A Rocha Ghana, a prominent environmental organization, has teamed up with six other civil society groups to take legal action against the government over illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey,’ in forest reserves.
The coalition, which includes Kasa Ghana, Eco-Conscious Citizens, Tropenbos, Nature and Development Foundation, Civic Response, and the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, is raising the alarm over the severe environmental damage caused by mining activities in protected areas.
The group highlights the passage of Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 in 2022, which permits mining in Ghana’s forest reserves, as a major contributor to the destruction of these areas and a threat to the livelihoods of many Ghanaians.
During an emergency press briefing at A Rocha’s head office in Accra, Daryl Bossu, Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, stressed that their primary goal is to secure an injunction to stop all mining and prospecting in forest reserves to protect the environment.
Daryl Bossu told the media that the group’s lawsuit will challenge the legality of LI 2462.
“The Minerals Commission is still accepting applications to mine in forest reserves as recently as August 2024. Our case challenges the legality of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, that LI 2462, which we believe was laid in Parliament without the mandatory physical impact analysis in violation of the Public Financial Management Act.”
“This failure to follow due process renders the regulation null and void,” he added.
Environmentalists and health professionals have long raised alarms over the severe degradation caused by galamsey, particularly the pollution of vital water bodies.
Rivers such as the Bonsa in the Western Region and the Pra in the Ashanti Region have been heavily contaminated by toxic chemicals used in mining, while forest reserves like the Tano Nimiri in the Western North Region and the Draw River in the Western Region have also suffered extensive damage.