Illegal gold mining in Ghana’s Greater Cape Three Points Forest Reserve threatens vulnerable and endangered species in the protected forest, say conservationists.Sediment and toxic chemicals from the mining also threaten the adjacent waters of a newly declared marine protected area just offshore.Conservation NGOs want the government to act against illegal miners, including establishing permanent camps in the forest to protect a wider area.
Ghana’s land ministry is failing to act against illegal gold mining in the Greater Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, say conservationists. Their call comes as pollution threatens vulnerable and endangered species in both the protected forest and the adjacent waters of a newly declared marine protected area.
Mining activity is causing toxic chemicals, including mercury, arsenic and cyanide, to wash into streams in the reserve and then into the sea via the Nyan River, said Stephen Kankam, deputy director of Hεn Mpoano, a Ghanaian NGO that works with communities, government and businesses to strengthen management of coastal and marine ecosystems.
“The destruction is phenomenal,” he told Mongabay in a phone interview. “I mean, you cannot just imagine the kind of destruction that is ongoing. There is clearing of large swaths of the forest areas that have paved the way for digging, for excavation, and all sorts of operations within the forest.”
