The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is contesting the 300-year timeline suggested by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for the restoration of lands degraded by illegal mining.

Executive Director of EPA, John Kingsley Kurugu expressed confidence that ongoing reclamation efforts by government agencies will significantly shorten the restoration period.

Mr Kurugu’s remarks follow warnings by Dr Albert Kobina Mensa, a research scientist at the CSIR Soil Research Institute, who stated on JoyNews’ Newsfile on October 12 that chemicals such as mercury and cyanide used in illegal mining have heavily polluted farmlands.

Dr Mensa explained that although some degraded areas could be repurposed for forestry, full soil restoration poses a serious challenge.

“We’ve done calculations using phytoremediation techniques to determine how long it would take to remediate these chemicals, and the results indicate over 300 years,” Dr. Mensa revealed, cautioning that the environmental situation could worsen without immediate action.

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Mr Kurugu, however, insisted that the current reclamation programmes, supported by a $103.6 million budget, will expedite the restoration process if sustained by future administrations.

“The funds are not only for reclamation but also support formalization efforts at the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to ensure proper geological investigations.

“If the initiative continues under the next administration, I am confident it won’t take three centuries to restore the ecosystem.”

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Despite the EPA’s stance, Dr Mensa maintains that his 300-year projection is accurate, emphasizing that soil formation itself can take 500 to 1,000 years.

“This one which I mentioned - the 300 years has to do with toxic elements which is zinc and the calculation actually shows more than 300 years.”