ghana: Campaign Against Mining in Ghana's Forest Reserves

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Campaign Against Mining in Ghana's Forest Reserves

Declaration by a National Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against
Mining in Forest Reserves
May 2003, Accra

Mr. Chairman, Members of the press, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen:

I am happy to make this presentation on behalf of the National Coalition
of Civil Society Groups against Mining in Ghana's forest reserves. The
presentation I am about to make focuses on concerns we as a coalition
have about national decision-making efforts for mining in Ghana's forest
reserves. Knowing that we are all interested in the sustainable
development of our natural resources we are hopeful that by the end of
the presentation many would see our campaign as justified and worthy of
support.

The Government of Ghana has declared her intention to release portions
of Ghana's closed forest reserves for mining. Five mining companies are
already lined up for mining leases to exploit mineral resources in the
forest reserves. Therefore, we the Civil Society Coalition against
mining in forest reserves are concerned about this decision by the
government, and we call on her to withdraw the decision and to revoke
those mining leases if already granted. We believe that the decision to
release portions of the country's forest reserves is just an entry point
for opening up the entire forest reserves to mining. The decision does
not only undermine the significant role that forest reserves play in the
economic, environmental, and social development of a people and their
country but also contradicts the government's own policy on natural
resource conservation.

The forest reserves in question include Subri River Forest Reserve, a
globally important bio-diversity area, which is also the largest forest
reserve in the country. It is also a critical watershed between the
major rivers -Rivers Bonsa and Pra. Others are the Supuma Shelterbelt ;
Opon Mansi Forest Reserve, in the Western Region ; Tano-Suraw and Suraw
Extension, also in the Western region ; Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve, in
the Eastern region ; Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, in the Western
region and the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern region.

Chirano Goldmines Limited, Satelite Goldfields Limited, Nevsun/AGC,
Birim/AGC and Newmont Ghana Limited are the companies wanting to mine in
these reserves.

Forests reserves have important environmental and ecological linkages.
They are linked to water and soil resources to, genetic resources of
plants and animals, and to food production and food security. In
particular, they constitute a major source of fresh water bodies for
domestic and industrial use and enhance local climatic conditions for
agricultural production. In Ghana most freshwater bodies take their
source from forested areas. For example, the rivers Ankobra and Suraw
take their source from the Tano-Suraw forest reserve, which also
protects River Tano that passes through it. Clearly, if this reserve is
being considered for mining then we are being confronted with serious
livelihood and environmental consequences in a much larger magnitude.
Forest reserves are also important to the economic and social-cultural
relationship of rural communities and the nation as a whole. They create
jobs, provide health and food security and help in the cultural identity
of a people. It is for these and many other important reasons that Ghana
Government has committed herself to several international conventions
and has also enacted various legislation to protect and conserve forest
and forest resources.

In spite of the important role that forest reserves play they have been
undergoing qualitative and quantitative deterioration over the years.
Already, much of the original vegetation of the country has been removed
or considerably deteriorated. The size of existing forests and forestry
resources and their adequacy for supplying critical goods and
environmental influences necessary for the continued viability of local
production is dwindling year after year. The nation's total forest cover
has reduced from the 8.2 million hectares around 1900 to less than 1.6
million hectares as at now, which is even less than the initial
1.76million hectares reserved as permanent forest estates. Out of the
1.6 million hectares, only 32,000 hectares representing 2 percent of the
remaining forest reserves is said to be in excellent condition.

The government's decision to open up the forest reserves for mining is
influenced by the demands of the Chamber of Mines who represent the
interest of the mining industry based on their narrow economic benefits
and not based on a proper assessment of the environmental and social
costs to the nation. Proponents for mining in forest reserves are
hiding behind what they call production zones within the forest reserves
to back their claim. Clearly, it is hard to believe that mining is one
of the activities that constitute productive activity in forest
reserves.

Mining in forest reserves will aggravate the already alarming rate of
forest degradation in the country and wreak havoc on freshwater systems
and watersheds, which are already global scarce commodities, as well as
the entire ecosystem and biodiversity.

Mining in forest reserves also contravenes the principles underlining
the establishment of forest reserves in Ghana. The 1994 Forest and
Wildlife Policy of Ghana aims at 'conservation and sustainable
development of the nation's forest and wildlife resources for the
maintenance of environmental quality and perpetual flow of optimum
benefits to all segments of society'. Mining especially surface mining
in forest reserves have no place in this policy objective because
surface mining does not conserve, sustain the use of nor preserve
biological diversity, water resources and the environment. By removing
the entire forest biomass (plants and animals) biodiversity is lost,
water cycle function of the forests is lost, local climate for
agricultural production is seriously distorted, headwaters of streams
and rivers get vanished with consequent distorted effects on domestic
and industrial water supplies even in remote settlements. If these are
some of the adverse effects of surface mining in forest reserves of
which Ghana seeks to protect through Forest Certification, then a clear
contravention is established by any attempt to permit mining in forest
reserves.

The decision to permit mining in forest reserves undermines the reasons
behind the establishment of statutory bodies such as the Forestry
Commission and international conventions which Ghana is signatory. Ghana
is signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) which all aim to conserve
natural resources for sustainable development. If the country is
signatory to all these conventions that seeks to protect natural
resources including forest reserves and forest products and yet is
permitting mining especially surface mining in forest reserves then the
Government's concern about general environmental degradation is mere
rhetoric.

We are deeply concerned about the lukewarm attitude successive
governments in Ghana have accorded the forestry sector which
unfortunately has allowed so much damage to the country's closed forest
estates. This same lukewarm attitude is being used as an excuse to
permit mining in forest reserves. For instance Honourable Kwadwo
Adjei-Darko the outgone Minister of Mines once indicated that '...some
of these areas that they are calling forest reserves are only on paper
as forest reserves.' The logical implication of this statement is that
the forest reserves are degraded therefore we as a nation should
intensify the degradation by permitting surface mining in the forest
reserves.

Demands :

On the basis of the foregoing we the National Coalition of Civil Society
Groups against Mining in forest reserves make the following demands:

1. The Government should withdraw its decision to allow mining in forest
reserves and also revoke all mining leases on forest reserves if already
granted.

2. Government should enact a clear-cut regulatory framework that
prohibits mining in forest reserves.

3. Government should demonstrate the political will and commitment for
the protection and conservation of the country's forest estates by
strengthening the capacity of state institutions responsible for the
protection and management of these forests estates.

4. We call on the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), and other Multinational Financial Institutions not to
finance or support the Ghana Government and the five companies to carry
out mining in forest reserves in the country.

5. We also call on the public and the media to echo our demands and
support our course.

Organisations
1. Third World Network-Africa (TWN-Africa)
2. Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL)
3. Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM)
4. League of Environmental Journalists (LEJ)
5. Food First International and Action Network (FIAN)
6. Friends of the Earth, Ghana, (FOE-Ghana)
7. Green Earth Organization
8. Abantu for Development
9. Ever Green Club of Ghana
10. Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA)
11. Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU)
12. Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development
(CERES)
13. Federation of Environmental Journalists (FEJ)