Can Ghana Save Its Forests Without Sacrificing Its Gold? The battle over Draw River Forest Reserve has become more than a dispute over one mining lease.

It is now a test of whether Ghana can balance economic growth, environmental protection and public trust.

For more than seven decades, the Draw River Forest Reserve has stood as one of Ghana's important protected ecosystems.

Located at Gwira Banso in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region, the reserve is known for its rich biodiversity, old-growth trees, wildlife and ecological value. To residents and environmental campaigners, it is not just a forest. It is a natural inheritance.

Today, that inheritance is under pressure.

A mining lease granted to Betterland Ghana Limited for large-scale gold mining has reignited anger among residents, traditional leaders and environmental activists, who say the decision threatens one of Ghana's remaining valuable forest reserves.

According to documents cited by The Archives newspaper, the lease was granted in May 2023 under the previous administration and executed by former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor. It is expected to run from May 10, 2023, to May 9, 2033.

The concession reportedly covers about 62.12 square kilometres, representing approximately 295 mining blocks.

Company representatives are said to have argued that the concession lies on the periphery of the reserve, not within its core. But environmental activists reject that explanation, arguing that land connected to a protected forest cannot be treated as ordinary mining territory.

For them, the issue is simple: once a forest reserve is opened to mining, the damage may outlive the gold.

A community pushes back

Residents say opposition to the concession is not new.

According to the report, Gwira elders challenged the matter in court in 2024, a move that slowed the project. But residents now claim the company has returned to the area, erected signposts and begun preparations for full-scale operations.

That has deepened local suspicion.

Some community members are asking why the lease remains active under the current administration, especially after public assurances about protecting forest reserves and the revocation of L.I. 2462, which had become central to Ghana's national debate over mining in protected areas.

For them, Draw River has become a test of trust.

If government says forests must be protected, they argue, then Draw River should not be sacrificed.

## The illegal mining problem

The controversy is even more serious because Draw River is already under pressure from illegal mining.

Across Ghana, galamsey has destroyed water bodies, stripped forest cover and left communities facing polluted rivers and degraded farmlands. In forest reserves, the damage is even more dangerous because these areas are supposed to serve as ecological shields.

This means Draw River is now facing two threats at once: illegal miners operating outside the law, and a licensed concession that opponents say could legitimise further pressure on the reserve.

That is why the story has moved beyond one company.

It has become a national question.

Can Ghana fight illegal mining while allowing large-scale mining near or within sensitive forest landscapes?

The economics of extraction

Ghana's dilemma is real.

Gold remains one of the country's most important exports. Mining creates jobs, generates revenue and supports local and national economies. For a developing country facing pressure to grow, attract investment and create employment, mineral wealth cannot simply be ignored.

But forests also carry economic value, even if that value is not always priced on a balance sheet.

Forests protect rivers. They regulate rainfall. They store carbon. They support farming communities. They preserve wildlife. They protect future generations from environmental collapse.

The real debate, therefore, is not whether gold has value.

It is whether Ghana has properly valued the forest.

## A test for the Mahama administration

For President John Mahama's administration, Draw River could become an important environmental credibility test.

Residents and activists are not only asking how the lease was granted. They are asking why it still stands.

Environmental advocate Elizabeth Vaah, Convener of the Ghana Environmental Advocacy Group, has warned that Betterland Ghana must not be allowed to mine the Draw River Forest Reserve, arguing that allocating such a large area linked to the reserve cannot be dismissed as a peripheral matter.

Residents are now preparing petitions and demonstrations to pressure government to reverse the decision.

Their message is direct: Draw River must not be betrayed.

Bigger than Ghana

Across Africa, governments face a similar challenge.

From gold and bauxite to lithium and cobalt, the continent holds minerals the world wants. These resources can help fund development. But they can also leave behind polluted rivers, displaced communities and destroyed ecosystems when extraction is poorly managed.

Draw River is therefore not only a Ghanaian story.

It is an African story.

It asks whether resource-rich countries can build wealth without destroying the natural systems that sustain their people.

The choice ahead

The battle over Draw River Forest Reserve is no longer just a dispute over one mining lease.

It is about policy consistency.

It is about public trust.

It is about whether protected areas are truly protected.

And it is about whether Ghana can pursue gold without losing the forests that make life possible.

For residents of Gwira Banso and environmental activists, the answer is clear: some places must be placed beyond the reach of mining.

For government, the decision ahead may define more than the future of one forest.

It may define how seriously Ghana takes its own promise to protect what remains.