Environmental damage caused by galamsey
THE MAJOR water bodies have been reduced to mud, the forest reserves have become desert, the ecosystem is on the cross-road and the esprit of Ghana is hanging on a thread of Galamsey.
Illegal mining has become a pain in the neck of Ghana. The founding fathers of the Black Star are shedding tears in their tombs. Galamsey is gradually depriving Ghanaians of drinking water, a wise man says water is life.
Do Ghanaians engaging in illegal mining also believe that water is life? The thick forest reserves are there to save or protect Ghanaians from global warming but unfortunately huge portion is on the verge of dying due to illegal mining which is known in the local parlance as galamsey.
Director for Ghana Water Company, Stanley Martey has emphatically stated that, if nothing is done at these early stages to stop the galamsey menace, the Ghana Water Company will halt its operational methods.
“Beyond a certain level of turbidity, the water is rendered untreatable. At that point, we will shut down,” Mr. Marty stated.
“The pollution of the river bodies is affecting the entire country and is affecting us as individuals and is also affecting us as a company,” Mr. Martey reiterated.
Mr. Martey has charged the authorities to intensify the fight against Galamsey in order to recuse the country from water shortage.
What happens to the cocoa tress? Oh, mother Ghana, what happens to your cocoa trademark? Globally Ghana is known as one of the best or biggest producer of cocoa but gradually we are losing that title because of Galamsey.
Interestingly understanding local communities’ enthusiasm to participate in an environmental restoration activity can help assess the level of volunteerism that can be expected for rehabilitation projects.
It is very imperative for the people in our various mining communities to ensure that the ecosystem is well protected in order to have positive mindset when it comes to mining within the ecosystem.
Gold mining or better still galamsey is an essential practice which has the propensity of contributing to the development of a community equipped with natural resources but unreasonable gold mining or rampant Galamsey must stop, because the operators are not following due diligence, they are causing more harm than good.
Offinso River
It is quite disheartening how our waterbodies have been reduced to absolute mud.
Ghana has faced multiple challenges due to illegal mining and one of the pressing issues has to do with the pollution of water-bodies, which serve as a livelihood for the citizens, in many facets water plays an important role in the life citizens and they are crying for a reprieve because they are vulnerable, they have been suppressed and mangled.
The citizens said no they cannot be soothed anymore and therefore calling for the end of illegal mining especially the foreigners who have decided to operate without any proper mining documentation.
It is always the ambition of some group people in society to get rich quickly in order to obtain whatever is fashionable. Such people would want to dress gorgeously, own mansions, ride the latest cars, have access to modern sets of furniture and become millionaires, devoid of the milk of human-kindness, it is not surprising to find these people attacking the defenseless ecosystem of Ghana for gold.
The ecosystem is the home of all living and non-living things in Ghana. Ghanaian environment is the only home for all creatures in Ghana.
This environment encompasses the interaction of all living species, climate, weather, and natural resources that determine human survival and economic activity.
People living in the country side face climatic change due to the nature of the galamsey operation, bad weather conditions and the almighty degradation of the natural forest which disturbs human survival and pecuniary activities.
The public outcry is humongous because the galamsey menace and destructive nature of the environment, which can lead to a desert country in the near future if not tackle head one.
There is no misgiving that galamsey activities have caused a great harm to our environment, this is because most of the minerals are found in rivers, as a result, the illegal mining companies often resort to slating of rivers and their surroundings to enable them access to the targeted gold or minerals and this is done without caring about the consequences and dangers these may have on trees, birds, animals, and even individuals in the various gold mining communities.
Deforestation, is a major part of the damages galamsey has caused to the environment. It involves the clearing of the forest leading to cutting down of trees, to enable them accomplish their operation, of extracting gold.
These illegal pit workers also do not put in place any measures that will safeguard them from taking risk.
The fact that the illegal sappers are mostly unskillful, they also use unprotected tools and equipment making them a big threat to Ghana.
By Francis Agbetsise