Illegal gold mining is rapidly expanding in Ghana, a country ranked among the world’s leading gold producers.With a struggling economy and rising unemployment, thousands of people have turned to unlawful mining in hopes of striking gold and escaping poverty.
However, officials and environmental organisations warn that these activities are poisoning rivers and natural water sources.
Once a clean and dependable source of water and food, the Ankobra River in Ghana now runs grey and murky.
Fisherman Benjamin Yankey says the pollution has damaged his livelihood and destroyed wildlife that once thrived along the river.
The widespread mining activity, locally known as galamsey, has devastated the waterway, contaminating large areas with hazardous chemicals including cyanide and mercury.
In the Western North Region, one community has decided to take action into its own hands.Residents of Jema have formed a task force to patrol the forested area and prevent illegal mining.
Jema, home to about 15,000 people, outlawed all mining on its land in 2015, exercising customary legal powers granted to traditional chiefs.
The task force consists of 14 members and was created with support from a local Catholic priest, Joseph Kwame Blay.He says the community has embraced a new identity tied to environmental protection.
“Jema people have seen this as a legacy,” he says. “That is our slogan now – Jema, no galamsey.”
The Jema Anti-Galamsey Advocacy (JAGA) task force patrols streams and rivers in the Jema Forest Reserve, searching for signs of upstream mining such as strange-colored water or cleared forest patches.
When suspects are found, they are detained and handed over to police under laws that allow citizen arrests.JAGA president Patrick Fome admits the mission has been dangerous.
“People are threatening our lives because they think we are not helping them. We are depriving them of their own work, that’s what they all rely on so they see us as enemies,” he says.
The group says their efforts have produced results, noting that water sources within their 450-square-kilometer (173-square-mile) coverage zone are noticeably cleaner.
But not everyone supports these patrols. Some locals argue that illegal mining is one of the few remaining ways to earn a living as unemployment rises and income from farming drops.
