The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana’s Forestry Commission, Dr Hugh C A Brown, has described the fight against illegal mining as a scary and life threatening mission for officers protecting the country’s forest reserves. He has called for stronger government and security support to safeguard natural resources from increasingly armed groups operating in protected areas.
Dr Brown’s comments reflect ongoing concerns about the dangers facing forestry officials who confront illegal miners, commonly known as galamsey operators. The Forestry Commission has struggled with inadequate resources and personnel to tackle the menace, which has devastated forest reserves across Ghana.
Speaking at various forums throughout 2025, Dr Brown has consistently emphasized that the commission is not adequately positioned to fight the challenge. The veteran forester with over three decades of public service explained that armed groups present on mining sites are prepared to engage the commission’s task forces in gun battles. He stressed that forestry officials are trained to conserve and protect the environment, not to operate as soldiers.
The country has reached a point where armed thugs who are not miners themselves hire out their services to whoever can pay, Dr Brown stated during interviews. These hired security operatives dress up with guns and mount barriers to prevent Forestry Commission officials from accessing forest reserves. Many of the thugs causing mayhem come from neighbouring countries, transforming the problem into organized crime that requires urgent intervention before things get further out of hand.
The Forestry Commission has relied on elements of surprise and speed in its operations. When rapid response teams take illegal miners unawares, the miners typically flee, allowing officials to move in and demobilize excavators. However, officials must leave within one hour before the miners remobilize and return. The illegal miners studied this strategy and now block access to forest reserves by mounting barriers, allowing time to move excavators out or call for reinforcement.
Dr Brown has proposed that Ghana deploy a special military unit for permanent forest protection. He argued that if Ghana can send contingents across Africa and the world to keep peace, the country should be able to send soldiers to maintain peace internally, especially given that external aggressors are involved. The illegal mining situation in forest reserves requires permanent military deployment because it poses a serious national security threat.
The Forestry Commission does not have the strength or firepower to match armed illegal miners, Dr Brown noted. Member of Parliament for Asutifi South, Alhaji Dauda, has echoed this call, stressing that given illegal miners are increasingly weaponized and threatening the rapid response team, the government should deploy the military as a long term measure to secure forest reserves.
However, some stakeholders have proposed alternative approaches. Daryl Bosu, Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, acknowledged that the current state of galamsey in forest reserves requires immediate military deployment to flush out miscreants. Nevertheless, he argued the sustainable solution involves fully resourcing the Forestry Commission to carry out its core mandate of safeguarding forest resources.
Bosu emphasized that dealing with galamsey requires comprehensive measures ensuring that at the policy level, nobody acts in ways that give people the mindset they can mine in forest reserves. Any support the state has in terms of vehicles, vests, body cameras and working gear must go to the Forestry Commission to bolster their operations, especially the rapid response team.
The commission has taken steps to address its challenges, including recruiting frontline technical staff through the Certificate Program in Natural Resources Management Programme. The second batch admitted 81 students out of 330 applicants, with 46 percent being females. These technical experts will coordinate efforts to protect forest reserves.
Despite the challenges, the Forestry Commission has achieved some successes. Government successfully reclaimed eight out of nine forest reserves marked as red zones from illegal miners, including the Asenayo Forest Reserve. These operations involved collaboration between the Forestry Commission, police, military and other government agencies under the direction of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Ghana’s forests have come under severe attacks in recent years due to illegal mining, illegal farming, illegal felling of trees, bushfires and poaching of wild animals. These actions have led to forest degradation and deforestation, calling for proactive approaches. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Forestry Commission, has launched the Tree for Life Restoration initiative to heal and harness the environment in areas heavily degraded by illegal mining and other drivers of deforestation.
