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The Fourth Estate has filed a Right to Information request to the Presidency requesting information on the full list of companies that President Nana Akufo-Addo has written to, to undertake mining in forest reserves designated as Globally Significant Biodiversity areas (GSBAs).
The Fourth Estate has also requested copies of the letters the President wrote to the mining companies as required under Regulation 3(2) of Legislative Instrument (LI 2462)—the law regulating mining in forest reserves.
The law prohibits mining in some forest reserves but makes exceptions for mining in GSBAs on condition that the President “may subject to Article 268 of the Constitution, give approval in writing to a mining company to undertake mining in a globally significant biodiversity area in the national interest.”
Article 268 requires that all mining licenses receive parliamentary ratification.
In an ongoing investigation into mining leases granted in the country’s forest reserves, The Fourth Estate found that despite Ghana’s international commitment to protect GSBAs, at least four companies have been granted mining leases in these forest reserves, spanning between six to 30 years in four of these critical reserves.
These forest reserves— Boin Tano, Draw River, Neung South, and Tano Anhwia forest reserves –all in the Western Region— provide essential services including air and water purification, pollination, climate regulation, and carbon sequestration.
Until November 2022, these reserves were shielded from productive activities including mining, timber harvesting and farming.
However, that changed after the government enacted the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation (LI 2462) two years ago, triggering a scramble for mining leases in the country’s forest reserves.
The Fourth Estate asked for evidence of presidential consent which allowed these mining companies to receive concession in these forest reserves safeguarded by international conventions.
However, the Minerals Commission, the mining regulator, has not disclosed this key information since July 2024, along with other details, including the list of companies granted mining operating permits and the names of the mining companies whose leases have been ratified by Parliament from 2020 to date.
In addition to the four mining leases, at least four other applications for mining and prospecting licenses in GSBAs are awaiting ministerial approval. These include the Krokosua, Subri River, Tano Nimiri, and Fure Headwaters forest reserves.
Daryl Bosu, the Deputy National Director of Arocha Ghana, described the granting of concessions in GSBAs as a betrayal of trust.
“Handing over Ghana’s remaining protected forest reserves for mining is a deliberate betrayal of future generations, stripping away their last safeguards for a sustainable environment, and undermining the very foundation of environmental stewardship, leaving a legacy of irreversible loss,” he stated.
