Three people have been arrested in the Atewa Forest Reserve in Ghana’s Eastern Region as the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) begins a military-backed campaign against galamsey.
Operation Green Shield, conducted on Tuesday October 27,2026, is designed to remove illegal miners from threatened forest reserves and maintain a security presence to stop them from returning.
Lands Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah said the destruction of Ghana’s forests represented a national emergency. He warned that illegal mining for personal wealth was endangering the environment, water resources and future generations.
“We are at war with bad people who have decided that they will make money so that all of us will die,” he said.
Mr Buah said illegal mining had affected 44 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, destroying approximately 8,900 hectares of land – an area equivalent to 12,500 football fields.
He added that restoring the damaged reserves would place a major financial burden on the country, with the cost expected to run into billions of dollars.
Although measures have been introduced to restrict excavators from entering forest reserves, the minister said illegal miners were finding new ways to continue their activities. One such method is locally known as “one leg” mining.
Authorities have seized and spread over 6,000 excavators, Mr Buah said, while also tightening controls over their movement to prevent their use in illegal operations.
As part of the latest operation, the government, working with the Ghana Armed Forces, will establish a camp inside Atewa Forest. The camp is intended to support sustained enforcement and prevent fresh encroachment after the initial operations.
Mr Buah praised the security personnel involved and urged them to remain committed, saying the government would continue working to protect Ghana’s natural resources.
‘Disrupt, clear and hold’
NAIMOS Director of Operations Colonel K. S. Appiah said Operation Green Shield would be carried out in stages: disrupting illegal mining, clearing affected areas, holding those locations through a security presence, and eventually transferring responsibility to the Forestry Commission.
“The mission is to disrupt, clear and hold and transition,” he said.
The operation will continue as security teams locate and deal with illegal mining in other areas. During the transition stage, the Forestry Commission is expected to establish forest guards in Atewa to maintain protection once the initial enforcement effort ends.
The Lands Minister also cautioned chiefs and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives against ignoring illegal mining in their jurisdictions. He said local authorities had a shared responsibility to protect the environment.
Proposed legislative changes will be used to strengthen accountability, particularly in relation to the roles of traditional authorities and local officials in mining-related processes, he added.
Mr Buah urged the public not to politicise the galamsey crisis, warning that its effects reached beyond environmental damage to public health and the security of future generations.
Atewa Forest is an important ecological and watershed asset supporting the Birim, Ayensu and Densu river systems. Protecting it is considered vital to preserving biodiversity and water resources for surrounding communities.
