Forests Falling, Rivers Poisoned — Joy News’ Erastus Donkor Sounds Alarm at ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ Lecture

Ghana’s deepening illegal mining crisis took centre stage on Thursday evening as investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor delivered a powerful, evidence-packed warning at the 20th Annual ‘Kronti ne Akwamu’ Democracy and Good Governance Public Lecture held at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Hosted by CDD-Ghana under the theme “A Country in Search of Solutions in Plain Sight,” the lecture gathered policymakers, diplomats, environmental advocates, researchers, traditional leaders and media practitioners for a sobering national reflection on the human rights, ecological and governance implications of illegal mining.

The event, which began at 5:00 p.m. GMT, was chaired by former Environment Minister and renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, who described Donkor as “a one-man galamsey fighter whose courage continues to shake complacency.”

In his opening remarks, CDD-Ghana’s Executive Director, Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, stressed that illegal mining had become “a millstone around the country’s neck,” undermining livelihoods, governance, public health and environmental sustainability.

He noted that although government has launched several operations—Operation Vanguard, Operation Halt and, more recently, NAIMOS—the crisis continues to worsen due to impunity, weak enforcement and political interference.

“The country understands the cost of the crisis,” he said. “What remains elusive is the will to implement the solutions.”

He commended Erastus Asare Donkor as “almost a one-man galamsey fighter” whose consistency has kept national attention on the issue.

Australia’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Berenice Owen-Jones, delivered a solidarity message congratulating CDD-Ghana for its sustained advocacy over two decades.

She described galamsey as not only an environmental disaster but also a national security threat, warning that polluted rivers, deforested landscapes and weakened institutions pose severe risks to communities.

She reaffirmed Australia’s support through the Mining for Peace project, extractives governance scholarships, community resilience initiatives and the Africa Extractive Media Fellowship.

She urged participants to “ask the difficult but necessary questions that can move policy and save lives.”

Taking the podium to sustained applause, Donkor described illegal mining as “one of the greatest environmental and moral crimes of our generation.”

His presentation, grounded in two decades of investigative work, scientific analysis and field documentation, painted a devastating picture of Ghana’s deteriorating forests, poisoned rivers, collapsing biodiversity and endangered communities.

He revealed that Ghana’s closed canopy forest cover had shrunk from 6.5 million hectares in 1900 to just 1.02 million hectares by 2024, with 430,000 hectares lost between 2015 and 2024 alone.

Forest reserves such as Apamprama, Offin Shelterbelt, Oda River, Tano Nimri, Upper Wassaw, Tano Offin, Cape Three Points, Subri, Boin River, Jimira and Atiwa have been severely affected.

Nine (9) reserves were classified as RED ZONES early in 2025, overrun by violent miners armed with sophisticated weapons. Although security efforts briefly reduced the number to one, it rose again to five red zones by October 2025. Even the Bui National Park is now rated ORANGE, facing increased illegal mining incursions.

Mr. Donkor presented alarming evidence of river pollution, describing major rivers—Pra, Birim, Offin, Ankobra, Densu, Tano and Butre—as “flowing like wounds.” Tests from KNUST’s Sheath Laboratory showed arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead levels exceeding WHO standards by over 200%.

He added that mercury contamination in mining communities had reached airborne concentrations of 800,000 ng/m³, far above the safe limit of 300 ng/m³ set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

He further highlighted a disturbing rise in congenital birth defects in mining communities.

Between January and June 2025, hospitals recorded: 12 cases of anorectal malformation, 8 cases of spina bifida, 7 cases of gastroschisis, 5 cases of intestinal obstruction and 3 cases of encephalocele—66% of them traced to galamsey-prone areas, with mothers directly exposed to toxic chemicals. Donkor described these trends as a “silent human rights emergency.”

Perhaps most shocking was his exposé on widespread illegal cyanide leaching, known locally as Sankofa, across Ahafo communities including Ntotroso, Kenyasi (Nos. 1 and 2), Hwidiem, Nkaseim, Atta ne Atta, Woromso and Bronikrom.

He documented dozens of unregulated cyanide ponds situated near seasonal streams that feed into the River Tano, warning of an impending ecological disaster. He called it “a monumental crime that must be confronted with urgency and honesty.”

Erastus stated bluntly that the biggest threat to the fight against illegal mining is not the miners themselves but governance failure and political interference.

Out of 1,190 illegal miners arrested between 2023 and October 2025, only 35 have been prosecuted.

He cited cases of MMDCEs issuing improper “licenses,” political appointees obstructing NAIMOS operations, security operatives raiding forest district offices and local assemblies enabling mining near watercourses.

“The fight is being undermined from within,” he said, calling on the President to hold district authorities accountable.

He outlined ten urgent national actions, including adequately resourcing enforcement agencies, tracking all excavators, decentralising NAIMOS, reforming the licensing regime, protecting forest reserves and rivers as high-security zones, empowering the Forestry Commission as a para-military environmental unit, strengthening alternative livelihood programmes and reviving the NCCE for mass civic education.

“What we lack is not expertise or evidence,” he stated. “What we lack is courage.”

Mr. Donkor closed with a strong appeal rooted in human rights and intergenerational justice, arguing that ecological destruction threatens Ghana’s future as a whole.

“If we allow our forests to fall and our rivers to die, we are not only failing the environment—we are violating the rights of present and future generations,” he said. “Let history record that when our rivers cried, we listened. And when our forests fell, we stood up.”

 

 

 

 

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