Ghana stands at a dangerous crossroads. Once lush forests, thriving cocoa farms and rivers brimming with life are now on the brink of destruction and barely a pale shadow of itself, due to an unprecedented escalation in irresponsible and illegal mining carried out with impunity and commonly referred to as galamsey.
This is crisis poses an existential threat to sustainable development and the well being of all Ghanaians. At the heart of this crisis lies the state sponsored Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 enacted into law in November 2022.
The regulation cynically branded as “Environmental Protection, unleashed a frenzy of state-sanctioned mining interests, green lighting mining in Ghana’s last protected forest reserves.
What is L.I 2462
The L.I, crafted under the guise of regulation, has emboldened a syndicate of miners, politically exposed persons, and profiteers to invade our critical forest ecosystems. Months after its passage into law in November 2022, the Minerals Commission was flooded with applications to mine in forest reserves.
By August 2023 over 12 of Ghana’s protected globally significant biodiversity hotspots were already the subject of mining licences without the necessary due diligence. Even Kakam National Park, a world renowned tourism destination, and a hotspot destination for Ghanaians, was not spared attempts to mine it, until an outcry from CSOs and the general public stopped any further attempts.
L.I 2462 was passed without inclusive public engagement, a glaring violation of established legislative norms in Ghana, It grants unfettered access to mining in all the 288 forest reserves in Ghana, including production and protected forests alike.
Protected forests reserves in Ghana, the globally significant biodiversity areas (GSBAs), which are some 30 forest reserves identified for their unique ecological and ecosystem provisioning and goods supply value.
By enabling mining in these zones, the regulation threatens not just biodiversity but Ghana’s broader environmental safety net, weakening climate resilience and exacerbating food and water insecurity.
Relentless civil society campaigns, amplified by public outrage, forced the previous Akufo-Addo administration to bow to pressure and commit to repealing LI 2462 ahead of the 2024 elections.
The campaign reached a crescendo as Ghana’s largest opposition party, now the governing party, championed the cause, including it into a broader vision to reset the nation’s broken environmental and economic status.
Having won a landslide victory and given a clear mandate to revoke this obnoxious law, the government that was in full support of calls for repeal is now pursuing an agenda to amend this retrogressive L.I which is against every principle of good faith and a betrayal of the people’s trust.
The Effect of an Amendment
The government’s proposed amendment to LI 2462 is an half measure that would protect only 30 GSBAs, which is just 10% of the 288 forest reserves across the country.
The remaining 90%, or 258 reserves, would remain open to exploitation. This amendment, rather than solving the problem, institutionalizes a regime where the vast majority of forest reserves could be legally mined, leaving Ghana’s natural heritage exposed to rapid degradation.
Moreover, the restoration requirements under this regulation are dangerously weak, permitting mining companies to replace diverse native forests with mono culture plantations. These artificial replacements are no substitute for the rich ecosystems they destroy and cannot provide the same environmental services.
The amendment will condemns future generations to an unsustainable environment where mono culture plantations, lifeless compared to natural forests, fail to sustain water cycles, biodiversity, or climate stability.
The Effect of a Revocation
In contrast, repealing or revoking L.I 2462 altogether would safeguard over half of Ghana’s forests, securing not just the 30 GSBAs but many of the remaining 258 reserves. It would preserve vital ecosystems, ensure clean air and water, and maintain climate regulation systems that benefit all Ghanaians.
More importantly, it would align the nation with its own Forest and Wildlife Policy (2012), the Climate Change Policy, and international commitments such as the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Critically, L.I 2462 lacks proper legal authority. It was enacted without the necessary legislative backing and oversteps the mandates of key state institutions like the Environmental Protection Authority, the Forestry Commission, and the Minerals Commission. This makes the regulation not only environmentally damaging but also constitutionally questionable.
L.I 2462 is not merely a law, it is a calculated assault on Ghana’s future. By legalizing mining in all forest reserves, this regulation shreds the very fabric of the nation’s legal and moral commitments.
The Forest and Wildlife Policy, which designates production forests for timber and protection forests for conservation, is rendered meaningless as L.I 2462 bulldozes both for mining.
Ghana’s Forestry Development Master Plan vowed to end mining permits in forests by 2036, yet here we are in 2024, with a law that not only extends this destruction but codifies it. The National Land Policy’s explicit ban on clearing primary forests for mining has also been set aside. The Climate Change Policy’s recognition of forests as critical carbon sinks have been completely ignored.
Even Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, which pledge to combat climate change through nature-based solutions, through reducing deforestation and forest degradation are all useless now as LI 2462 turns forests into sacrifice zones for short-term greed.
The socioeconomic impact is equally alarming. Ghana’s forest sector, which supplies up to 90% of its raw materials from forest reserves, is already struggling due to illegal logging, bush fires, and other pressures. LI 2462 introduces a new, even more potent threat.
The forestry industry, which relies on forest reserves for 80–90% of its raw materials, faces collapse if mining expands, risking over 100,000 rural jobs and a sector contributing 4–6% to GDP.
Agriculture, already reeling from soil degradation and chemical pollution near mining sites, would see further declines in crop yields, worsening food insecurity. Water bodies, 60% of which are already polluted by illegal mining, would suffer intensified contamination, escalating public health risks and tripling water treatment costs.
Internationally, the amendment breaches several commitments making the L.I 2462 a humiliation. The Paris Agreement’s climate resilience goals is undermined. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s mandate to protect hotspots like the 30 Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas has been violated.
The REDD+ Strategy’s fight against deforestation has also been sabotaged. By clinging to this law through amendment, Ghana risks losing international climate financing and its hard-won reputation as an environmental steward.
Even the Minerals and Mining Policy’s weak pledge to “minimize harm” is mocked, as LI 2462 strips safeguards like the 2% mining cap in production forests, paving the way for unchecked ecocide in Ghana.
The issue of inter-generational equity also cannot be ignored. Forests are non-renewable in any meaningful time frame. Once they are destroyed, the air they purified, the water they filtered, and the climate balance they maintained cannot be restored through plantations or policy amendments.
Allowing LI 2462 to remain, even in amended form, would rob future generations of these natural inheritances. Dropping LI 2462 would secure over 50% of Ghana’s forests, reviving alignment with national policies, shielding rural economies, and honoring global climate commitments.
With the amendment process underway and ticking gradually to a conclusion, Ghana faces a defining moment with several voices of reason calling for a choice that is not. Motivated by short-term political gains but one that gives Ghana’s future a chance.
The call is not just for an environmental reset, but for a moral and constitutional one, one that will save the soul of of the only Ghana we all have. Repealing LI 2462 would not only rescue over 50% of Ghana’s forests but also secure the integrity of the nation’s policies and its international reputation.
Ghana’s survival, its rivers, its forests, and the health of each one of us in the long-term, demands revocation, not an amendment so we can give guarantee a healthy environment for future generations.
Columnist: Daryl Bosu
