Sakumono Wetland Vanishing

WETLANDS ONEof Mother Nature's idle-looking yet critical features play important roles in our lives. They are lands saturated with water either permanently or seasonally with special features which set them apart from the rest of the ecosystem.

In Ghana, the Sakumono Wetland, one of the Ramsar Sites in the world is under threat from unscrupulous developers who could not care a hoot about the effects of their greed-driven activities in some cases.

We should be proud about the international recognition accorded this feature of our country and support the efforts of the Ramsar Convention.

The Sakumono Ramsar Site, as such natural sites are labeled, is an important part of the ecosystem which when disturbed in whatever form would spell telling effects on the environment.

Unfortunately subtle efforts are under way to rob the country of this important natural asset: a story in yesterday's edition of this newspaper says it all about the threat being posed to the Sakumono Ramsar Site even as those in charge of protecting such places sleep on their jobs.

Information gleaned so far suggests that it is a done deal that segments of the wetland have been sold already. Otherwise why would earth moving equipment be sitting comfortably on the site and trees being felled? The human activities on the wetlands is a sorry testimony about how we have little or no regards for these critical features of our environment.

The role of wetlands in the management of floods besides serving as habitat of rare fauna and flora cannot be brushed aside. Perhaps we lack knowledge about how such features and their interface with mankind impact our lives.

The impression of the civilized world about us when the silent sale of the Sakumono wetland is completed and the place replaced by high rise buildings would be anything but complimentary.

There are various types of wetlands in the world, marshlands, swamps and others, each spotting different features of fauna and flora.

International conservationists have engaged myriad efforts at protecting these portions of the world through collaboration with countries.

It is worth-noting that the Sakumono is the only site in the country identified for its importance among the membership of the Ramsar Convention which is today over four decades old.

The Ramsar Convention which seeks to ensure that its membership adhere strictly to its terms which by and large entail protecting these wetlands from human activities which have the potential of destroying them, must have taken notice of the encroachment on the Sakumono Wetland.

That the site has been labeled a Ramsar Site suggests that Ghana is a member of the convention and should not be seen to be closing her eyes on the degradation of the Sakumono Site. It is one of the sites on the world map of wetlands with its special fauna and flora mentioned. It is regrettable therefore when we fold our arms as greedy developers land their building equipment on the site and deny the special species of animal forms their natural habitat.

Wetlands are part of nature's means of flood control and stabilizing the shoreline; they also serve as a water reservoir whose benefits at times of shortage cannot be underestimated.

Floodwaters are spread over this waste-like looking land thereby controlling the dangers posed by the uncontrollable flow of water especially during the rainy season. Even with this feature we have had challenges with flood control: when they are gone as the Sakumono one is about to, unless something is done, our problems would be more compounded.

Conservation of these geographical features should be taken more serious than we are witnessing under the current arrangements which are largely dormant. Our membership of international organizations charged with the protection of nature among others are hardly seen beyond attending international conferences. When it comes to protecting the Sakumono Ramsar Site through implementable legislation, the excuses are many.

It would not be surprising when after this article there is a certain kneejerk reaction from the relevant state agency in response to the developments. When that happens, we can only ask whether it had to take such an article for those in charge to discover the ongoing degradation.

It has been a long time since formal efforts were put up to educate the populace about the importance of protecting our environment. Today it would seem that the status quo remains, we have no appreciation for wetlands. Otherwise why would the Sakumono Ramsar Site marked for its special place in the world of wetlands be left at the hands of people who have nothing to do with wetlands.

Conservationists and scholars of nature think that wetlands are the most biologically diversified ecosystems of the world. They contain various species of fauna and flora which cannot be found anywhere safe these places. An assortment of reptiles and other life forms live here. Wetlands provide the incubating and hatching sites for some life forms such as turtles. Some migratory birds come to this part of the world away from harsh temperate conditions. This is nature's way of managing the ecosystem and the world in general.

The Millennium Ecosytem Assessment initiative believes that the degradation of wetlands surpasses all known forms of environmental abuse by man.

Ramsar Sites
A Ramsar Site is a wetland ear-marked for protection under an international convention, the Ramsar Convention. Sakumo Ramsar Site now under threat is made up of, according to the definition of conservationists, “a coastal brackish-saline lagoon and the surrounding floodplains, freshwater marsh, coastal savannah grasslands with thicket vegetation, and a narrow sand-dune connection to the sea.” They add that it is home to over 70 water bird species made up of 30,000 individuals all of which depend on the Site's resources during migratory and reproduction periods.”

Notable species include waders such as the spotted redshank and common greenshank among others. It is host to sandpipers, curlew, little stint Calidris minuta, the black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa and the blackwinged stilt.

The Sakumono Wetland also houses marine and fresh water fish types among them the blackchin tilapia. The current threat posed by developers adds to others such as toxic effluence from both domestic and industrial sources.

BY A.R. Gomda