The Coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah, has issued a stirring call for urgent and uncompromising action to confront what she describes as "environmental terrorism", warning that the nation faces an existential threat unless a state of emergency is declared without delay.

The military on April 15, stormed and demolished a hidden settlement with a population of over 10,000 residents in the Western Region.

The "Abrewa Ne Nkran" community, which lacks basic social amenities and is not recorded in any official national documents, is said to have been established by both Ghanaians and foreign nationals involved in illegal gold mining activities in forest reserves in the enclave.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on Wednesday, April 16, Madam Serwah painted a grim portrait of the deepening environmental crisis, referring to the culprits as “environmental terrorists” and insisting that their activities warrant an immediate and coordinated intervention from every branch of the security services.

Read also: W/R: Military destroys hidden galamsey settlement of over 10,000 residents

“It’s essential that we put systems in place so that they don’t come back,” she said.

“We have said it all along — we face an existential threat. The environmental terrorists are behaving in such a way that you must declare a state of emergency,” she continued.

The plea follows what Madam Serwah described as encouraging developments the previous day, which she commended as a “step in the right direction.”

However, she cautioned that further delay would only allow the situation to worsen.

“The more we dilly-dally, the criminal conduct increases, and they entrench themselves more than before,” she warned.

Madam Awula further mentioned that the various security services should ensure that the illegal miners do not return to the forest reserves afterwards.

“So, we must immediately declare a state of emergency. If the armed forces, the navy, the air force have a clear mandate, then not only can we remove them — we can ensure they don’t come back,” she said.

Madam Serwah emphasised the need for a multi-pronged approach involving decisive leadership, military intervention, and systemic reform to permanently eradicate environmental destruction at its roots.

“We really need to understand that we face a very serious situation,” she said.

Madam Serwah stressed that the scale of destruction demands nothing short of urgent, coordinated, and sustained action across all levels of government.

“We can’t afford to dilly-dally — we really need to take the bull by its horns,” she noted.