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Preamble
We, members of KASA, an umbrella body of 7 coalitions of natural resources related nongovernmental and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), having met at our 15th Annual

Review/General Meeting (AGM) from 3rd to 4th December, 2024, at Erata Hotel, East legon, Accra. and having considered and discussed some crucial issues under the theme “Confronting the Scourge of Illegal Mining: Required Policy Change and the Role of Political Commitment.”

Agreed on the following:

• Illegal mining contaminates water bodies, depletes fisheries, deforests lands, and destroys
  biodiversity.
• Incoherent laws, lack of enforcement, and weak policies exacerbate the problem.
• Mining disrupts livelihoods, causes land dispossession, and compromises health due to
  pollution.
• Illegal mining activities provide a conduit for illicit financial flows and financing of serious
  organized crime

Recognizing the devastating impacts of illegal mining on Ghana’s natural resources including, water bodies, fisheries, land, Forestry and Biodiversity, environment and sustainable development at large, and acknowledging the urgent need for policy reform and unwavering political commitment to address these challenges, we highlight the following recommendations and policy actions:

Forestry

• The government should complete the revocation process for LI 2462 and revoke all existing mining concessions in forest reserves.
• All forest reserves in Ghana should be no-go areas for all forms of mining in Ghana • There should be synergies and alignment between state agencies in terms of their policies, laws and strategies.
• The state should pursue a national forest restoration program on and off-reserve that hinges on a comprehensive assessment of all mining degraded areas in Ghana
• The government should implement an extractive sector approach that moves from surface mining to deep shaft/underground mining.
• The Minerals Commission should ensure transparent and accountable allocation of mining concessions for all forms of mining in Ghana.
• Ghana should implement a traceable gold value chain to ensure full recovery of revenues to the state and also address environmental impacts.

Fisheries

• We call for a comprehensive assessment of fisheries resources to provide data of the impact of illegal gold mining on fisheries and the level of contamination.
• We demand strict enforcement of no mining in water bodies and other fisheries habitats.
• We recommend water and land rehabilitation to remove contaminants from illegal mining, including heavy metals, etc., to reduce the impact on fisheries resources.
• We recommend installing a river monitoring system for water quality to assess pollution from mining and improve collaboration to achieve SDG 14 target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

Land

• Repeal the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) on surface mining to save the land and environment.
• Provide legal aid to community members whose land rights have been violated, including displaced farmers in mining communities.
• The Land Commission should put structures in place to bring awareness on documentation to the doorstep of the community people.
• The State should be circumspect in the exercise of its discretionary powers on compulsory acquisition of land and increase efforts to streamline the operations of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining

Water and Sanitation

• Develop a shadow report on the issue of water pollution in Ghana and its effects on health, livelihoods and share it with the UN Special Rapportuer on human rights and Environment.
• Fast-track the development/ establishment of the LI to turn the buffer zone policy into law and ensure its full implementation to improve the protection of water bodies.
• Increase funding to regulatory institutions including the Water Resources Commission, Environmental protection Agency, Minerals Commission, etc to improve the protection of water bodies from illegal mining activities.
• Strict Enforcement of Mining and Environmental Laws: Strengthen and enforce mining regulations to promote sustainable practices and curb illegal mining activities. Empower relevant agencies and law enforcement agencies to dismantle illegal operations, arrest and prosecute offenders, and confiscate equipment.
• Long-Term Environmental Protection and Reforestation: Implement a national reforestation plan to restore lands degraded by illegal mining, helping to restore the environment and create green jobs for affected communities. Protection of Water Treatment Facilities: Safeguard water treatment facilities from illegal mining encroachment and support GWCL in maintaining potable water supply, with additional funding for upgrading treatment capacity

Mining

• Repeal of the LI 2462 i.e. Mining in Forest Reserves
• Speed up the revision and implementation of the Minerals and Mining Act 703 to make it consistent with the current trend in the industry.
• Increase efforts to streamline the operations of Artisanal Small-scale Mining within the lifecycle of the mine (prospecting, licensing, reclamation, etc)
• Strict enforcement of the existing laws on illegal mining
• Speed the provision of site-specific geological data to Small Scale miners to curb the destruction of the environment and access to finance.
• Facilitate access to credit and appropriate technology to eliminate the incidence of informal arrangements between foreign nationals and Ghanaian miners which fuel gold smuggling and illicit financial flows.
• Convert the 1.5% Withholding tax on unprocessed minerals to mineral royalty to ensure a return of a portion of the revenue to deal with the development challenges imposed by mining and to help sustain the fight against galamsey.

