Three persons have been arrested in the Atewa Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region as the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) intensifies the fight against galamsey under Operation Green Shield, a military-backed initiative aimed at flushing out illegal miners and protecting the country’s threatened forest reserves.
The operation, conducted on Tuesday October 27,2026 is expected to combine targeted enforcement with a sustained security presence to prevent illegal miners from returning to the reserve after their activities have been disrupted.
The Lands Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah speaking during the operation, described the destruction of Ghana’s forest reserves as a national emergency, warning that the pursuit of personal wealth by illegal miners was putting the country’s environment, water resources and future generations at risk.“We are at war with bad people who have decided that they will make money so that all of us will die,” he declared.
The minister disclosed that 44 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves had been affected by illegal mining, with approximately 8,900 hectares destroyed an area equivalent to 12,500 football fields.
He said the country faces a daunting financial burden in reclaiming the degraded forest reserves, with restoration costs running into billions of dollars.
Despite measures to restrict the entry of excavators into forest reserves, the minister said illegal miners continued to devise new methods to destroy the environment, including a practice locally described as “one leg” mining.
He disclosed that authorities had seized and spread over 6,000 excavators, while strengthening controls on their movement to curb their use in illegal mining operations.As part of the new offensive, the minister said the government, with support from the Ghana Armed Forces, would establish a camp within the Atewa Forest to sustain operations and prevent renewed encroachment.
He commended the security personnel involved and urged them to remain resolute, insisting that the government would not relent in its efforts to protect the country’s natural resources.
Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel K. S. Appiah, said Operation Green Shield would follow a strategy of disrupting illegal mining activities, clearing affected areas, maintaining a security presence and eventually handing over responsibility to the Forestry Commission.
“The mission is to disrupt, clear and hold and transition,” he explained, adding that the operation would continue as security teams identify and tackle illegal mining activities in other areas.
Under the transition phase, the Forestry Commission is expected to establish forest guards in Atewa to maintain protection after the initial enforcement operations.
The Lands Minister also warned chiefs and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives against turning a blind eye to illegal mining in their jurisdictions, insisting that local authorities must share responsibility for protecting the environment.
He said the government intended to strengthen accountability through proposed legislative changes, particularly regarding the roles of traditional authorities and local officials in mining-related processes.
The minister further urged the public to stop politicising the galamsey menace, warning that its consequences extend beyond environmental degradation to public health and the security of future generations.
Atewa Forest is an important ecological asset and watershed supporting the Birim, Ayensu and Densu river systems. Its protection is therefore critical to safeguarding biodiversity and water resources for surrounding communities.
