The government has fully revoked Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which previously allowed the President to authorise mining activities in forest reserves.
The revocation took effect after the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Revocation Instrument, 2025, matured into law on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, following its presentation in Parliament by Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.
This decision is a key component of the government’s intensified campaign against illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey, aimed at protecting the country’s forest reserves and water bodies from further degradation.
L.I. 2462, formally known as the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2022, had been heavily criticised since its enactment under the previous administration.
Environmental activists, civil society organisations, and the public argued that it facilitated both legal and illegal mining in protected areas, exacerbating deforestation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Critics highlighted that the instrument removed earlier safeguards limiting mining to just 2% of the forest estate and granted excessive powers to approve operations in globally significant biodiversity areas.
The revocation fulfils a major campaign promise by President John Dramani Mahama and responds to years of sustained advocacy from groups such as A Rocha Ghana, Nature & Development Foundation, and the Media Coalition Against Galamsey.
With the repeal, no future president will have the authority to permit mining in forest reserves, effectively imposing a complete ban on such activities.
This repeal of the law is expected to restore stronger protections for Ghana’s forests, support ongoing efforts to reclaim degraded reserves, and bolster the national fight against galamsey through enhanced enforcement and policy measures.