Oil and Gas

• A regulated fuel supply regime to small scale mining must be introduced – through permit to address the prevailing uncontrolled and unregulated systems of supply. Therefore, the practice of petroleum product sales – in drums, jerry cans, and other large containers must be prohibited, unless the buyer produces a special permit from the relevant state agency – Minerals Commission
• An effective monitoring system including undercover surveillance, and deterrent sanctions must be in place to consolidate the above.
• Illegal mining operations must be banned and criminalized.
• The tax and revenue sharing regime governing small-scale mining must be reviewed to improve benefit to mining communities.
• Deliberate efforts must be made to leverage petroleum revenues to finance the Energy Transition in ways that ensures a mining sector that is less reliant on fossil energy.

Climate Change & Environment

• A robust legislation must be enacted and enforced to protect specific areas from destruction. If such laws exist, they must be effectively enforced, with offenders prosecuted per the law.
• Farmers and communities should be protected against the effects of Galamsey through innovative mechanisms including climate finance, and agricultural insurance.
• Enhanced and continued public education and awareness of the effects of Galamsey using new and current evidence available to us.
• We should implement Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) in community and stakeholders’ engagement processes.
• The use of context specific approaches to land restoration should be put in place with  consideration to the local community needs and wellbeing.

Preamble
We, representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), media and ecosystem actors on the environment and gender sectors in Northern Ghana, having participated in a workshop organised by CARE International under the auspices of KASA Initiative on Monday and Tuesday, the 23rd and 24th of August 2022;

Excited about the GCF Grant to implement the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project; the establishment of a project management office in Tamale and the willingness of the Project Management Team to make information available that fosters transparency, accountability and gender inclusion.

Happy about the joint partnership framework between state and non-state actors, establishment of collaboration and coordination mechanisms as part the implementation of the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project Management

Enthused about the equal representation and employment of women and men in the project management team that reflects the gender diversity and social inclusion dimensions of the zone of influence;

Concerned about the delayed implementation of the project interventions which have the potential to impact on the outcomes

Disturbed about the risk of over centralization of the project management functions in Accra as evidenced in Sign Post of the project in Tamale bearing the address and contact details of officers in Accra even though the project management team is located in Tamale

Unsure of the commitment and readiness of the project team to implement a gender responsive Action Plan that strengthens participation of women, men and minorities;

Affirming that the growing deforestation and removal of tree spices renders in turn agricultural landscapes increasingly prone to desertification and land degradation which are exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Desertification, climate variability and food security are closely linked through drought, land cover changes, and climate and biological feedbacks.

Recognising that Urgent Action need to be taken now to restore the landscape and shea trees which will in parallel improve social and environmental resilience and provide real economic benefits for inhabitants.

Concerned that the loss of forest cover results in a more abundant growth of grasses, which, in turn, result in more intense fires in the dry season, frequently causing further degradation and deforestation and preventing regeneration of forest areas already impacted by other drivers. It is estimated that; 1,058,492 hectares have been deforested resulting in emissions of 3,568,400 tCO2e per year

Encouraged by the commitment of the ‘Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project’ management team in reaching-out to stakeholders, securing their buy-in to support efforts that enhance forest carbon stocks across the landscape by 1) restoring 200,000 hectares of off-reserve savannah forests/woodlands and place them under self-financing community management in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA); 2) restoring 100,000 hectares of degraded shea parklands; 3) creating 25,500 hectares of modified taungya system/forest plantation in severely degraded forest reserves, and; 4) implementing an integrated monitoring system and completing the national REDD+ architecture for safeguards, forest monitoring and reporting systems. See Table 1 below for a summary of interventions and impacts.

Determined to advocate for and demand transparency, accountability and performance of the ‘Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone;

Hereby Recommend as Follows:

1. The Project Management Team Must commit to participatory monitoring and evaluation frameworks involving civil society, beneficiary communities, women and youth groups
2. The Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project Management Team Must ensure effective and efficient media engagement particularly in the project implementation zones so as to ensure effective communication and dissemination of information
3. The project management team must put in place an effective and efficient communication strategy and plan. Project sites and office locations must be properly designated with published contact details of the project directed to officers in the zone of influence (Tamale)
4. We recommend that the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project Management Team Must Ensure that planting of tree seedlings must not lead to felling of indigenous tree species.
5. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including women’s groups and those working around climate change issues Must continue to play a crucial role in advocating for transparency, accountability and performance at every stage of the project interventions. The Coalition of CSOs in the Northern Sector under the auspices of the KASA Initiative Ghana commits to monitor, generated evidence and champion advocacy actions that ensures transparency, accountability and performance.
6. The media should disseminate information and education on the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project’ and make efforts to translate information into the local Ghanaian languages.

Issued On: Tuesday 24th, 2022