President John Dramani Mahama has announced a GH¢400 million allocation in the 2027 budget to support land reclamation and environmental protection efforts across the country.

Under the plan, GH¢200 million will be used to reclaim 5,000 acres of land degraded by illegal mining, known as galamsey. The remaining GH¢200 million will fund the activities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Blue Water Guards.

President Mahama made the announcement at the opening of the Mining in Motion 2026 Summit in Accra on Monday, October 19, 2026, where he said the reclamation exercise would commence in 2027.

“The planned reclamation exercise comes amid ongoing efforts by the government and mining companies to restore lands degraded by illegal mining. The damage caused by the activity nationwide is estimated at 12,000 acres,” President Mahama said.

The announcement comes as the government intensifies efforts to restore areas damaged by illegal mining. On October 14, 2026, the government and the Asantehene launched the Jimi Land Reclamation and River Watercourse Rehabilitation Project, which seeks to restore 153 hectares of degraded land upstream of the Jimi Dam in the Ashanti Region.

At the summit, the President also highlighted reclamation projects undertaken by mining companies and state institutions.

He said Newmont had restored nearly 800 acres of mined-out land and planted useful crops on the reclaimed areas. He added that the Ghana Gold Board had contracted the Ghana Armed Forces to reclaim 253 acres in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, with work already underway.

Addressing illegal mining in forest reserves, President Mahama said miners had encroached on 48 of the country’s 288 reserves.

He noted that nine of the affected reserves had previously been classified as red zones after armed miners prevented forest guards from entering. All nine reserves had since been cleared of illegal miners and were being prepared for reclamation, he said.

The President also disclosed that authorities had confiscated more than 8,200 items linked to illegal mining, including 135 excavators, and recovered nearly 200 firearms.

He said 6,060 excavators had been registered and detained at the ports, while tracking devices had been installed on 2,059 excavators to help monitor their movements and use.

According to President Mahama, 11 cooperatives had also been trained in improved mining techniques and were operational.

He added that the Ghana Gold Board was financing small-scale artisanal mining with technology intended to minimise environmental damage.

In a related initiative, the President announced a reforestation programme being undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in partnership with the REDD+ programme. The programme is expected to cover several parts of Ghana, including the Savannah regions.