Three arrested in Atewa Forest as NAIMOS launches Operation Green Shield

Three people have been arrested in the Atewa Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region as the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) launches a military-backed operation to flush out illegal miners and protect the threatened forest.

The arrests were made on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, as part of Operation Green Shield, an initiative designed to disrupt illegal mining, clear affected areas and maintain a security presence to prevent miners from returning.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, described the destruction of Ghana's forest reserves through illegal mining as a national emergency, warning that the activities were threatening the country's environment, water resources and future generations.

“We are at war with bad people who have decided that they will make money so that all of us will die,” he said during the operation.

The minister disclosed that 44 of Ghana's 288 forest reserves had been affected by illegal mining, resulting in the destruction of approximately 8,900 hectares of forest land.

He said the affected area was equivalent to about 12,500 football fields, adding that restoring the degraded reserves would require billions of dollars.

Despite measures to restrict the movement of excavators into forest reserves, Mr Buah said illegal miners continued to devise new methods to evade enforcement and destroy forest land, including a practice locally known as “one leg” mining.

He also disclosed that authorities had seized and spread over 6,000 excavators as part of efforts to prevent their use in illegal mining.

As part of the latest intervention, Mr Buah said the government, with support from the Ghana Armed Forces, would establish a camp within the Atewa Forest to sustain the operation and prevent renewed encroachment.

He commended the security personnel involved and urged them to remain committed to protecting the country's natural resources.

Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel K. S. Appiah, said Operation Green Shield would follow a four-stage strategy involving the disruption of illegal mining activities, the clearance of affected areas, the maintenance of a security presence and the eventual transfer of responsibility to the Forestry Commission.

“The mission is to disrupt, clear and hold and transition,” he explained.

He said the operation would continue as security teams identified and tackled illegal mining activities in other areas.

Under the transition phase, the Forestry Commission is expected to deploy forest guards to Atewa to sustain protection after the initial enforcement operations.

Mr Buah also warned traditional authorities and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives against turning a blind eye to illegal mining in their jurisdictions.

He said local authorities had a responsibility to help protect the environment and indicated that the government intended to strengthen accountability through proposed legislative changes affecting the roles of traditional authorities and local officials in mining-related processes.

The minister further urged the public to avoid politicising illegal mining, warning that its consequences extended beyond environmental destruction to public health and the long-term security of future generations.

Atewa Forest is an important ecological asset and watershed supporting the Birim, Ayensu and Densu river systems.

Its protection is considered critical to conserving biodiversity and safeguarding water resources for communities that depend on the rivers.