The Ghana Institute of Foresters (GIF) has raised the alarm over the growing threat posed by heavily armed illegal miners operating in the country’s forest reserves.
In a strongly worded press release, the Institute is demanding immediate government intervention to halt the activities of these armed gangs and calling for the outright repeal of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which currently permits state-sanctioned mining within forest reserves.
According to the statement, signed by GIF President Dr. Abukari Nantogmah Attah, 44 forest reserves across Ghana are currently under siege by illegal miners.
These groups, often heavily armed and in some cases allegedly supported by foreign mercenaries, are said to have overpowered the Forestry Commission’s guards and Rapid Response Teams, who are unable to confront them due to the miners’ superior weaponry.
The issue was thrown into sharp relief following a recent incident in the Offin Shelterbelt Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region, where a member of the Forestry Commission’s Rapid Response Team was brutally attacked by armed miners and left battling for his life. The Ghana Institute of Foresters described this as part of a disturbing trend of violent attacks on forest protection personnel and warned that the situation is spiraling into a national security crisis.
Beyond the threat to personnel, the Institute expressed grave concern about the broader implications for Ghana’s forests and communities.
It warned that rival gangs are beginning to clash over control of illegal mining zones, and if left unchecked, these conflicts could escalate, resulting in criminal groups taking over entire villages and towns. The statement urged the state to act decisively before the situation becomes unmanageable.
The foresters emphasized that Ghana’s forest reserves were established under the Forest Act of 1927 to protect critical ecosystems, water sources, and the environmental stability required for sectors like cocoa farming.
The ongoing destruction of these reserves through mining, they argued, undermines the very purpose of forest conservation and makes it difficult to justify continued state stewardship of these lands.
As part of its recommendations, the Ghana Institute of Foresters is calling on the government to repeal L.I. 2462 entirely and to replace it with a new legal framework that addresses mining in forest reserves more sustainably.
The new law, according to the Institute, should allow only limited, controlled deep cast mining in selected areas while strictly prohibiting surface and alluvial mining, which are responsible for widespread environmental destruction.
The Institute reiterated its commitment to sustainable natural resource management and expressed its willingness to work with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and other key stakeholders to develop a balanced approach that protects the environment while supporting economic development.
In its closing remarks, the Institute called on the government to fulfill its campaign promise to revoke L.I. 2462 and to urgently deploy the full power of the state to protect Ghana’s forests and those tasked with defending them. According to the Institute, the time for action is now, before the situation descends into a national disaster.
