The government has rolled out a nationwide land reclamation programme aimed at recovering degraded forest reserves, abandoned mine pits and polluted landscapes through large-scale tree planting initiatives.
This is part of intensified efforts to restore lands destroyed by illegal mining activities.
In the latest intervention, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, yesterday handed over about 800 acres of mined-out land along the Subri River at Nkroful in the Western Region to RM Ecorestore Ghana Limited for reclamation and reforestation works.
Last month, the government took control of a reclaimed mined-out land of similar size at Manso Adubia in the Ashanti Region, which was turned into a productive zone.
Project
The project is sponsored by Zijin Golden Ridge Limited (Zijin Ghana), a large-scale mining company operating at Akyem, which is undertaking the project as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) through an initiative spearheaded by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
The approach saves the country millions of cedis that would otherwise have been drawn from the Consolidated Fund.
The initiative, however, forms part of the government’s broader strategy to restore vegetative cover in areas devastated by years of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Under the project, thousands of acacia and teak seedlings will be planted across the reclaimed land in an effort to restore the ecological health of the area and gradually return the land to productive use.
The government has explained that the exercise was not only intended to reclaim degraded lands, but also to create economic opportunities for residents in mining-affected communities through employment and long-term plantation development.
The Nkroful project also follows a similar exercise already underway at Nyankumase in the Amansie South District in the Ashanti Region, where extensive tree planting activities have commenced on abandoned mining lands.
At Nyankumase, large portions of degraded land have already been reclaimed with the planting of acacia and teak seedlings as part of a long-term rehabilitation programme designed to improve soil quality and restore the area’s environmental balance.
RM Ecorestore Ghana Limited, the company undertaking the exercise, is working in collaboration with the government to reclaim mined-out lands across several parts of the country.
Addressing journalists last Tuesday after a brief ceremony to commence the reclamation works at Nkroful, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said the government remained committed to protecting the country’s lands, forests and water bodies from further destruction.
Mr Buah said the increasing destruction caused by illegal mining had made environmental restoration a major national priority that required urgent and sustained intervention.
He stated that the Mahama Administration was determined to reverse the damage caused by years of irresponsible mining, especially in forest reserves and farming communities.
Mr Buah explained that initiatives such as the Tree for Life and Blue Water Guards programmes were central to the government’s environmental sustainability agenda.
He said the interventions were intended to promote reforestation, restore polluted water bodies and encourage responsible land use practices in mining-prone areas.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister stressed that reclaiming abandoned mining pits had become necessary due to the dangerous environmental and health risks that such sites posed to nearby communities.
Mr Buah indicated that many of the degraded lands, once restored, could be converted into productive agricultural lands, forest plantations and other development-oriented projects capable of benefiting the residents.
Since returning to office in 2025, President Mahama has consistently highlighted environmental restoration as one of the key pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
Mr Buah said the President remained deeply concerned about the rapid destruction of forest reserves and the contamination of major rivers caused by illegal mining activities in recent years.
He maintained that the ongoing reclamation projects were part of broader measures being rolled out to tackle galamsey, while ensuring affected lands were not left permanently destroyed.
The Minister of Lands, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, gave an assurance that more degraded lands across the country would be reclaimed soon under similar programmes as the government intensified efforts to restore the environment.
