Institutional Corruption and Green Crime in Rural Ghana

• In Event: Roundtable: Green Criminology & Crime Prevention

Abstract

This paper examines the nexus between institutional corruption and environmental crime in rural Ghana, with a focus on gold extraction. Employing a social and ecological disorganisation framework, it argues that the breakdown of governance structures and social institutions – exacerbated by colonial legacies and persistent legal dualism – has created enabling conditions for green crime. The deterioration of social cohesion and ecological integrity in rural communities is intensified by weak regulatory enforcement, pervasive corruption across both statutory and customary authorities, and the institutional incapacity of the state. Chinese companies, particularly those operating under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), exploit these disorganized contexts to engage in environmentally destructive extractive practices with limited accountability. These activities result in severe environmental degradation that disproportionately harms local populations. The alliance between multi-national actors and local elites further entrenches social and ecological disorganization by weakening local resistance and undermining collective governance. This paper underscores how structural constraints – such as conflicting statutory and customary land rights, jurisdictional overlap, and fragmented enforcement – undermine efforts to combat environmental crime. The erosion of local governance and traditional social networks creates fertile conditions for criminal enterprise and environmental exploitation.

Authors

• Raymond Appiah, University of Utah

• KuoRay Mao, Colorado State University