Save Ghana’s coastline before it is too late
Ghana’s coastline is more than a stretch of beautiful beaches. It is an economic asset, a source of food and livelihoods, a centre of tourism and an important part of the country’s blue economy.
That asset, however, is increasingly coming under pressure from activities taking place both along the coast and far inland.
The warning by Professor Ernest Amankwa Afrifa of the University of Cape Coast that the country risks losing its coastline and economic activities associated with the ocean should therefore not be dismissed as another environmental alarm.
He warned at the 20th Biennial Workshop of the Ghana Science Association that increasing saline and mining-related intrusion into coastal areas could worsen over the next 10 years, limiting the use of beaches and coastal zones for recreation and other economic activities unless urgent action was taken. This is a serious warning.
The connection between illegal mining and the coast may not always be obvious to people operating far from the sea. But rivers do not recognise district or regional boundaries.
Polluted water, sediments, plastics and other waste generated upstream can travel downstream into lagoons and eventually the sea.
The result is a chain of environmental damage whose consequences are felt by communities that may have nothing to do with mining.
The fisheries sector is already under pressure.
The President of the Ghana Science Association, Dr Selina Ama Saah, cited a decline of about 59 per cent in fish landings between 1993 and 2019, with environmental degradation, illegal mining, plastic pollution, climate change and unregulated fishing among the threats to the coastal ecosystem and livelihoods.
These developments should concern every Ghanaian.
For a country that is seeking to develop its blue economy, it would be contradictory to allow activities that destroy the very natural resources on which that economy depends.
The response must therefore go beyond occasional campaigns and statements.
The fight against illegal mining must be connected to the protection of rivers, wetlands, lagoons and the coastline.
Enforcement agencies must pursue polluters, while institutions responsible for water, fisheries, environmental protection and coastal management work together rather than in isolation.
There is also a need for stronger investment in scientific research and reliable environmental data. Scientists must be given the resources and institutional support required to track pollution, identify emerging threats and provide evidence for policy decisions.
Coastal communities must equally have a voice in protecting the resources on which their livelihoods depend.
The Ghanaian Times supports the Ghana Science Association’s call for stronger institutions, appropriate policies, investment in infrastructure and skilled human resources, as well as closer collaboration among government, academia, industry and coastal communities. But collaboration must produce action.
The warning that what happens far inland is gradually reaching the coast should serve as a wake-up call.
Ghana cannot continue to treat the destruction of its rivers as a separate issue from the degradation of its coastline.
The time to protect our shores is now. Government, traditional authorities, mining communities, scientists, businesses and citizens must all play their part in stopping pollution at its source.
If we fail to act, the cost will not simply be environmental. We will lose fish, jobs, tourism opportunities and livelihoods, and leave future generations to inherit a coastline that has been severely damaged.
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