… Operations Manager at the Forestry Commission, Mr. Eric Abbeyquaye Exporters were commended for their contribution to the remarkable performance recorded in 2025, when non-traditional export earnings reached a historic US$5.006 billion, representing a 30.7 per cent increase over …
… Also addressing the event, Acting Director of the Climate Change Unit at the Forestry Commission, Joseph Appiah, highlighted the contribution of the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reduction Project to the sector. …
The Forestry Commission (FC) has condemned the vandalisation and destruction of its newly constructed accommodation facility for timber checkpoint personnel at Babatokuma in the Kintampo Forest District. …
The Forestry Commission has condemned what it describes as a violent attack on its personnel and the destruction of a newly constructed accommodation facility for timber checkpoint staff at Babatokuma near Kintampo in the Bono East Region. …
… Police investigations have also established that the motorcycle had allegedly been parked in front of the Forestry Commission office, obstructing access to the premises. …
… Among the dignitaries present were Nana Kweku Armah I, Divisional Chief of Damang and his elders, officials from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the Forestry Commission, and representatives of Damang Gold Mine Limited. …
… Eric Abbeyquaye, Operations Manager at the Forestry Commission. His presentation focused on compliance obligations, documentation requirements and the importance of adhering to legal and sustainability standards that govern timber exports. …
… Organised in partnership with the Ghana Forestry Commission, the reforestation activity brings the telecom operator’s total tally of trees planted to 43,000 in the last five years, making it one of the largest reforestation efforts by a corporate organisation in Ghana. …
The Western Regional Security Council has intervened in a dispute over Betterland Ghana Limited's mineral exploration and proposed transition to large-scale mining at Gwira Banso in Nzema East Municipality. The dispute centres on concerns about mining's impact on the Draw River Forest and livelihoods, with community divisions over whether large-scale mining would bring needed jobs and development.
The Western Regional Security Council has intervened in a dispute over Betterland Ghana Limited's mineral exploration and proposed transition to large-scale mining at Gwira Banso in Nzema East Municipality. The dispute centres on concerns about mining's impact on the Draw River Forest and livelihoods, with community divisions over whether large-scale mining would bring needed jobs and development.
Weto Platform, an advocacy and civil society coalition, has raised concerns about environmental damage from borrow pit excavations along the Akwapim-Togo Mountain Range in the Volta and Oti Regions for gravel used in road construction under the government's Big Push Initiative. The group reports that excavation activities have caused flooding, mudslides, increased stream turbidity, and pose risks to communities, aquatic life, and farming activities.
The Department of Community Development has introduced five transformational strategies: the Green Communities Initiative, Multi-Purpose Community Centres Initiative, Clean Communities Initiative, Child Safe Communities Initiative, and Community Diaspora Partnership Programme. The initiatives aim to empower communities to identify and address their own challenges, with the Green Communities Initiative specifically promoting tree planting, income generation for women and youth, and reclamation of lands affected by illegal mining.
The Forestry Commission arrested 12 suspected illegal miners and impounded three excavators and six water-pumping machines during an operation in the South Formangso Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region on September 13, 2026. Six Chanfang machines at the site were destroyed, and the arrested suspects were handed over to Juaso Police.
Ghana's Deputy Chief of Staff has directed the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council to restore the Kpeshie Lagoon following removal of illegal structures, involving tree-planting and environmental safeguards to strengthen the wetland's capacity to retain floodwaters and prevent future encroachment.
Deputy Chief of Staff Stan Xoese Dogbe has directed the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council to restore reclaimed sections of the Kpeshie Lagoon following removal of illegal structures, working with the Forestry Commission and EPA to plant trees and recover the ecosystem's flood-retention capacity.
Ghana's Forestry Commission arrested 12 persons during a dawn operation in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region on Friday, September 4, 2026. The operation also seized five motorbikes, 11 shovels, water hoses, blankets and other equipment used in illegal mining.
The Forestry Commission's Rapid Response Unit arrested 12 suspected illegal miners during a dawn operation in Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region on September 4, 2026. Five motorbikes, 11 shovels, water hoses, blankets and three gallons of petrol were seized, with the suspects and exhibits handed to police for investigation.
A joint police and Forestry Commission team arrested 16 armed men accused of preventing officials from accessing the Asenayo Forest Reserve to clamp down on illegal mining. The suspects were allegedly armed with pump-action guns, machetes and talismans during a confrontation on Monday, August 31, after illegal operators had invaded a section of the reserve and moved two excavators and a bulldozer into the forest.
The Ghana Institute of Foresters has called on the government to recruit more frontline personnel for the Forestry Commission, citing increasing attacks and injuries to officers and warning that staff shortages are exposing existing officers to danger and weakening the Commission's ability to protect forest reserves and wildlife areas.
The Ghana Institute of Foresters has expressed concern over slow prosecution of persons implicated in killings and attacks on Forestry Commission officers, warning that lack of progress risks creating a culture of impunity. This follows a series of reported incidents including the recent killing of a Senior Park Ranger at Kakum Forest Reserve in the Central Region, with GIF noting five cases of violence against forestry officers recorded over the past two years.
