ACCRA, Dec 11 – Ghana has formally banned all mining activities in forest reserves, reversing earlier regulations that allowed controlled extraction and marking a significant move to address widespread environmental degradation linked to illegal and small-scale mining.
The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology said the repeal of the 2022 Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations took effect this week following a 21-day constitutional period. The decision provides Ghana with stronger legal tools to safeguard forests, waterways and agricultural land.
Africa’s leading gold producer has been grappling with the rapid expansion of unregulated mining, which has damaged cocoa farms, polluted rivers and accelerated deforestation across 13 of the country’s 16 regions, including major cocoa belts in Ashanti, Western and Eastern regions.
Industrial miners such as Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Newmont and Asante Gold have reported increasing incursions by illegal operators, prompting heavy investment in surveillance systems, security and community engagement programmes.
Acting Environment Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said the ban reflects the country’s long-term sustainability priorities.
“Healthy forests bring rainfall, protect our farms and give life to our communities. Clean rivers secure our drinking water and our future.”
Environmental advocates described the repeal as a “major shift” in national policy. Daryl Mensah-Bonsu of Da Rocha Ghana said the move restores critical protections but warned it must be paired with a comprehensive forest development programme to address ongoing encroachment by logging and agriculture.
Ghana’s government has been rolling out sector reforms, including licensing artisanal miners, creating community mining schemes and deploying security units to disrupt illegal operations and gold smuggling networks.
The new policy aims to curb the long-term environmental and economic risks threatening cocoa production, biodiversity, and the mining sector’s sustainability.
