A study conducted by the Regional Health Directorate of Tumbes (DIRESA) between 2017 and 2018 detected concentrations of lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium above permitted standards, concluding the water was unfit for human consumption. Local residents say blood tests have shown heavy metal levels above normal ranges, while farmers report damage to crops and rejected exports. Communities are calling on authorities at all levels to prioritise access to safe drinking water, invest in treatment infrastructure and strengthen health monitoring.

“Ghana, Niger and Nigeria were chosen due to their varied ecological situations and climates, while all being in West Africa,” the report titled, ' From roots to rivers: How deforestation impacts freshwater access ' said.

Across the three West African countries, more than 122 million people, about 45% of the combined population, are currently at risk from unsafe surface water, the study estimates. The number of people facing high water risk has risen by over 20 million in the past five years.

“Across all three countries, the number of people exposed to this risk is increasing. This is especially significant in urban areas where, as well as the low-quality water supplies, there is a much higher demand,” the report stated.

In Niger and Nigeria , the loss of every 1,000 hectares (ha) of forest is correlated with an average loss of 9.25 ha of surface water, according to the analysis. Nigeria alone recorded 324,000 ha of vegetation loss over the study period, roughly equivalent to an area the size of the city of Birmingham each year, the report says.

The study noted, “The drivers of deforestation in the region are complex and intersect with issues of poverty, marginalisation and climate change. Unsustainable land use practices, particularly agriculture and charcoal harvesting, are key contributors to vegetation loss, often driven by poverty and food insecurity. Inadequate land tenure and forest protection laws, as well as governance models which exclude traditional rights holders, worsen the situation further.”

In Niger, 99.5% of available surface freshwater is judged to be at risk from sedimentation and poor quality, making it unsafe to drink directly, the report finds.

The report argues that forest and water policies should be designed together, rather than in isolation. It points to evidence from Niger suggesting that reforestation can help reverse losses, in areas where 101,000 ha were restored, every additional 1,000 ha of vegetation was associated with an 11.6 ha increase in available surface water.

What the data shows

Drawing on 12 years of satellite observations (2013 - 2025) across the three countries, researchers mapped changes in vegetation, rainfall and surface water . They found a measurable relationship between forest loss and freshwater decline in Niger and Nigeria, every 1,000 hectares of forest lost corresponded to an average loss of 9.25 hectares of surface water.

In Ghana, the headline problem is water quality rather than volume, forest loss is closely associated with murkier, more polluted surface water, complicating treatment and raising health risks. “In the past 12 years, Ghana has lost 24,800 hectares of vegetation, and Nigeria has lost 27,000 hectares per year. This is a huge risk for available freshwater. Whilst short-term increases in rainfall linked to climate change may hide the real impact of this deforestation, as in Ghana, in the long term, the water cycle has been pushed off kilter, and freshwater is at risk,” the research stated.

In Niger, despite a modest net gain of 101,000 hectares of vegetation over the study period, 99.5% of the country’s available surface freshwater is now at risk of sedimentation and poor quality. However, the report states that, “over the same period, Niger has gained 101,000 hectares of vegetation through planned reforestation work. This activity has helped reclaim freshwater, reversing this alarming trend. Each 1,000 hectares of vegetation gained in Niger contributes to an 11.6-hectare increase in available freshwater.”

In Nigeria, about 85.6 million people live in areas highly vulnerable to surface water loss linked to deforestation. The country lost roughly 324,000 hectares of vegetation (about the size of Birmingham per year) between 2013 and 2025. Again, in Ghana, with an estimated 298,000 hectares of vegetation lost, the principal challenge is deteriorating surface water quality. Rivers and reservoirs are increasingly burdened by sediment and pollutants, making treatment costlier and interruptions more frequent. 

The study further showed that unsafe water drives diarrhoeal disease, strains health systems, and erodes household incomes as families pay more for treatment and alternative sources.

Despite these strides, the campaign seems to have yielded little as environmental destruction worsens. Illegal miners now dig in the open with no fear of authority.

To counter this menace, President John Dramani Mahama's government has also put in motion an intense war by instituting the Goldbod, a body which is now in charge of everything gold and other precious minerals.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is also not sitting back and has equally rolled out a mining skills programme dubbed the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), to promote ethical mining.

On the journey to the outdooring of this initiative in Obuasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, eight precious souls lost their lives.

These eight, including the Minister of Defence, Edward Omane Boamah and the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, were killed in a military helicopter crash on August 6.

Major destruction from galamsey so far

Although illegal mining contributes over one-third of Ghana’s gold production, it costs the state approximately $2 billion annually in lost tax revenue.

Up to 60% of Ghana’s surface water sources, including key rivers like the Ankobra and Pra, are contaminated with hazardous levels of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals.

Additionally, polluted water has impaired the Ghana Water Company’s capacity by up to 75%, leading to possible reliance on expensive water imports by 2030.

More than 4,726 hectares of forest and riverine areas have been destroyed, affecting 34 out of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves. Over 190,000 acres of cocoa farmland have been lost, either seized by miners or degraded through encroachment.

Current reforms

President John Dramani Mahama, in April 2025, established the Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod) to regulate and check mining in the country.

Under the Goldbod Act, the body is the only powerful, centralised body mandated to oversee the entire gold value chain from licensing and assaying to buying, refining, and exporting gold. GoldBod replaces prior fragmentation to bring structure and control to the sector.

Under the reform, foreigners are barred from directly trading or purchasing gold domestically, and all gold trade must be conducted through GoldBod, in the Ghanaian cedi. This move aims to retain value within national channels and strengthen oversight

Additionally, the Act empowers GoldBod with enhanced monitoring, surveillance, increased penalties, and the establishment of specialised task forces to clamp down on illegal mining and gold smuggling. It also enforces stricter border controls and customs procedures.