Through a series of coordinated anti-galamsey operations across the Northern, Central, and Southern Commands, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have stepped up their efforts to combat illegal mining, also known locally as galamsey.
The surgical operations, according to the GAF, focused on significant illegal mining hubs, with a particular emphasis on activity in river basins and forest reserves where environmental degradation has been most severe.
Breakdown of Operations:
Northern Command: Troops were deployed to the Bole area and the Black Volta Basin, where illegal mining activities have been linked to the pollution of water bodies and destruction of farmlands.
Central Command: The military targeted the Nkawie and Mankranso Forest Reserves, where extensive illegal mining has posed a threat to biodiversity and forest conservation efforts.
Southern Command:Operations in the Southern Command were concentrated in the Jerusalem area and the Subri Forest Reserve, both of which have witnessed a surge in illegal mining encampments in recent months.
Numerous excavators, water pumping devices, and other mining-related equipment were confiscated and rendered immobile during the activities.
In the forest reserves, the army also demolished a number of improvised shelters and buildings that illegal miners had been using.
These initiatives are a component of the government’s redoubled efforts to replenish Ghana’s forest reserves and shield important waterways from more ecological harm, pollution, and deforestation.
