Daryl Bosu, Deputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, has noted that, the pervasive entitlement displayed by perpetrators of forest crimes in Ghana must be blamed on historic lapses in compliance and enforcement regimes associated with forest resource management in Ghana. Two incidents of forest crimes have been recorded this week at Dormaa in the Bono Region and Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region. At Dormaa, some irate youth of Diabaa in the Dormaa West District set a military base and an office of the Forestry Commission in the area ablaze. This comes after officials of the Commission cut down about twenty plantain crops that had been grown in a forest reserve by farmers in the community. At Bosomtwe in the Bekwai Forest District of the Ashanti Region, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in collaboration with the Forestry Commission and with support from its taskforce and the military also arrested five galamsey operators in the Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve. Writing on his Facebook Wall, Mr Bosu described the two incidents as a terrible forest crime that should not be glossed over. He wrote “These developments reflect the pervasive entitlement displayed by perpetrators of forest crimes, because of historic lapses in compliance and enforcement regimes associated with forest resource management in Ghana”. “Illegal farming has been a major threat to forest reserves all over the country for several decades, with no signs of abating or clear management strategy and policy to address it. Some attempts to address it saw the introduction of schemes like Taugya Systems and then later Modified Taugya Systems intended for several other benefits but failed to address the issue of illegal farming in forest reserves”. “Mining has also been a part of the drivers of deforestation and degradation of forest reserves across the country, be it legal or illegal. Illegal miners have in recent times built a certain level of boldness and impunity, resulting in several forest reserves coming under siege, with forestry staff completely swarmed and overwhelmed”, he added. According to him, it is important that these crimes are treated with the utmost seriousness and all perpetrators must face the full rigors of the law.
Daryl Bosu
He wrote further “That said, one cannot but also comment on the historic lapses and negligence in our compliance and enforcement regime, particularly in relation to sustainable forest management. In 2004, when I joined a team of scientists to undertake fauna surveys in over 30 forest reserves across the country, there was not one forest reserve that was not under threat from illegal farming or encroachment. Artisanal mining was recorded in a few of them but certainly not at the destructive scale we see today. Two decades down the line, illegal farming and mining continue to degrade and destroy our forest reserves as though there is no urgency to tackle them”.
No regime of enforcement
The Deputy Director of the Environmental NGO noted that, farming in forest reserves does not start and complete in a day as Illegal farmers clear the land, burn, plant, and harvest their produce sometimes taking a minimum of 6 months. ‘Do we mean to say no forest guard spots these illegalities when they start”, he asked, adding “some people even farm in these forests for years and hand over the lands to their children to continue, as though there is no regime for enforcement of the law against illegal farming in forest reserves”. “The story is not different for illegal mining in forest reserves either. These miners who now use heavy earth-moving equipment move into the forest reserves set up camp, and work sometimes with security protection, leaving forestry guards helpless”. He added “The pervasive posture by the Forestry Commission of not enforcing our forest laws strictly against perpetrators and watching some of these illegalities fester, eventually fosters entitlement and impunity among perpetrators resulting in situations like these, where illegal farmers feel emboldened to attack forestry officers who are seeking to enforce the laws of the land. The same culture of impunity grows with time among illegal miners, who see the mining laws of the land implemented selectively”. According to Mr Bosu, until Ghana addressed the underlying causes, “in this case, poor enforcement and compliance of our laws, even the individual who has sufficient food on the table will always see the forest reserves as a place to extend their farms and undertake illegal mining”. “Illegal farms and mining do not start in a day, let’s act swiftly and proactively to stop them before perpetrators develop any entitlements”, he advised.
Forest reserves are red zones
Speaking in an interview with the media on Tuesday, 23rd August, 2022, Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Lands and Forestry said, the suspects arrested at Bosomtwe were arraigned before the Bekwai Circuit Court but a couple of them have been granted bail.
Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources with the taskforce
He added that hundreds of galamsey operators have invaded the Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve in a way that left the Forestry Commission officials bemused. He made this known when he led a delegation from the Lands Ministry, the Forestry Commission and the Ghana Armed Forces to embark on an operation in the forest to know the extent of destruction caused by the illegal miners. When the team got into the Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve, it came to light that several hectares of the forest cover had been destroyed by the galamsey operators, who had abandoned their equipment and run for cover. They have created four illegal mining sites about the size of sports stadium in the reserve with excavators, changfan machines, fuel storage tanks and other equipment seen on site, which were later burnt by the Deputy Minister and his team Mr Owusu-Bio in his response to the media pointed out that galamsey operators have recently been drawn to the reserve and it is a source of worry to the Ministry and to government. He called on the judiciary to expedite action on those arrested and prosecute them. “Some of them have been arrested and being processed to court in Bekwai. A couple of them have been granted bail. In fact, we are praying with the court to expedite action on the case, so they can be prosecuted and jail them,” he said. According to him, this is the third time that he has visited Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve and described the place as an endemic galamsey area. “But then what we keep saying is that the forest reserves and water bodies are no-go areas. They are red zones. So anyone found doing this, we will follow it to the letter to get them arrested. He announced that their random visits to the forests will not end at the Bosomtwe Range Forest but also other forest reserves in other regions, while thanking the taskforce and the Military for a good work done. “We are here today and we will be going to other forest reserves to monitor what is happening there. I am very grateful thank the taskforce here,” he said. The Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey, said they are now collecting data on the forest reserves destroyed by the illegal miners. He described the galamsey activities in the forest reserves as very devastating to the environment. “The last decade, our focus was on illegal chainsaw operators and the bush fire prevention and others. “But, at the moment, we have to deal with galamsey menace. It’s becoming dangerous and bigger due to the impact,” he stated.