports efforts to restore land and water bodies damaged by illegal and irresponsible mining but warned that restoration work must comply with environmental safeguards to prevent further environmental damage.
It cautioned that institutions and individuals who continue unauthorised activities after the notice would face action under Ghana’s applicable laws.
