A Rocha Ghana urges gov’t to make Atewa Forest a national park

A Rocha Ghana and its partners have called on the government to fulfil its long-standing commitment to convert the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region into a national park.

The environmental organisation said urgent action was needed to protect the forest from what it described as an “unprecedented and escalating attack” from illegal mining.

Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, made the call in a statement presented at a press conference at the organisation’s office in Accra.

The statement, jointly endorsed by A Rocha Ghana, Eco Conscious Citizens and the Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape, said the forest was at a critical tipping point and could be lost if decisive measures were not taken immediately.

According to the groups, Atewa Forest was gazetted as a protected reserve on January 5, 1926, by the Okyeman State Council under the leadership of Nana Sir Ofori Atta I. They said the decision, taken a century ago, was intended to protect the forest and its water resources for future generations.

“Atewa is under an unprecedented and escalating attack from illegal mining, while the institutions mandated to protect it are increasingly overwhelmed,” the statement said.

Threat to water security

The groups said Atewa was not an ordinary forest, describing it as a critical national and global ecological asset. The reserve covers approximately 26,300 hectares and rises to more than 800 metres above sea level. It accounts for about 33.5 per cent of the remaining closed forest in Ghana’s Eastern Region and is recognised as a Key Biodiversity Area.

The organisations said the forest formed the headwaters of the Ayensu, Densu and Birim rivers, as well as more than 99 streams, providing water to millions of Ghanaians.

They warned that continued destruction of the forest through illegal mining could therefore pose a serious threat to the country’s water security.

The statement further said Atewa supported 239 bird species, 69 mammals, 40 amphibians and 14 reptiles, including at least 78 species threatened with global extinction. It also hosts an estimated 711 butterfly species, representing about 77 per cent of all butterfly species recorded in Ghana.

Illegal mining

A Rocha Ghana and its partners said recent evidence from illegal mining hotspots within the reserve showed extensive excavation, destruction of forest cover, polluted streams, makeshift mining camps and abandoned equipment.

They cited activities around the Wankobi Stream headwaters as evidence that illegal mining remained an ongoing threat to the forest.

The groups also expressed concern about the prosecution of illegal miners arrested in the reserve, saying court records from the Kyebi Forest District showed several cases had experienced repeated adjournments and bail.

They, however, acknowledged some successful prosecutions, including a case in which a suspect was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and another in which three suspects who pleaded guilty were sentenced to 15 years with hard labour.

Security concerns

The statement also cited a March 2, 2026 letter from the Kyebi Forest District Manager, Owusu Ameyaw, to the Abuakwa South Municipal Chief Executive, which reportedly warned of an influx of illegal miners into the Sagyimase/Asikam portion of the reserve.

According to the organisations, about 60 people had been arrested in that area, yet illegal mining continued.

They further alleged that an operation involving 55 police officers on February 20, 2026, was compromised by an apparent leak of information, resulting in only five arrests.

The statement said illegal miners had also become increasingly “aggressive and combative”, with two forest guards allegedly held hostage before being rescued by police reinforcements.

The groups said recent operations by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) had resulted in several arrests and the seizure or destruction of equipment, including excavators, drilling machines, dynamite, generators and water pumps.They said weapons and other items had also been seized during some of the operations.

Economic potential

A Rocha Ghana and its partners argued that protecting Atewa as a national park could provide greater long-term economic benefits than mining.

They cited a 2016 study which, they said, estimated that effective protection of Atewa through national park status and restoration of surrounding areas could generate economic value of about US$1.157 billion over 30 years.

They said non-timber forest products generated an estimated US$12.4 million annually for 40 forest-fringe settlements, while tourism had the potential to generate more than US$5 million per year.

The groups also proposed a broader “Transformational Development Agenda for Atewa National Park”, which would focus on eco-tourism, agroforestry, climate finance, green value chains and restoration of degraded mining areas.

They said the initiative could create thousands of jobs and support industries including cocoa processing and the development of value chains for products such as Afromomum, Voacanga, bitter kola, Griffonia and avocado.

Call for national park status

The organisations said the government’s commitment to convert Atewa into a National Eco-Tourism Park, contained in the 2016 manifesto, remained unfulfilled.

They therefore called on President John Mahama, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Forestry Commission, Ghana Police Service, NAIMOS, the Attorney-General and other relevant institutions to immediately grant the forest national park status.

They also called for all plans for bauxite mining in the forest to be rescinded. Among other demands, the groups want a permanent and adequately resourced joint security task force deployed to protect the entire reserve, improved logistics for the Forestry Commission, and expedited prosecution of illegal mining cases.

They further called for investigations into alleged information leakages and official complicity in illegal mining activities, with sanctions against officials found culpable.

The groups urged the government to work closely with the Okyenhene and communities in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, stressing that local communities should be treated as partners in protecting the forest.

“One hundred years ago, our forebears made a choice. They chose to protect Atewa not for themselves, but for us,” the statement said.

The organisations said the government still had an opportunity to protect the forest and leave a legacy that future generations would appreciate.

“Atewa is the test of our collective resolve,” they said, warning that the destruction of the forest threatened clean water, clean air, biodiversity and Ghana’s long-term environmental security.

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