COMPAD-Gh

01/09/2026

What happens when the search for gold destroys the very resources that sustain our communities?

These photograph captures community engagement sessions in 5 communities within the Dormaa Municipality through the CSOs Interventions for Sustainable Minerals Governance under the BRACE Project.

Community members came to discuss the growing menace of illegal mining and its impacts on their lives.

The discussions made one thing clear that illegal mining is not only an environmental problem it is a community development, livelihood, health, governance and human-rights concern.

Across mining-affected communities, people are witnessing:

1. Pollution of rivers and streams that communities depend on for water and other livelihood activities.

2. Destruction of farmlands, threatening food production and the livelihoods of farming households.

3. Damage to community roads and landscapes, making movement and economic activities more difficult.

4. Loss of forests and biodiversity, with valuable natural ecosystems being replaced by mining sites.

Our message is simple:

Gold should contribute to development, not undermine the land, water, forests and livelihoods upon which future generations depend.

The fight against illegal mining therefore requires more than enforcement. We need responsible mining not mining that destroys present and future communities.

Protect our rivers, farms. forests and our communities.

At COMPAD-Gh we strongly advocate for sustainable minerals governance , empower communities and protect the rights of local communities in mining affected areas.

European Union in Ghana A Rocha Ghana Nature & Development Foundation Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada Tropenbos Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Minerals Income Investment Fund Ghana Wacam

19/08/2026

The EUDR Meets Ghana's Cocoa RealityIn 2023, the European Union adopted the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), requiring companies importing

18/08/2026

Accessing and utilizing critical environmental provisioning services like potable water should not come at the risk to anyone.

Yet for communities affected by illegal mining (galamsey), even the simple act of getting water can mean navigating dangerous, steep and unstable grounds with deep pits, contaminated waterways, degraded mining sites with active mining operations.

This is more than an environmental crisis. It is a human rights concern.

When people must put their safety at risk just to access water, we have to ask: who is protecting their right to safe and accessible water?

The State has a responsibility to act to protect communities, safeguard water sources, and ensure that access to this basic necessity does not become a life-threatening undertaking.

Water should sustain life, not put lives at risk.


Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana fans Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana Forestry Commission Ghana PCG TV COMPAD-Gh Wacam Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana John Dramani Mahama Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP CSIR GHANA Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Hon. Bernard Ahiafor European Union in Ghana UNDP Ghana

18/08/2026

15/08/2026

Ghana has lost about 8,900 hectares of its forest reserves to illegal mining, with 258 people arrested and hundreds of excavators and thousands of other machines seized or immobilised, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has disclosed.

Full story here ⬇️
https://www.citinewsroom.com/2026/08/galamsey-8900-hectares-of-forest-reserves-lost-258-arrested-4000-excavators-held-at-ports-buah/

15/08/2026

Illegal mining destroy farmlands, pollute rivers, create dangerous abandoned pits, and threaten the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities.

Every community member has a role to play.
See it.!!! Report it.!!!!

Let’s work together to keep our communities safe and our rivers flowing clean.

A Rocha Ghana EcoCare Ghana Nature & Development Foundation Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana Wacam European Union in Ghana CARE International in Ghana Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada OAfrica Civic Response COMPAD-Gh

14/08/2026

Illegal mining activities are leaving a dangerous trail in communities destroying farmlands, polluting our major rivers and dangerous abandoned mining pits.

These activities threaten water sources, agriculture, livelihoods, biodiversity and the safety of community members, especially children.

🌱 Our rivers are our lifeline. Protecting them is protecting our future.








European Union in Ghana Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana
A Rocha Ghana COMPAD-Gh Wacam Nature & Development Foundation

Residents are calling on government authorities, environmental agencies, traditional leaders, and all relevant stakeholders to intensify efforts to stop illegal mining, reclaim degraded lands, restore polluted rivers, and hold those responsible accountable.

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

The state cannot continue to be silent on these Human Rights issues happening in mining affected communities.

The State Must Act !!!!!
Protect Lives
Protect Rivers
Protect Livelihoods

Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP
Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana Wacam A Rocha Ghana Nature & Development Foundation EcoCare Ghana
COMPAD-Gh OAfrica

Every school day, these children make their way across muddy and flooded roads due to the activities of illegal mining operations near their community.

This is a business and human rights issue: the right to a safe environment, the right to education, and the right to protection from harm are all being violated here. Ghana’s legal framework already assigns responsibility for exactly this kind of exposure to harm, and mining operators carry due diligence obligations under the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Where businesses fail, the state has the obligation to step in and uphold these rights. What’s missing isn’t policy; it’s enforcement infrastructure: consistent monitoring, coordinated agency response, and accountability mechanisms that reach communities like this one before harm occurs, not after.

This isn’t a hypothetical policy debate; it’s the lived reality of children who have no say in the destruction of their environment and never asked for this.

&HumanRights
Photo: COMPAD-Gh
Eco-Conscious Citizens Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Forestry Commission Ghana CSIR GHANA Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources-Ghana Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana Wacam Nature & Development Foundation John Dramani Mahama Hon. Bernard Ahiafor Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation

06/08/2026

New COCOBOD Law: Protecting Cocoa Should Not Come at the Cost of Farmers' Rights

Ghana's fight against illegal mining deserves broad public support. Illegal mining has destroyed cocoa farms, polluted rivers, degraded forests, and threatened the livelihoods of rural communities. Protecting cocoa—one of Ghana's most important economic sectors—is therefore a national priority.

It is against this backdrop that the new COCOBOD Act introduces stronger measures to regulate the conversion of cocoa farms. The government has explained that Clauses 81 and 110 are intended to prevent cocoa lands from being cleared for illegal mining and other unlawful activities. While this objective is commendable, the effectiveness of any law depends not only on its intentions but also on how it affects ordinary citizens.

Clause 81 requires farmers to obtain ministerial approval before converting a cocoa farm to another crop or land use. Although presented as a safeguard rather than a ban, this requirement may impose significant burdens on Ghana's predominantly smallholder cocoa farmers, many of whom live in remote communities with limited access to government services. Navigating a centralised approval process could prove costly, time-consuming, and inaccessible.

The concern becomes more serious when read together with Clause 110, which reportedly makes non-compliance a criminal offence. This could expose farmers to prosecution simply for replacing ageing or unproductive cocoa farms with other legitimate crops such as coconut, rubber, or cashew without prior approval.

Criminal law should target conduct that causes serious public harm. Illegal mining and the destruction of cocoa farms clearly warrant strong sanctions. However, lawful agricultural diversification should not be treated as a criminal act. Ironically, illegal miners are unlikely to seek ministerial approval before clearing cocoa farms, meaning the law may burden law-abiding farmers more than the criminals it seeks to stop.

A more balanced approach is needed. If oversight of cocoa farm conversion is necessary, a decentralised approval system at the district or regional level would be more practical and accessible. At the same time, the government should intensify enforcement against illegal mining, rehabilitate ageing cocoa farms, strengthen extension services, improve producer prices, and invest in climate-smart cocoa production.

Protecting Ghana's cocoa sector is essential, but it should not come at the expense of farmers' rights. Effective legislation must distinguish between criminal activities and legitimate farming decisions. By targeting illegal mining with precision while respecting the realities of smallholder farmers, Ghana can safeguard its cocoa industry without undermining the rights and confidence of those who sustain it.

By Obed Owusu-Addai
Co-convener, Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP)