‘Major manufacturing companies oppose mining in Atewa Forest, Ghana’ 3 February 2021

Three global manufacturing companies—BMW Group, Tetra Pak and Schüco International—have signaled concern over the use of bauxite sourced from Ghana’s Atewa Forest for aluminium, stating that they would be unwilling to accept these supply chains due to the catastrophic and irreversible effects on the people and wildlife that depend on the forest. Atewa Forest is a Key Biodiversity Area teeming with thousands of species, and a source of clean drinking water for more than 5 million Ghanaians. “Saving Atewa Forest from mining should be an inter-generational priority, and we are happy and grateful that big businesses in the aluminium value chain understand the importance of a healthy forest and the environmental services it provides,” said Oteng Adjei, president of the Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape (CCAL), the grassroots movement advocating against bauxite mining in Atewa Forest and the recipient of letters from all three companies. “We appreciate their commitment to supporting local and international efforts to secure Atewa Forest against bauxite mining that is certain to destroy the forest, its water services and biodiversity.”

…In late 2016, the Ghanaian government initiated plans to mine bauxite found beneath Atewa Forest as part of a financial deal with China. Extracting bauxite in Atewa would require ‘strip mining’ where the whole surface layer of soil is removed. This means a total loss of the forest in the mined areas, along with all the biodiversity it contains. In 2019, bulldozers started to clear trees and create access roads in Atewa Forest, even after a number of international groups, led by A Rocha, and local groups, now led by CCAL, had spent years urging the government to protect Atewa Forest in perpetuity by converting it into a national park…In 2016, A Rocha and partners published a report that showed that protecting Atewa Forest as a national park and a buffer area around it—rather than mining it for bauxite—actually had the highest economic value for the country over 25 years, with tremendous benefits to communities both upstream and down.

“Major multinationals listening to the voices of communities and publicly throwing their economic weight behind the campaign to protect Atewa Forest is a very welcome step because tackling nature loss is everyone’s business,” said Alice Ruhweza, WWF Africa Region Director. “Hopefully, more companies will quickly follow suit, helping to safeguard Atewa and sending a clear message that parts of our natural world are too priceless to be destroyed for short term profit.”