By Celestine Avi
Protecting Ghana’s environment has become a renewed national priority under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama. As part of his commitment to sustainable development, the President has unveiled bold initiatives to curb illegal mining, safeguard forest reserves, and restore polluted water bodies.
“Protecting our environment, especially from the threat of illegal mining, has been a strong commitment,” President Mahama affirmed. “We have successfully reclaimed seven out of nine forest reserves. Illegal miners have been flushed out of these forest reserves.”
In a landmark move to safeguard these gains, a legislative instrument—LI 2462—was laid before Parliament on March 20, 2025. This amendment to the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations removes the President’s authority to approve mining activities in forest reserves.
“Concerning the ban on mining in forest reserves, on March 20th, 2025, a legislative instrument LI-2462 was presented to Parliament,” he said. “This amendment removes the President’s power to grant approval for mining in forest reserves.”
President Mahama has also pledged to further strengthen legal protections by amending the Minerals and Mining Act, 2003 (Act 703), to entirely ban mining activities in forest reserves.
“I also plan to amend the Minerals and Mining Act 2003, Act 703, to completely prohibit mining in forest reserves,” he said. “This would effectively, meticulously, legally, and entirely ban mining in our forest reserves.”
Complementing these regulatory reforms is the launch of the Blue Water Initiative, which aims to deploy trained Blue Water Guards to monitor and protect critical water bodies.
“The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has launched the Blue Water Initiative to restore our water bodies,” he said, adding that this is being done “in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment.”
“This initiative aims to train and deploy Blue Water Guards to monitor and protect critical water bodies and prevent further pollution.”
He also noted that environmental specialists are working to rehabilitate damaged ecosystems.
“At the same time, experts are working to clean up our polluted rivers,” the President assured.
To restore degraded lands and address climate change, the Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative was also launched on March 21, 2025. This project seeks to plant over 20 million seedlings annually, including through the One Child, One Tree policy designed to raise environmentally conscious citizens.
“The Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative was launched to restore degraded lands and combat climate change,” Mahama said. “We aim to plant over 20 million seedlings annually nationwide, including through the One Child Per Tree policy to inculcate environmental consciousness in our youths.”
President Mahama believes that this comprehensive environmental agenda is a long-term investment in Ghana’s future.
“By combining enforcement, policy reform, technology, and community engagement, we’re on track to reclaim our environment and ensure responsible mining for future generations,” he concluded. “We are confident of achieving the expected outcomes of reduced illegal mining, cleaner water bodies, restored forests, and stronger governance.”
