Paper short abstract:

Illegal small-scale gold mining, known as Galamsey, is causing severe environmental damage and impacting communities in Ghana. Religious actors have been leading the fight against this menace. This paper explores how they define the crisis, their attitudes, and perspectives on how to address it.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of ‘crisis’ is a useful framework for understanding contemporary social changes, especially those related to climate and environmental issues. In Ghana, the problem of illegal small-scale gold mining, popularly known as galamsey, has become a significant crisis that has captured the attention of the media since 2017. This activity has led to severe environmental damage and has had a detrimental impact on the local communities. The gravity of this situation is such that the country may have to resort to importing water in the near future due to the contamination of many of its water sources with mercury. Additionally, galamsey has disrupted agricultural productivity, increased the spread of diseases, and resulted in a loss of revenue for the state. Despite the Ghanaian government’s efforts, including the establishment of designated courts, deployment of an anti-galamsey task force, and incentives for small-scale miners, the crisis remains unresolved. Religious institutions, including historic Protestant mission churches, Pentecostal-Charismatic churches, and their ecumenical organisations, have emerged as critical players in the fight against this crisis. They collaborated with a coalition of media houses and personalities to lead a popular advocacy campaign, #StopGalamsey, from 2017 to 2019. The campaign highlighted how religious actors create awareness, mobilise public opinion, and advocate policy changes to address the crisis. Based on data from fieldwork, this study delves into the ways in which these religious actors have defined the galamsey crisis, their attitudes towards it, and their perspectives on how to tackle the environmental crisis.