Ghana has lost about 8,900 hectares of its forest reserves to illegal mining, with 258 people arrested and hundreds of excavators and thousands of other machines seized or immobilised, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has disclosed.

The scale of the destruction was revealed as the government outlined a tougher approach to combating illegal mining, including tighter controls on the importation of excavators, reforms to mining licences and greater involvement of communities in decisions on mining concessions.

This was disclosed during a policy dialogue between the Ministry and the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education in Accra.

Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the 8,900 hectares of degraded forest represented an area equivalent to about 12,500 football fields.

“What you are looking at is not an earthquake. It is a forest reserve,” Mr Buah said while presenting images of areas devastated by illegal mining.

Mr Buah, however, acknowledged that arrests alone would not be enough to deliver lasting results.

“The challenge we are having is not the arrest. It is the prosecution,” he said.

The Minister said the Ministry was working with the Attorney-General’s Department to address challenges surrounding the prosecution of suspects arrested in illegal mining operations.

According to the Minister, nine of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves have been severely affected by illegal mining, with Forestry Commission staff facing significant challenges in enforcing regulations in the affected areas.

Figures presented by the Ministry, current as of July 2026, indicate that 258 people have been arrested in operations against illegal mining in forest reserves.

The operations have also resulted in the seizure or immobilisation of 234 excavators, 2,728 pumping machines and 1,724 changfan machines.In addition, 461 motorbikes and tricycles have been seized or immobilised.

In a move aimed at tackling illegal mining at the point of entry, Mr Buah disclosed that more than 4,000 excavators are currently being held at Ghana’s ports pending compliance with a new documentation and clearance regime.The government is also proposing major changes to Ghana’s mining licensing regime.

Mr Buah said the maximum initial duration of large-scale mining leases would be reduced from 30 years to 20 years under the proposed reforms.

He said the Ministry also plans to impose stricter obligations on holders of exploration and prospecting licences to demonstrate actual work within specified periods.

The Minister criticised the practice of companies holding concessions for years without meaningful exploration or development.

“People are just sitting on concessions for 30, 40 years. They are not doing anything. They are waiting for the next big investor to come so they can cash out,” he said.

The government has also recruited and trained about 2,000 Blue Water Guards to provide intelligence and support efforts to protect water bodies from illegal mining.

Mr Buah acknowledged disciplinary challenges within the programme, including allegations of bribery, but said the initiative was generally yielding useful results.

The Ministry says its new strategy is designed to address the problem at multiple levels—from controlling mining equipment imports and strengthening field enforcement to reforming licences and increasing community participation.Source:Leticia Osei