The Generalized Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI) is a modification of the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which has been proposed by Weicheng Wu (2014) for the assessment of dryland environments due to the inadequacy of the NDVI in these areas. The Generalised Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI) 2010 presents a wider outlook of the environmental effects of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining (galamsey) in the Northwest region of Ghana. However, vegetation displacement in the area cannot entirely be attributed to galamsey. There has been a fast urban growth that is leading to vegetation clearance. The question is, can the trends of urban growth and vegetation depletion be associated to illegal mining? These are some of the scientific questions that these data will help to address. This notwithstanding, how could the looming large-scale gold mining excerbate the observed trends of environmental and land cover change in the Northwest region of Ghana? These data help to address all these relevant questions. EPSG:3857