For many in Wassa Agona and surrounding areas in the Western North Region, medical conditions like headaches, ringworm and scabies were mostly treated with the leaves of plants of Aubregrinia taiensis (Duatadwe kese).

Now, that practice is gradually fading, giving way to orthodox medicine such as creams and Antibiotics which come at a high cost and from unknown sources.

This is because Duatadwe kese and other important herbs are now uncommon to herbal practitioners including Nana Kojo Amanwkwa who uses it to formulate medicine for such medical conditions.

“Our rich vegetation where we harvest leaves and shrubs is being degraded each day by illegal mining. This is dangerous not only for us but the unborn generation,” says 68-year-old Amankwa.

To treat ringworms, for instance, he harvests the leaves of Duatadwe kese and blends them with a secret ingredient for them to be rubbed on the infected area morning and evening after bath.

That heals the condition within days, Nana Amankwa who began practising herbal medicine in his twenties, tells Ghana News Agency (GNA) during a visit.

Not only do humans benefit from that tree but its seed is a delicacy for elephants and other herbivores. That helps to disperse the seeds of this valuable but critically endangered tree.

Many locals of Wassa Agona are unhappy because they are now compelled to resort to buying orthodox medicine.

Naomi Achia, mother of five complains of the high cost of these medicines. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) does not cover the cost of some of these medications.

“We did not need to pay money to our herbalist for medicine. A fraction of our yield income goes into buying ointments, pain killers and other medication to keep our children healthy. It is taking a toll on my finances,” she says.

Why you must be concerned

Naomi and the community members are not the only groups losing out on using their preferred herbal medicines but many nationwide and beyond.

Experts say the use of medicinal plants is a known and acceptable practice common to all the regions and ethnic groups in Ghana.

More than half of Ghanaians who depend on traditional herbal medicine may soon not be able to access the medication they need to cure their health conditions because these plants are wild.

The profession of the likes of Nana Amankwa and his compatriots numbering over forty thousand is under threat by illegal mining.

“Why are people committing such a crime against nature, enriching themselves and threatening our very existence while our institutions look on.” Nana Kwadwo Obiri, General Secretary, Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) questions.

“We are in serious distress and have placed a ban on all herbal plants from Ashanti, Western and parts of Bono regions because they contain heavy metals like mercury and lead. They are destroying the potency and efficiency of our traditional medicine,” says Nana Obiri who has over three decades in herbal medicine practice.

Key plants, including Polina pinata, Astonia boonei and anguinolenta (Nyame dua) which have active ingredients that cure bones and fracture-related conditions, stroke and lung diseases as well as malaria are now ‘hard to get’.

“These are scarce now because of the continuous invasion of vegetation in Western, Eastern and Ashanti regions. They are so powerful that they are not heeding to the President of the country,” he said.

Experts well-versed in biodiversity issues say copious evidence and studies show that Ghana is fast losing very important herbal species through illegal mining; some are known and others are undiscovered.

Dr. James Oppong Amponsah, Research Scientist at the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana is convinced that some of these herbs will be needed to cure major medical conditions in years to come.

“Every single plant or animal in the ecosystem has an intrinsic and potential value we may not be aware of now. So, there are good reasons to ensure that we safeguard them for future generations,” he says.

“The architects of illegal mining have no idea or ignore the fact that 40 tree species in the country are classified as threatened; requiring urgent conservation interventions. Their actions will certainly push several more plants to the brink of extinction,” he says.

Interventions

The government, a few years back, instituted two initiatives called “Operation Halt”, a joint security operation to remove excavators, but the practice continues.

The community mining scheme, aimed at encouraging effective local community participation in small-scale mining has also not worked.

Seven out of the 16 regions of Ghana have been severely affected by illegal mining activities,” said the head of the Ghana Forestry Commission, Mr John Allotey.

About 34 out of 288 (forest) reserves have been affected,” he said, and the total area destroyed is estimated at 4,726 hectares (thus 236 of Old Trafford stadium - London).

Illegal mining activities have decreased the size of forests, polluted rivers and created deep pits that are difficult to rehabilitate, he adds.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo few days ago directed the establishment of an ad-hoc ministerial committee to engage stakeholders to assess the Government’s efforts in dealing with illegal mining in Ghana.

However, Dr Amponsah is very concerned about species like Duatadwe kese which is only found in Ghana may vanish if the remaining forests are not protected.

According to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Duatadwe kese is a critically endangered tree species with only 16 individual trees located in the Eastern Western North regions of Ghana where illegal mining is prevalent.

Dr. Amponsah notes that “Previous field surveys documented 15 trees in Ghana and 5 in Ivory Coast more than four decades ago. We started an intense search working with our co-researchers from Ivory Coast and in five years, few populations have been sighted in our forest reserves”.

“On our side, we found 13 individual trees, within the Wurobong South Forest reserve in Begro, Eastern region and three individuals in Bia-Tano Forest Reserve. Most of these sites are potentially under threat of illegal mining.”

So far, a team of researchers at CSIR-FORIG has raised 600 seedlings of the species for planting on conservation plots and some have been reintroduced into Ivory Coast.

Remarkably, some forest-fringe community members have been sensitized to identify and care for Duatadwe kese by CSIR-FORIG with the support of Botanical Garden Conservation International, an organisation based in the United Kingdom.

But for many herbs known and unknown we are racing against time to protect them.

While environmental organisations and herbal practitioners commend such efforts of preserving herbal materials, they are of the view that it must be upscaled.

For Professor Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, a Renowned Botanist, successive governments have failed to stamp out illegal mining, which is against local and international regulations such as the recent commitment to conserve 30 per cent forest crucial to biodiversity under the Montreal-Kunming Protocol.

The expert who has played a key role in international efforts to protect biodiversity is of the view that the recent local regulation that permits mining in Forest Reserves was an upfront to key biodiversity areas.

“All forms of surface mining must be banned for a holistic assessment and rethink of sustainable ways of mining,” he says.

Professor Yeboah is not the only one making the call but the trade unions, religious bodies and many want all surface mining banned.

Ghana needs to make an urgent decision; the choice between a flourishing environment that guarantees healthy flora and fauna and destruction of the environment for a few nuggets of gold.