The Eco-Conscious Citizens have urged communities across Ghana to emulate Jema’s successful resistance against irresponsible mining and protect their forests and water bodies.
In a press statement, the Coordinator, Awula Serwah described Jema in the Aowin Municipality as a notable example of how strong community leadership and collective action can prevent illegal mining from destroying natural resources. She questioned why other communities affected by galamsey have not visited Jema to learn from its approach.
The Coordinator noted that Jema remains the only area in the municipality that has not been devastated by illegal mining. She attributed the achievement to the leadership of Chief Nana Enoku Annor II and Community Champion Friar Dr Joseph Blay, popularly known as Father JB.
According to the Eco-conscious citizens, the two leaders brought residents together and established Jema Anti-Galamsey Advocacy, JAGA, to protect the community from illegal mining. The group conducts regular patrols while mobilising residents to defend the area’s rainforest and water bodies.
The Coordinator explained that Jema has rejected mining and embraced cooperative farming as an alternative economic activity. The community has also developed organic galamsey-free coconut oil for sale, demonstrating that livelihoods can be pursued without destroying the environment.
Madam Serwah therefore challenged traditional authorities and local authorities in other mining-affected communities to adopt similar community-led measures. She particularly urged influential chiefs, including the Asantehene, to use their authority to mobilise communities against irresponsible mining.
“Do Ghanaians understand that we are on the verge of an ecological catastrophe? If Jema can do it, why can’t other communities do likewise?”
Awula Serwah
The Coordinator also called for stronger collaboration among chiefs, local political authorities and the Police to prevent illegal mining activities. She proposed Key Performance Indicators for MCEs, DCEs and the Police to measure their performance in combating the menace.
Additionally, Madam Serwah urged the President to consider conferring the highest national award on Nana Enoku Annor II, Father JB and Jema for their sustained resistance to irresponsible mining.
Eco-Conscious Citizens will also honour Nana Enoku Annor II with its first Chiefs Against Galamsey Award in late November. The group believes Jema provides a practical model for communities seeking to protect their environment while pursuing sustainable livelihoods.
Jema Model Offers Blueprint For Tackling Ghana’s Galamsey Crisis
Eco-Conscious Citizens Coordinator, Awula Serwah, also warned that Ghana is approaching an ecological catastrophe as illegal mining continues to pollute water bodies and destroy forest reserves.
Madam Serwah noted that more than 60 percent of Ghana’s water bodies have reportedly been polluted while forest reserves continue to come under pressure from illegal mining activities. She cited a warning by Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, that the Atewa Forest Reserve could face severe degradation if the trend continues.
The Coordinator stressed that the threat extends beyond environmental destruction because water pollution and ecosystem degradation can directly affect public health and livelihoods. She referenced reported increases in kidney disease cases and other health challenges as warning signs requiring urgent national action.
Madam Serwah also criticised what she described as inadequate resources for institutions responsible for protecting the environment. She pointed to forest guards operating without bulletproof vests despite confronting armed illegal miners, loggers and poachers, while noting that a forest guard has reportedly been killed this year.
She also highlighted limitations confronting the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat, NAIMOS, particularly the absence of patrol boats for monitoring illegal mining activities on water bodies. In her view, effective enforcement requires the agencies involved in the fight to have the equipment and logistical support necessary to operate safely.
Beyond frontline operations, the Coordinator called for greater attention to the network financing and sustaining illegal mining. She welcomed NAIMOS’ plan to target financiers and urged authorities to pursue excavator owners or controllers as well as fuel suppliers who support illegal operations.
Madam Serwah also proposed stronger action against filling stations that knowingly supply fuel to illegal miners. She argued that the National Petroleum Authority should consider licence revocation and prosecution where operators deliberately facilitate environmental crimes.
Referencing former Environment Minister Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, she described Ghana as being caught in a cycle where interventions are introduced but problems repeatedly return because policies and systems are not sustained.
The Coordinator therefore called for stronger political commitment and accountability across institutions. She argued that collaboration among chiefs, local authorities and security agencies, backed by measurable performance targets, could make it difficult for illegal mining to thrive.
Eco-Conscious Citizens believes the experience of Jema demonstrates that decisive community action can complement national enforcement. Madam Serwah consequently urged Ghana to act before the opportunity to reverse the environmental damage becomes increasingly limited.
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