Ghana targets Atewa Forest in new anti-galamsey operation: Will Green Shield deliver lasting protection?
Ghana's anti-illegal mining task force has announced Operation Green Shield for Atewa Forest. Nukunya examines the three-stage plan, nationwide enforcement figures and the challenge of preventing miners from returning.
Ghana’s anti-illegal mining task force has announced a three-stage operation to remove illegal miners from the Atewa Forest Reserve and prevent their return. The agency reports 738 enforcement activities nationwide in less than four months, but its new forest protection strategy faces a crucial test: whether cleared areas remain secure after security personnel withdraw.
ACCRA — Ghana’s National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has announced a new operation targeting illegal mining in the Atewa Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region, as authorities seek to protect an important watershed from environmental degradation.
The initiative, named Operation Green Shield, was outlined by NAIMOS Director of Operations Colonel Kwame Sam Appiah at a Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources briefing in Accra on Thursday, 22 October 2026.
Under the plan, specially trained personnel will enter priority areas of the forest to disrupt illegal mining activities, maintain a security presence to prevent renewed encroachment and eventually transfer routine protection responsibilities to the Forestry Commission.
The operation is intended to address a persistent weakness in anti-illegal mining enforcement: the possibility that miners return after security teams leave.
Although the operation has been announced, the reports reviewed by Nukunya do not establish that the Atewa deployment has already commenced.
What is Operation Green Shield?
Operation Green Shield is NAIMOS’ proposed forest protection initiative, beginning with the Atewa Forest Reserve.
The strategy has three stages.
Clear and disrupt illegal mining
Specially trained personnel will target identified illegal mining hotspots inside the reserve.
The immediate objective is to stop unauthorised mining and disrupt the equipment and activities supporting it.
Hold and stabilise cleared areas
Following the initial intervention, security personnel will conduct patrols and surveillance to prevent miners from returning.
This stage is intended to protect the gains achieved during enforcement.
Transfer responsibility to the Forestry Commission
The final stage will involve handing routine monitoring and protection duties to Forestry Commission personnel.
The approach recognises that temporary military deployments cannot provide permanent protection for every forest reserve.
Its success will depend on whether the receiving agencies have sufficient staff, funding, equipment and legal authority to maintain enforcement.
Why Atewa Forest matters
Atewa is an important forest landscape in Ghana’s Eastern Region.
The reserve is associated with the headwaters of the Birim, Densu and Ayensu river systems.
These water systems support communities and economic activities beyond the forest itself.
Illegal mining can damage vegetation, disturb soils and introduce sediment into waterways.
Depending on the activities and substances involved, mining can also create risks of chemical contamination.
The consequences can extend beyond the immediate mining sites, affecting water treatment, agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods.
For this reason, the operation should be assessed not only by the number of miners removed but also by whether environmental conditions improve.
Ghana’s anti-galamsey operations by the numbers
At the October briefing, NAIMOS reported the following results from its nationwide operations between 13 June and 30 September 2026.
| Indicator | Reported figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Operational activities | 738 | Nationwide |
| Cumulative operational distance | 50,662 km | Nationwide |
| Changfan machines destroyed | 1,970 | Nationwide |
| Makeshift structures destroyed | 863 | Nationwide |
| Firearms recovered | 74 | Nationwide |
| Rounds of ammunition recovered | 551 | Nationwide |
| Excavators seized | More than 100 | Nationwide |
| Suspects arrested | Hundreds | Exact total not provided |
Sources: Ghana News Agency, Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Daily Graphic, reporting NAIMOS figures.
The figures therefore cannot be used as evidence that the new operation has already succeeded.
What does the operational data actually show?
Nukunya analysed the reported figures to examine the scale of NAIMOS’ enforcement activities.
The 110 calendar days between 13 June and 30 September, counted inclusively, provide a useful reference period.
Interactive: nationwide enforcement data explorer
Select a reported measure to examine the calculation and its limitations.
738 ÷ 110 = 6.71
Approximately 6.7 reported operational activities per calendar day. This does not mean exactly six or seven raids occurred each day.
Average operational activity
738 ÷ 110 = 6.71.
That is approximately 6.7 reported operational activities per calendar day during the period.
This does not mean the agency conducted exactly six or seven raids every day.
The total includes different forms of activity, such as reconnaissance, patrols, raids and community engagement.
Reported operational distance
50,662 ÷ 738 = 68.65 kilometres.
That gives approximately 68.6 kilometres of reported cumulative operational distance per activity.
This is an arithmetic ratio, not the distance travelled by an individual patrol.
The agency’s figures combine different operational activities, so the ratio should not be interpreted as a standard mission distance.
Equipment and structures destroyed
NAIMOS reported destroying 1,970 changfan machines and 863 makeshift structures.
