President John Dramani Mahama has renewed his commitment to protecting Ghana’s natural ecosystems by declaring his intention to permanently outlaw mining activities in the country’s forest reserves.
As part of his administration’s review of its first 120 days, Mahama unveiled a robust five-point strategy to reform the mining sector. This includes legal overhauls, strengthened law enforcement, stakeholder collaboration, and active reclamation of degraded lands.
“In just 120 days, we’ve taken bold steps to clean up the mining sector. We’ve introduced regulatory changes, deployed joint task forces, arrested offenders, seized equipment, and worked with stakeholders to reclaim degraded lands. Already, we’ve reclaimed seven of nine affected forest reserves,” he said.
A key element of the strategy was the introduction of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462 to Parliament on March 20, 2025. The regulation seeks to amend the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations by stripping the president of the authority to grant mining permits within forest reserves.
“This amendment ensures no future president can allow mining in these vital ecosystems at their discretion,” Mahama added.
Looking ahead, Mahama announced plans to go a step further by directly amending the Minerals and Mining Act, 2003 (Act 703) to permanently outlaw all mining activities in forest reserves.
“We’re not just adjusting regulations—we’re changing the law itself. Amending Act 703 will make mining in forest reserves completely and permanently illegal. It’s a decisive move to safeguard our environment for future generations,” he declared.
The initiative forms part of a broader national agenda to combat illegal mining (galamsey), protect biodiversity, and restore Ghana’s forest cover, which has been heavily degraded in recent years.
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