The concerned residents of the Tse Addo (East La) Community; Social & Scientific Research for Development (SSRD-Global);  and concerned citizens of La and Ghana are calling on His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, the Minister of Lands & Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency and the La Dade Kotopon Municipal Assembly to immediately STOP the destruction of the Kpeshie Lagoon, its mangrove and protected areas.

The KPESHIE LAGOON is situated at La, a peri-urban township in Accra, Ghana. It includes sand hills, open lagoons, marshy lands and scrublands with a catchment area of roughly 110 km2 that occasionally joins the Atlantic Ocean.  The Lagoon is located on a low lying plain between Teshie Rasta Rd corridor, on the eastern side and the Ghana International Trade Fair corridor to the west where it forms a marshy zone.  The Lagoon has four wetlands with various inlets, however, as a result of pollution, the third and fourth segments have become extinct even though the area has been designated as a mangrove protected site in Ghana.  Historically, the Kpeshie Lagoon served as a remarkable fishing ground for the community of La and others outside its catchment area.

Mangroves and their wetlands are critical ecosystems that support the planet and humanity in unique ways providing breeding grounds for fish and carbon storage, as well as protection against flooding as they serve as a reservoir that accumulates and channels excess water into the sea.

Any attempt to destroy the little that is left of the Kpeshie Lagoon will have grave consequences on the La Community and its environs, causing threats to human life as well as nature including aquatic life within the landscape.

Sadly, human activities continue to threaten the environs of the Greater Accra Region as compared to all other regions in Ghana, and it is expected that we take cue from the excessive flooding that claim peoples’ lives anytime there are heavy downpours, and amend our ways by protecting the very few wetlands left. Saving the Kpeshie Lagoon will help minimize such threats to precious lives.

A recent publication in the Ghanaian Times of 7th August 2020 (pg 19) titled ‘APPLICATION FOR CHANGE OF USE OF SITE FROM MANGROVE (PROTECTED COASTAL WATER FRONT ZONE) TO MIXED USE’, is seeking to convert a protected coastal water front zone to a mixed use. The site in question which is approximately 3.22 acres is situated behind the Ghana International Trade Fair along the Lagoon bypass and close to the Kpeshie Lagoon. The Applicant is seeking to change the use of the site from Mangrove (Protected Coastal Water Front Zone) to an 18-unit Residential Estate and Recreational Centre contrary to the negative environmental impact this change may create. 

This Petition is to therefore solicit support to STOP this process and any other attempts by the respective government agencies to change the use from a Protected Coastal Water Front Zone to residential and/or recreational centre.