The Western Regional Office of the Forestry Commission has proposed deploying armed security camps and surveillance technology to stop illegal miners returning to the Subri River Forest Reserve.
According to Ghana Business News, the Commission's Western Regional Manager, Nana Poku Bosompim, said the plan would combine armed rapid-response teams, surveillance systems and closer work among state security agencies.
Under the proposal, teams of about 13 armed officers would be stationed at illegal mining hotspots after clearance operations. The camps would have motorbikes, vehicles, CCTV cameras and Starlink internet connectivity.
More than 1,000 armed illegal miners are reported to be operating in the reserve, which spans more than 58,000 hectares and accounts for about 30 per cent of the Western Region's forest reserve area.
Nana Bosompim said enforcement had led to equipment being destroyed, arrests and prosecutions, and that degraded forest land had fallen from about 680 hectares to 282 hectares. He said the gains remained fragile because miners returned to cleared sites once security teams moved elsewhere.
"Something has been done, but I can also say we are nowhere near winning the fight," he said. No timeline or cost for the proposal was given in the report.