"The green vegetation that was there before has been removed. There are hundreds of dead trees.
The forest's deep, lush, nutrient-rich soil has also been stripped away.
Between the piles of dug-up earth are deep gullies and holes that stand in their stead.
Excavators, Chanfan machines, and other environmental weapons of mass destruction were present in such ravines.
"There was no bird singing to warmly welcome one to the lush surroundings.
Instead, the noises of tree-cutter excavators and high-pitched Chanfan machines could be heard everywhere.
"This is what we saw when we arrived at the Oda River Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region's Amansie Central District in January. The Daily Graphic first documented the destruction of the 16,443-hectare forest reserve more than three years ago, but the situation is getting worse and worse.
Gullies have replaced most of the Oda River Forest Reserve in this area.
Report
The Oda River Forest Reserve is still being besieged by illegal miners, according to a report on the condition of the nation's forests that the Forestry Commission presented on May 2 of this year.
The study states that illegal miners destroyed 421.11 hectares of the forest reserve.
In the 3,500-hectare Apamprama forest, where illegal miners have destroyed 1,729.32 hectares (or 49.4%), this is the situation.
Additionally, deep gullies have been created on 87.21 hectares of the 2,300-acre Subin Shelterbelt Reserve. The data paint a bleak picture since they show that a total of 392,714.81 hectares of the 288 forest reserves in the nation have been seriously "impacted" by illicit mining activities, of which 4,726.26 hectares in 34 of the reserves have been confirmed as being destroyed.
Offin Shelterbelt and Asenanyo are two of these forest reserves. Others include Nueng South and Bonsa River in the Tarkwa Forest District in the Western Region, Atewa Range Extension and Atewa Range in the Kade and Kyebi Forest Districts in the Eastern Region, and Offin Shelterbelt and Asenanyo in the Nkawie Forest District in the Ashanti Region.
The galamsey operations in the Oda River, Apamprama, and Subin Shelterbelt forest reserves, according to John Allotey, CEO of the Forestry Commission, were "difficult to control" owing to an abundance of dangerous, armed illegal miners and excavators.
The investigation said that there were serious security concerns in the impacted regions because of the galamsey operators' employment of hired armed guards who were armed with high-tech assault rifles and other weapons, in addition to the extensive devastation of the forest landscape.
He said, "They operate at night and are trigger-happy, making it challenging for the FSD field team to cope with their actions.
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