The Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape (CCAL) has called on government to prioritise the protection and restoration of the Atewa Landscape, describing it as critical to Ghana’s future.
In a petition submitted to Parliament’s Committee on Petitions to mark the International Day of Biodiversity 2026 on Friday (22 May), the group warned that continued illegal mining and logging activities within the Atewa Range Forest Reserve were threatening biodiversity, water resources, farmlands, and livelihoods in affected communities.
“Protecting the Atewa Landscape is protecting Ghana’s future,” the petition stated, stressing that the forest reserve remains one of the country’s most important ecological assets due to its role in biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and freshwater supply.
CCAL said the environmental degradation within the landscape had contributed to severe challenges in surrounding communities, including the reported disruption of treated water supply in Kyebi and nearby areas for the past 10 months.
The group is therefore calling for the declaration of an environmental emergency across the Atewa Landscape as a pilot national intervention to support the restoration of the Densu Basin, Birem, and Ayensu rivers, which provide water to more than five million people in the Eastern, Central, and Greater Accra regions.
CCAL also urged government to upgrade the Atewa Range Forest Reserve into a National Park, intensify enforcement against illegal mining activities, prosecute financiers and enablers, and reclaim degraded lands through reforestation and responsible mining reforms.
According to the group, the restoration and protection of the Atewa Landscape is both “a moral duty and a national necessity.”
