Natural Resource Governance, Illegal Artisanal Mining, and Communal Dispossession: Assessing Environmental Insecurity in Rural Ghana

Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies | Vol. 16, No. 8, August 2026 | pp. 127–135

DOI: 10.46882/2026/GJPCS/160808

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: Natural Resource Governance, Illegal Artisanal Mining, and Communal Dispossession: Assessing Environmental Insecurity in Rural Ghana

Names of Authors: Kofi Kwakwa¹, Blessing N. Udofia²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana; ²Center for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract:
This paper investigates the accelerating proliferation of unregulated, illegal artisanal gold mining (galamsey) operations across rural southwestern Ghana, exploring the structural nexus between environmental degradation, institutional corruption, and localized communal conflict up to mid-2026. Utilizing a political ecology analytical framework coupled with GIS river basin mapping and household economic surveys across Ashanti and Western regions, we analyze the breakdown of traditional land conservation governance. The empirical evidence demonstrates that the influx of foreign capital and the systematic deployment of heavy machinery have contaminated critical transboundary alluvial river systems with toxic mercury residues, eliminating local smallholder farming livelihoods. Quantitative metrics establish that agrarian districts characterized by high densities of unregulated mining concessions experience a 45% reduction in portable water safety indices and a marked rise in violent clashes between armed miners and indigenous farming associations over land access rights. The study highlights how national environmental regulatory enforcement frameworks remain severely compromised by institutional clientelism and a lack of resources within municipal monitoring task forces. We conclude that restoring regional ecological stability and preventing protracted rural conflict requires establishing decentralized, community-led mining monitoring units backed by transparent, independent judicial property dispute tribunals.

Keywords: Resource Governance; Artisanal Mining; Ghana; Environmental Insecurity; Alluvial Pollution; Tribal Grievances

Manuscript Timeline: Received: November 12, 2024; Revised: February 05, 2025; Accepted: May 12, 2025; Published: August 31, 2026

Citation: Kwakwa, K., & Udofia, B. N. (2026). Natural Resource Governance, Illegal Artisanal Mining, and Communal Dispossession: Assessing Environmental Insecurity in Rural Ghana. Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 16(8), 127–135. DOI: 10.46882/2026/GJPCS/160808

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