Jan. 31 2020

Eco-Conscious Citizens co-ordinator Awula Serwah is not only concern about what's happening with Parks And Gardens' lands, but also what's happening at the Atewa Forest and supports the campaign for this forest to be excluded from any bauxite mining deal.

It is astonishing that the Government is considering mining bauxite at Atewa Forest Reserve, which was established and gazetted as a forest reserve in 1926, and is a “Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) and an Important Bird Area (IBA)”. Atewa is home to many rare and endangered plant and animal species.

A 2016 A Rocha and partners report indicates that mining bauxite at Atewa forest will not only destroy the eco-system and endangered species, but will also pollute the source of water of over 5 million people. Rivers Densu, Ayensu and Birim take their source from Atewa Forest. There is no responsible way of mining bauxite. Perhaps in some years to come we will develop the technology. For now, mining bauxite irreversibly damages the land. To be clear it is currently not possible to mine bauxite without damaging the environment.

There are alternatives to bauxite mining. Atewa Forest Reserve should be turned into a National Park and a thriving eco-tourism destination, A cocoa processing industry could be built to process cocoa and create jobs from cocoa farms in the area, and thirdly there are Forestry related opportunities including bamboo industries. These options will bring income and opportunities without destroying the environment.

We are in a climate emergency, and global warming is evidenced for example by the drought in the Horn of Africa and the raging fires in Australia. Thankfully, there are simple solutions to the climate emergency. In the words of writer and environmental activist George Monbiot: “There is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little and builds itself. It is called a tree. A tree is an example of a natural, climate solution. Mangroves, peat bogs, jungles, marshes, seabeds, kelp forests, swamps, coral reefs take carbon out of the air and lock it away. Nature is a tool we can use to repair our broken climate.”

Ghana has lost more than 70% of her forest cover, and we should be restoring our forests as a matter of urgency, not destroying forest reserves!

We agree with the President that  "In our quest to develop, our beautiful lands and rivers are under threat. We are degrading our environment at an alarming rate. Once beautiful and thick forests have been denuded of their cover. Once majestic and all inspiring water bodies have been polluted and many of the animals no longer have safe habitats." H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, during his speech at the "Rebranding Africa Forum", Ouagadougou 2018.

Responsible citizens cannot sit idly by whilst the environment is destroyed by environmental vandalism including building on Parks and Gardens land, galamsey, irresponsible felling of trees, and mining bauxite at Atewa Forest Reserve.

Awula Serwah
Eco-Conscious Citizens Co-ordiantor
africansfor@gmail.com