The government plans to designate all forest reserves and water bodies as national security zones, a move aimed at bolstering efforts to curb illegal gold mining, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said Wednesday.
Speaking in a televised interview, Mr. Buah said the policy shift would enable authorities to deploy permanent military forces to protected areas, turning them into restricted zones off-limits to unauthorized activity. “The President has made it very clear that we are moving all the water bodies and the forest reserves into national security zones,” the minister said. “We are now preparing to deploy permanent military to these areas.”
The initiative comes amid growing public pressure on the government to address the environmental toll of galamsey, the local term for unauthorized small-scale mining. These operations have severely polluted rivers and damaged agricultural lands across the country.
Officials say the new designation will strengthen enforcement and act as a deterrent to illegal miners. Ghana is one of Africa’s top gold producers, but widespread unregulated mining has raised concerns over environmental sustainability and water security.
