A Rocha Ghana has defended its assessment of galamsey forest reserve encroachment, insisting that available evidence shows at least 50 protected forests are affected by illegal mining.
The environmental organisation responded after government spokesperson Julius Kwame Anthony challenged its figures during Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily programme on September 8.
Mr Anthony said his checks with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources showed that 44 forest reserves were affected, rather than the more than 50 cited by A Rocha Ghana.
The disagreement has now produced two figures. A Rocha Ghana says the solution is to examine the evidence behind both, not trade accusations.
“If the number is 44, 51, or another figure, then let the evidence establish it,” the organisation said in a statement issued in Accra on September 9.
Group stands by March assessment
A Rocha Ghana said its position was based on research and analysis published through the Coalition Against Galamsey Ghana on March 28, 2026.
That statement reported that “at least 50 forests” were experiencing encroachment linked to illegal mining.
The organisation also responded to an alleged message from Paa Kwesi Schandorf, spokesperson for the National Anti Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat and the Lands Ministry.
The message, read during the Channel One TV programme, reportedly described current incursions into forest reserves as minor and manageable.
A Rocha Ghana acknowledged the work of state agencies protecting forest reserves but argued that even limited incursions carry serious environmental consequences.
“Where there is a difference in figures, we believe the appropriate response is verification, not accusation,” it said.
Evidence to be presented publicly
The organisation is preparing a press conference to publish the data sources and methodology supporting its findings.
It said the evidence would be open to scrutiny, questioning and independent verification. That step could help clarify whether the difference arises from the period assessed, the definition of encroachment or the number of reserves currently experiencing active mining.
Those details matter. A reserve affected once, one facing active mining and one where operators have taken over a large area may all be counted differently.
Still, A Rocha Ghana does not want the national conversation trapped inside an argument over seven forest reserves.
“We do not want the national conversation to become a debate over whose figure is accurate while forest destruction continues,” the group said.
Illegal mining inside protected forests threatens more than trees. It can destroy wildlife habitats, pollute rivers, weaken watersheds and leave land exposed to erosion long after mining activity ends.
The organisation maintained that describing some incursions as manageable should not make them acceptable.
Its position is blunt: whether the verified number is 44, 51 or somewhere between them, dozens of Ghana’s forest reserves are under pressure. Settling the count matters. Stopping the destruction matters more.
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