Ghana's Wetlands and Ramsar sites under siege: need for urgent attention
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Loading... - Irene Afenynu
- 14 Sep 2022
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Most wetlands and ramsar sites in Ghana hosting mangroves that play key role in mitigating the impact of climate change and coastal flooding are under serious threat.
This is due to the long neglect of the conservation laws and overexploitation, as well as other human activities that interfere with the natural ecology.
A tour to some of the wetlands and mangrove sites in the Volta and Greater Accra regions revealed that the shrub trees, noted for collecting the highest emission of carbons even more than forests, are being “weeded away” while some of the sites are being filled up for human habitation.
People also cut the mangroves for firewood and other uses.
Importance
Ecologists have explained that: “Mangroves help regulate climate and that the carbon storage potential of mangroves is three to five times higher than that of tropical upland forest due to strong carbon storage in the soil.”
This explains why mangroves that grow effectively within wetlands help in the fight against climate change by storing higher amount of carbon than rainforests can.
Ghana currently has five coastal wetlands designated as ramsar sites with one inland wetland. In all, the wetlands constitute about 10 per cent of the country’s total land area of 23.9 million hectares.
They are the Anglo-Keta Lagoon Complex in the Volta region, the Densu Delta, Sakumo Lagoon and the Songor Lagoon in the Greater Accra region, the Muni Lagoon, in the Central and the Owabi lagoon in the Ashanti regions respectively.
Ramsar sites are wetland sites designated to be of international importance and are protected under strict guidelines of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which Ghana ratified in 1975.
Experts have argued that protecting and conserving mangroves are crucial for the climate resilience of the world’s coastlines are threatened like rising sea level, frequent and powerful storms and saltwater intrusion into drinking water.
Also, available data indicates that mangrove resources serve as a source of livelihood for 20 million people living near mangroves worldwide. Read More...
