MEMBERS of the Eastern Regional Lands Commission have called on the government to ensure the strict enforcement of environmental laws and regulations to preserve and protect the country’s natural resources from depletion.
They also urged the government to adequately resource all the environmental enforcement agencies to empower them to effectively monitor the activities of small-scale miners across the country.
“The low priority given to the enforcement of environmental laws and the inability of environmental agencies to effectively monitor the activities of licensed small-scale miners could partly have contributed to the widespread pollution of water bodies, depletion of forest and the degradation of farmlands, as well as the environment over the years,” they stated.
They made the call after a day’s tour of the various mining sites at Akwatia.
During the tour, the members came face-to-face with the extent of depletion of forest covers and the pollution of the Birim River as a result of the activities of both licensed small-scale mining companies and illegal miners at Akwatia and its environs.
The tour took the members of the commission to the abandoned consignment of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) where both licensed and illegal miners had diverted the course of the Birim River and were found mining at the base of the river.
Besides, the visit also enabled the members to interact with officials of the Kwaebibirem District Assembly.
The members were informed that almost on a daily basis, galamsey operators die in pits and the assembly provides assistance in retrieving the bodies for burial.
The Land Commission members, who were joined by officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), observed at first hand how licensed miners use big excavators to degrade the base of the Birim River, forests and farmlands in the Akwatia area.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Board Chairman of the commission, Nana Kodua Kesse, said the objective of the commission was to promote the judicious use of lands by society and ensure that land use was in accordance with sustainable principles and the maintenance of a sound eco-system.
He said in line with such in objective, members of the commission decided to tour some of the mining sites at Akwatia to enable them to know and understand the impact of the activities on the environment in the area.
In the view of Nana Kodua Kese, the uncontrolled activities of both licensed and illegal miners, as well as illegal chainsaw operations over the years had led to the incessant flouting of environmental laws and regulations.
He said that had led to the rapid depletion of forests, heavy pollution of water bodies and the degradation of farmlands and the environment in general, leading to countless un-reclaimed mining sites in the region.
“Until our environmental laws and regulations are respected promoted, greedy individuals, including chainsaw and galamsey operators, will continue to exploit our resources and pollute our bodies at the expense of the masses today and posterity,” Nana Kodua Kesse stated.
He added, “we can only ensure adherence of environmental laws only when the government and environmental enforcement agencies pay a high priority to negative environmental concerns as pertaining to the negative operations of galamsey miners and lawless licensed miners”.
At the Kwaebibirem District Assembly where members of the commission held a meeting with the staff, Messrs Delali Nyablodzo and Samuel Ayim Antwi, the District Co-ordinating Director and the Finance Officer of the assembly.
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