The Forestry Commission is planning to establish armed security camps and deploy surveillance technology in the Subri River Forest Reserve in the Western Region to prevent illegal miners from returning to cleared areas.
The Western Regional Manager of the Commission, Nana Poku Bosompim, said the proposed strategy would combine armed rapid-response teams, surveillance systems and stronger collaboration among state security agencies to protect the reserve.
The move comes amid concerns that more than 1,000 armed illegal miners are operating in the reserve, raising fears about the continued destruction of one of the region’s major ecological assets.
Covering more than 58,000 hectares, the Subri River Forest Reserve is one of Ghana’s largest forest reserves and accounts for about 30 per cent of the Western Region’s total forest reserve area.
Mr Bosompim said although repeated enforcement operations had helped clear illegal mining sites, the gains were often short-lived because miners returned once security personnel moved to other locations.
He warned that the Commission could not afford to allow the reserve to deteriorate into a red zone, describing such an outcome as a major failure for all stakeholders responsible for protecting the forest.
“We should not allow the Subri River Forest Reserve to fall into that category of a red zone. It would be a failure of epic proportions on the part of all of us if we allow the situation in Subri River to degenerate,” he said.
Under the proposed plan, about 13 armed rapid-response officers will be stationed at identified illegal mining hotspots after clearance operations to deter miners from re-entering the areas.
The camps are expected to be equipped with motorbikes, vehicles, CCTV cameras and Starlink internet connectivity to support surveillance, improve communication and enable officers to respond quickly when threats arise. The personnel have also received specialised training for operations in forest terrain.
Mr Bosompim said the approach was intended to address the recurring problem of illegal miners returning to sites after enforcement teams withdraw.
“After we’ve cleaned the forest reserve, we want to ensure that the miners do not return. If they return and see our forest guards and our armed team there, will they come back?” he asked.
According to the Forestry Commission, enforcement operations across the Western Region have led to the destruction of illegal mining equipment, arrests and prosecutions.
Mr Bosompim disclosed that the effective area of degraded forestland had reduced from approximately 680 hectares to 282 hectares, representing a decline of nearly 60 per cent.
He, however, cautioned that the progress remained fragile because illegal miners continued to reoccupy cleared sites whenever security personnel were redeployed elsewhere.
The challenge is further complicated by the size of the region’s forest estate. The Western Region has 19 forest reserves covering approximately 209,333 hectares, making it difficult to maintain a continuous security presence in every affected area.
“Something has been done, but I can also say we are nowhere near winning the fight. There is still more work to be done. That tells us we need to sustain the fight,” he said.
Meanwhile, Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has called for stronger coordination among the Forestry Commission, the military, the Navy, the Air Force, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and other relevant agencies.
He said joint planning, intelligence-sharing and coordinated deployments were necessary to confront armed illegal mining groups and prevent them from regaining control of cleared areas.
Mr Nelson expressed concern about what he described as inadequate collaboration among institutions tackling the same problem, questioning why some agencies appeared to be operating independently despite working under the same ministry.
“The Forestry Commission is doing something on its own. On the same challenge, we have NAIMOS. How is the collaboration like? And interestingly, the two institutions are under the same ministry,” he said.
He urged the agencies to pool their resources and expertise, stressing that isolated operations would not provide a lasting solution.
“Working in silos won’t help anybody,” he said.
The proposed security camps are expected to help protect the gains made during enforcement operations by keeping cleared illegal mining hotspots under sustained surveillance and security protection. The Commission’s challenge, however, will be to maintain that presence and prevent miners from returning to the forest.
