The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has warned that it could take up to 300 years to restore soil quality damaged by illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
Dr. Albert Kobina Mensa, a research scientist at the CSIR Soil Research Institute, highlighted that the chemicals and heavy metals used in illegal mining such as mercury and cyanide have severely contaminated farmlands across the country.
Dr. Mensa explained that while degraded lands could be repurposed for forestry, achieving full soil restoration poses a greater challenge.
Calculations conducted by the institute using phytoremediation techniques—where plants extract harmful substances—indicate that natural recovery may take over three centuries.
“As a matter of fact, there is a calculation that some of us have done and we wanted to see how many years it would take for the soil to restore to its natural state and we were trying to use some which the process is called phytoremediation techniques to see how it is going to remediate the chemicals from the soil and the calculation shows more than 300 years,” he revealed.
He emphasized that the environmental crisis could escalate if immediate action is not taken to address the damage.
On his part , Dr. Bright Boafo Boamah, a toxicologist, noted that restoring water bodies contaminated by galamsey could take between 10 to 15 years.
However, he cautioned that even with prompt intervention, the ecological recovery of rivers and streams is a complex process that necessitates ongoing monitoring and remediation efforts.
Dr. Boamah also warned of significant health risks due to toxic exposure affecting both humans and wildlife.
He urged the government to enforce strict environmental regulations and implement sustainable solutions to prevent further degradation of natural resources.