Conservation of wetland resources: Key to protecting coastal livelihoods
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Loading... - Martha Adu
- 09 Sep 2022
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Ankobra evokes the name of a popular river in the Western Region of Ghana. But Ankobra is also the name of a community in the same district where the river lies —the Ellembelle District. In fact, the community sits right on the banks of this popular river. Residents of this community are mainly farmers and fisherfolks.
Their proximity to the river has a lot to do with what they do. Aside from the farming and fishing however, there are also firewood harvesters. They harvest the firewood to sell to the fish processors in the community and adjourning coastal communities. The firewood is harvested from the mangrove forest that surrounds the community.
Mangroves harvesting and selling is one of the major occupations of the men in this area—it is a lucrative business—for it fetches them good money. Opanying Kweku Dua is one of the key mangrove harvesters in the community. He has been harvesting mangrove for more than two decades and does not waste any time to tell people about his unmatched experience in the business.
Just like the Biblical Paul, Opanyin Kweku Dua knows where to go to get his mangroves even when everyone is running short. This is a job he has mastered over the years. To put it simply, he is a ‘Mangrove Paul’. No mangrove tree sees him and continues to live—he will cut you down for firewood. With his many years of experience in mangroves harvesting, Opanyin Kweku Dua did not anticipate that a time will come when the population of the mangroves will dwindle so drastically, and make it difficult for him to get his regular income from this carbon absorber tree. Read More...
