Ghana And Her Great Wetlands
Ghana has been signatory to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty focusing on the conservation of wetland of international importance. Somebody may ask what wetlands are? Ramsar Convention describes wetlands as ? areas of marsh, fen, peat land or Water, whether natural or
artificial, permanent or temporal, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or slat, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres" in 1971. Wetland ecosystems in Ghana constitute about ten percent of the country?s total land surface. Based on the criteria of the Ramsar Convention, three main types of wetlands are identified in Ghana. These are marine/coastal, inland and man-made.
The marine/coastal wetlands are within the coastal zone of Ghana are mainly saltwater ecosystems. They are primarily associated with flood plains of estuaries of large rivers and watercourses. The major coastal wetlands or salt-water ecosystems are the Rocky marine shores at Senya Bereku and Cape Three Points, Estuarine water at Mouth of Volta, Pra, Ankobra and others.
Inland waters are mainly freshwater ecosystems. They occur wherever groundwater, surface springs, streams or run-off cause saturated soils, frequent flooding or create temporary and/or permanently shallow water bodies. Included are the following; Permanent river/stream at Densu, Afram, Oti and Ankobra
;Permanent freshwater at lake Bosumtwi; Freshwater swamp forest at Amansuri ;Freshwater marshes at Black, Red and White Volta.
The Ramsar Convention also recognises four categories of man-made or artificial
wetlands. These are wetlands constructed for aquaculture, agriculture, salt exploitation, water storage and urban/industrial purposes. In Ghana, these are exemplified as follows; Irrigated land at Tono, Vea, Dawhenya , Anum Valley; Salt Pans at Elmina Salt Pans, Songor, Densu Delta; Reservoirs at Volta Lake, Kpong head pond, Brimsu reservoir; Urban/Industrial at Tema Sewerage Treatment Plant.
Wetland being a blessing brings many benefit to human and animals, wetlands servers as habitat for high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates species. Thousands of waterfowl, many of them migratory, visit Ghana during the northern winter. About 60% of all fish catches from the sea spawn in coastal wetlands. The west African Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei), thought to be extinct in West Africa, has been discovered recently in the Volta Delta.
Wetlands have the ability to purify and retain large volumes of water, wetlands provide clean and reliable sources of water for human consumption, agriculture and industry. Many rivers flow throughout the year because the wetlands, like our rain forest, release their stored water slowly into them, thus extending the period when water is available in dryer times. Wetlands are, therefore, important in maintaining perennial rivers and streams.
The demand for products and ecological functions of wetlands determines the level of their exploitation. Mainly, human pressures engineered by over-exploitation, drainage, conversion, pollution and other conflicting land-use practices threaten many wetlands in Ghana. Construction of dams, dykes and sea walls for the regulation of water supply deprives many downstream wetlands of their normal water regimes. For example, the construction of dams on the White Volta in Burkina Faso is perceived to be the cause of the dropping water levels in the Volta Dam at Akosombo; the construction of the Akosombo Dam has also drastically reduced the water availability to the downstream communities, disrupting the livelihood of local communities dependent on valuable fisheries productivity and water supply systems.
Several opportunities exist for the management and conservation of wetlands in Ghana. These stem from the sectorial policies, traditional management practises and available scientific knowledge that have encouraged both utilisation and conservation of wetlands. A strong traditional base for protection of wetlands through indigenous management systems exists in Ghana. Most wetlands and their resources have protected and regulated in the past through varied traditional practices, depending on the beliefs of the traditional area that claims ownership. These traditional practices involve customary laws or taboos, which determine rights to land and resource use. They include the enforcement of sanctions for violation by the responsible authority. Traditional management practices, which underscore socio-cultural values, are accepted as means of regulating the utilisation of wetland resources. Practices, such as the ban on fishing in the Sakumo lagoon, are important in ensuring that fish in water bodies would grow to maturity and breed effectively. Traditionally, every river, lagoon or special water body has a god or goddess with its set of unique regulations. Though these rules and regulations are steeped in traditions, their effect is to control resource use and are generally observed by local populations.
Also, Several national policies and legislation affect wetlands. These pieces of legislation are scattered throughout the statute books, and though outmoded and failing to address adequately the problem of wetlands in their entirety, do provide a starting point for the formulation of appropriate laws. Such policies and laws include the Fisheries Decree (1972), the Land Policy, the Water Resources Act, Ghana Vision 2020 and the Decentralisation Policy.
Lastly, The protection and conservation of wetlands resources involve a number of activities. These include data collection, monitoring, standard setting and execution of projects and programmes. They are carried out by a number of government and non-governmental institutions including: Wildlife Department, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), District and Metropolitan Assemblies, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Survey and Meteorological Services Department, Ministry of Lands and Forestry, Forestry Department, Universities, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as well as NGOs. One major initiative is the proposed establishment of the Centre for African Wetlands Management; an institution to be located in Ghana, which will co-ordinate wetlands research for the West African sub-region. These major work and others are what Ghana is doing to protect her amazing wetland to maintain her ecological, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values of wetlands.