Petition: Withdraw Mining license issued for Draw River Forest Reserve

On Tuesday, 14th May 2024, Ghana Environmental Advocacy Group and its Partners will deliver a Petition to the President of the Republic of Ghana, H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo. The Petition expresses our grave concern over the mining rights (License #ML2/236) that the Minerals Commission has granted to Betterland Ghana Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tower Assets Ltd to mine a substantial portion of the Draw River Forest Reserve for Diamonds, Lithium and Gold. This license, with an expiry date of August 2033, is not only concerning but stands contrary to the reality of the Ghanaian and local situation when it comes to environmental stewardship.

The Draw River Forest Reserve, a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA), is currently the only unharmed forest in the Egila (Dwira) area where galamsey devastation has left a collection of destroyed rivers, streams, and a poisoned landscape with open pits that pose an existential threat to the general population, especially children. The recent floods in the area highlight the constant threat the people face from the combined impacts of unprecedented environmental destruction, global warming, and the intentional poisoning of the once-productive arable land and cocoa farms!

The Draw River Forest Reserve has been designated as a GSBA due to the presence of rare, threatened, and endemic species and is said to contain diverse non-timber forest species that are collected by rural populations for medicinal and consumptive uses.

In Ghana, the Environmental (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation, 2022 Legislative Instrument (L.I 2462) prohibits mining in restricted or protected areas, including forest reserves. Section 3(1) of L.I 2462 states: “A person shall not issue a license or permit to any person to undertake mining activity, including exploration activity in the following areas — a globally significant biodiversity area; a protected provenance area; an institutional research plot; a hill sanctuary; a high conservation value area; a seed orchard; swamp sanctuary; plantation sites and cultural sites,” unless with written approval by the President in the national interest. Section 3 (2) of LI 2462 abridged. What national interest does destroying these critical national treasures for private gain serve, Mr President?

While we express our profound concerns over the license that the Minerals Commission has granted to Betterland Ghana Ltd to prospect for gold, diamonds and lithium in the Draw River Forest Reserve, Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor was at the recent 19th

Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF19) at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York where he called on world leaders to increase financing for forest action to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. We cannot continue to pay lip service to environmental stewardship and conservation while we blatantly continue to destroy our forest reserves!

In addition to the President, the Petition will be delivered to Parliament, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission and Environmental Protection Agency.