The Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) has described the harm illegal mining is causing to the environment as environmental genocide. GAWU said illegal mining, known locally as galamsey kills so many organisms daily.
According to GAWU, apart from the many organisms killed and the harm done to the ecosystem, the hikes in food prices are due to galamsey activities on the rich lands which produce foodstuffs.
“The river bands are not encroached on by farmers but by galamseyers and they even go into the middle of the river to mount their equipment. To loot everything and kill aquatic life. I am saying we are committing environmental genocide because when we go to those areas we go with our sachet and bottled water which we call mineral water and drink. What about our friends the insects, the grasshoppers, the snakes and other living organisms that go to the river to drink?” Edward Kareweh questioned.
Mr Kareweh said just like the polluted water would harm any person who drinks it, the living organisms that depend on it for survival suffer the same consequence.
“When they drink that water they will die just like when we drink that water we will die. So we are killing them permanently and we are also destroying the forest which used to be good habitant. So it’s just the environmental genocide we are committing and that will bite all of us back,” Mr Kareweh lamented on Starr FM’s Morning Show.
The GAWU General Secretary added that even people are feeling the effects especially those who live around those areas where galamsey is extensive. He said the situation has left farmers hopeless as they can neither expand nor maintain their existing lands due to evasive galamsey activities.
“The recent findings show that children around those areas are born with unusual deformities. If you look at the plantations that are around they are encroaching on them. Farmers need fresh land to add more acres so that they can expand. This time they don’t have the opportunity to expand but even the existing land size that they are being encroached by galamsey.”