A University of Cape Coast (UCC) Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Prof. Albert Ebo Duncan, has cautioned that rivers polluted by illegal mining may take up to 100 years to return to their original purity, while contaminated land could take as long as 300 years to recover.
He said galamsey had caused extensive pollution, introducing heavy metals and toxic processing chemicals into Ghana’s water bodies and soils and making natural recovery exceptionally slow.
Prof. Duncan made the remarks at an anti-galamsey public education forum in Praso, in the Central Region’s Twifo Atti-Morkwa District. The event brought together schoolchildren, miners and media practitioners.
“Even if galamsey stops today, contaminated water may take up to 100 years to return to a safe, clean state, while chemically degraded farmlands could remain unsuitable for full ecological and agricultural recovery for roughly 300 years,” he said.
Organised by UCC’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in partnership with the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), the forum is part of a two-month, house-to-house campaign to inform residents about the dangers of illegal mining.
Under the campaign, 16 trained young environmental advocates will work in groups to educate residents, especially their peers, about the risks of illegal mining. Selected teachers will assist them.
The initiative focuses particularly on pupils and students, aiming to encourage environmental responsibility, cleanliness and civic awareness.
Pupils also staged drama performances at the forum, showing how polluted water bodies affect agriculture, human health and national food security.
Prof. Duncan said that while clean-up and treatment efforts could start immediately, the natural processes needed to remove pollutants from water and break down toxic chemicals in soil were extremely slow.
He urged young people to avoid illegal mining and appealed to the government, traditional leaders, communities, and civil society organisations to help end the practice and safeguard Ghana’s water bodies and land.