Ghana's Minerals Commission has demarcated 13 blocked-out areas across the country for allocation to Ghanaians interested in small-scale mining, aiming to provide legal concessions and curb illegal mining activities that threaten the environment.
The Forestry Commission has condemned the shooting death of Senior Ranger Richard Otwey during an anti-poaching patrol at Kakum Conservation Area in the Central Region. Mr Otwey was shot by a suspected poacher in the early hours of Saturday; one suspect was apprehended and identified as John Mensah from Assin South District, while the shooter fled.
Richard Otwey, 58, a Wildlife Resource Guard attached to the Kakum Wildlife Division, was shot dead on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at the Assin Kruwa portion of Kakum Forest Reserve in the Central Region's Assin South District. According to police, Otwey and two other forestry guards encountered two men hunting illegally in the reserve; one of the suspects, Bukari Abudu, allegedly drew a single-barrel gun and fired at Otwey, killing him with a chest wound.
At least 23 people, including 11 children, have died after falling into abandoned illegal mining pits in Ashanti Region; 19 bodies have been recovered while four remain trapped. The Regional Minister said most victims were residents attempting to access their farms when they fell into uncovered pits, and reclamation efforts are underway to cover the abandoned sites.
Richard Otwey, a 58-year-old wildlife resource guard, was shot dead on August 22, 2026, during a routine patrol in Kakum Forest Reserve after attempting to apprehend suspected poachers; one suspect, John Mensah, was apprehended while the other, Bukari Abudu, escaped.
The Adamus Resources dispute reflects broader regulatory and environmental challenges in Ghana's mining sector. The Lands and Natural Resources Minister reported 8,900 hectares of forest reserves completely degraded, 258 arrests, and 200 excavators seized, while government proposes reducing large-scale mining lease duration from 30 to 20 years and strengthening mining communities' voice in licensing.
The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development, partnering with the Lawra Municipal Assembly, the Global Shea Alliance, and Green Gold Savanna, planted more than 16,000 shea seedlings at the Pavuu conservation site in the Upper West Region to enrich regenerated community parklands and restore biodiversity. Officials cautioned that protection against bushfires, illegal logging, and land degradation is essential to ensure the trees survive and mature.
Ghana's Gold Board will acquire modern traceability technology through a competitive tender process this year to track the origin of gold purchased, ensuring it comes from legal and approved sources. The Board has mopped up 170 metric tonnes of gold since January 2025 and plans to recover 150 hectares of degraded forests by next year as part of efforts to sanitise small-scale mining.
President John Dramani Mahama has announced a new strategy to prevent illegal miners from returning to forest reserves by keeping military detachments stationed in reclaimed reserves. The move comes after the previous approach of handing cleared reserves back to the Forestry Commission repeatedly failed, as illegal miners returned and resumed their activities.
President Mahama says the government will station military detachments in reclaimed forest reserves to prevent illegal miners from returning, after the previous approach of handing cleared reserves to the Forestry Commission proved ineffective. The government has cleared many of the nearly 49 forest reserves invaded by galamsey operators and seized equipment including excavators and Changfan machines.
Ghana's Lands and Natural Resources Minister says VALCO is operating unsustainably below capacity and the government should seek a strategic investor to rehabilitate the smelter and help develop an integrated aluminium industry.
The government has arrested 258 suspects and seized thousands of mining equipment pieces in its anti-galamsey campaign, but Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said the real challenge is ensuring prosecutions reach conclusion in court, not the arrests themselves. The ministry is working with the Attorney-General's Department to address difficulties in prosecuting illegal mining cases.
Ghana's Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah says approximately 8,900 hectares of forest reserves have been completely degraded through illegal mining and other destructive activities, with nine forest reserves among the worst affected. He warned that restoring the areas would require substantial resources and stressed the need for stronger enforcement to prevent further destruction.
A retired miner has argued that the government's revocation of Adamus Resources' mining leases should not be reversed simply because the company is Ghanaian-owned, and that local companies must comply with mining laws at the same standard as individuals charged with galamsey.
Betterland Ghana Limited has dismissed a GTV broadcast alleging illegal mining in Draw River Forest Reserve, claiming the footage was from Atiwa Forest and misrepresented as destruction in Gwira Banso, and stating it conducts only exploration works under a valid Mining License.
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warns that progress made in clearing illegal miners from forest reserves in 2025 is being reversed, with previously inaccessible areas now being reclaimed by galamsey operators. He noted that areas classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission due to armed miners have regressed from zero red zones at the start of 2026.
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warned that Ghana is reversing progress made against illegal mining, with illegal miners returning to forest reserves that had been cleared of destructive activities. He noted that forest reserves previously classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission—where armed illegal miners had staged roadblocks and barred access—are now being retaken by galamsey operators.
An opinion piece argues that illegal mining (galamsey) is a major factor hindering Ghana's climate change efforts and reforestation goals, despite the country's natural mineral resources.
Twelve suspected illegal miners were remanded into police custody after being arrested during a two-day Forestry Commission operation against illegal mining in the Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region. The enforcement team immobilised an excavator and seized multiple items including a tricycle, seven changfan machines, 21 water pumping machines, two power plants, two generators and an air blower.