Combined, these amount to 2,833 reported machines and structures.
However, the categories represent different types of assets and should not be described as 2,833 mining sites.
A single mining location could contain multiple machines or structures.
Similarly, the figures do not establish the total financial value of the equipment destroyed.
What about the GH¢150 million allocation?
NAIMOS had received an initial funding allocation of GH¢150 million to support operations, surveillance and deployments.
That figure provides a potential benchmark for assessing the financial scale of the enforcement programme.
But an allocation is not the same as expenditure.
Nukunya has not established how much of the GH¢150 million had been released, committed or spent by 30 September.
It would therefore be misleading to divide the full allocation by the number of operations and describe the result as an actual cost per operation.
A reliable expenditure analysis would require the agency’s financial records, including personnel, transport, equipment, logistics and maintenance costs.
Will the miners return?
Preventing renewed illegal mining is central to Operation Green Shield.
NAIMOS has acknowledged that its personnel cannot remain permanently in every location where enforcement takes place.
The agency therefore intends to establish a handover process involving the Forestry Commission and other relevant authorities.
This approach addresses the distinction between clearing a mining site and protecting it over time.
An initial operation may stop activity temporarily.
Long-term protection requires continued monitoring, enforcement and cooperation with surrounding communities.
It may also require action against the financing and supply networks that support illegal mining.
What happens to seized equipment?
NAIMOS says it has seized more than 100 excavators during the nationwide reporting period.
According to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the agency is recording identifying details and seizure locations to support legal processes for confiscation.
That is important because seizure and permanent forfeiture are separate stages.
Equipment taken during an enforcement operation may be subject to legal proceedings before ownership can be determined.
The public therefore needs information about how seized equipment is stored, tracked and ultimately disposed of under the law.
The number of machines seized does not, by itself, establish the number lawfully confiscated.
What about arrests and prosecutions?
NAIMOS reported that hundreds of suspected illegal miners had been arrested and handed over to police or other relevant authorities.
The ministry said some suspects were facing court proceedings, some were on remand and others had been granted bail.
However, the briefing did not provide a complete, independently reconciled dataset showing arrests, charges, prosecutions, convictions and acquittals.
These categories must not be treated as equivalent.
An arrest does not establish guilt.
A credible enforcement assessment should report what happens after suspects enter the criminal justice system, while respecting the presumption of innocence.
The wider operation against illegal mining
Operation Green Shield forms part of a broader enforcement strategy.
NAIMOS is also conducting Operation Water Shield, which began along the Birim River before extending to the Ankobra.
The agency says it intends to target two additional major river systems before the end of 2026.
It also plans to work with the Ghana Navy to strengthen patrols and prevent illegal mining equipment from returning to previously cleared waterways.
The government says the approach will combine enforcement, surveillance and cooperation with agencies responsible for long-term protection.
These plans remain subject to implementation and verification.
How should Operation Green Shield’s success be measured?
Nukunya proposes a public scorecard to assess the operation’s outcomes.
Interactive: environmental accountability scorecard
Illegal mining hotspots cleared
Geolocated site records
These are proposed measures. No verified Atewa-specific results are implied.
| Performance indicator | Evidence required |
|---|---|
| Illegal mining hotspots cleared | Geolocated site records |
| Forest area affected | Verified baseline and follow-up mapping |
| Re-entry into cleared areas | Repeat inspections |
| Water quality | Comparable laboratory results |
| Equipment seized | Inventories and chain-of-custody records |
| Prosecutions completed | Verified court outcomes |
| Forest restoration | Independent ecological monitoring |
| Handover to Forestry Commission | Formal transfer records and staffing plans |
This approach would help distinguish enforcement activity from lasting environmental recovery.
For example, a site may be cleared successfully but become active again months later.
Likewise, removing mining equipment does not immediately restore damaged soils, vegetation or water quality.
Long-term monitoring is therefore essential.
Ghana must measure lasting protection, not raids alone
Operation Green Shield represents a shift towards sustained protection of forest reserves.
Its three-stage design recognises that clearing illegal miners is only the beginning.
The nationwide figures reported by NAIMOS demonstrate substantial enforcement activity between June and September.
But operational activity is not the same as environmental recovery.
The agency has not yet published a verified Atewa-specific baseline showing the precise area affected by illegal mining, the number of active sites or the condition of the forest’s waterways before the new operation.
Without that baseline, it will be difficult to establish the operation’s environmental impact.
A transparent assessment should compare conditions before enforcement, immediately afterwards and at regular intervals following the transfer of responsibility to the Forestry Commission.
The decisive test of Operation Green Shield will not be how many raids are conducted, but whether illegal mining remains absent from cleared areas and Atewa’s forest and water systems show measurable recovery.
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