In Ghana, an illegal settlement turned a forest reserve into a criminal city

What began as an environmental violation has escalated into what many now describe as a full-blown national security crisis.

The shocking discovery of more than 10,000 people living illegally in the Subri Forest Reserve has laid bare the cracks in Ghana’s conservation systems and raised serious concerns about the country’s security and surveillance capabilities.

Once a lush expanse stretching from Takoradi through Wassa to Tarkwa, the Subri Forest Reserve is now ground zero for one of Ghana’s most complex and dangerous illegal settlements.

The Subri Forest, once a proud symbol of Ghana’s ecological wealth, has become a stark reminder of the state's weakening grip over its protected lands.

Residents were seen moving in furniture, refrigerators, and construction materials, clear signs that the forest had long become a permanent home for thousands.

"It's also a national security concern", said Awula Serwah, coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, who worried about the authorities' inability to know who the settlers truly are.

"Right now they are environmental terrorists, but what if it's Boko Haram or jihadists?", she said.

Experts are now demanding immediate action. "We need to have an commission of inquiry to find out how it is at all possible that [settlers] were there and supossedly undetected", said Serwah.

Unless urgent steps are taken, Ghana’s forests and national stability could continue to fall prey to deeper, darker threats.