Professor Alfred Oteng Yeboah, Environment and Science Lead at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, has highlighted the challenge in combating illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, due to a portion of the Ghanaian population viewing it as a source of livelihood.
He stressed the importance of ramping up public education on the harmful effects of galamsey as a key strategy in addressing the issue adding that Public awareness and education are crucial in tackling this menace. "Some people have found the galamsey as a source of livelihood and once it is a source of livelihood, it is very difficult to take it away from such people.
They are doing it and some people are not even aware of the effects of their actions, which we need to explicitly bring home to them. "And then, the economic aspect of a whole nation is under threat because when you hear about cocoa farms being overrun when you hear about forest reserves being overrun, when you hear about other food systems being destroyed, everybody can see that this is the point that we are in very serious trouble." Prof.
Oteng Yeboah further bemoaned the health implications of the chemicals used by illegal miners on farmlands and water bodies. "Who follows where the chemicals are going and what they [the illegal miners] do to water and land organisms?
Who takes care of the residue chemicals because these chemicals can stay on the land and water for a long time and people end up consuming them? "There are some organisms that live in the soil and help ensure fertility and once these organisms are eliminated, it means they can no longer produce any nutrients."