Ada Revisited - 25th Aug 2008

In August 2008 we organized a visit to a village called Totope in the Ada area of Ghana for members of some environmental NGOs and international press who were taking part and observing the UNFCCC climate change talks in Accra.  The purpose of the visit was to highlight the problems that many coastal communities are experiencing in Africa due to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. 

The SKU T-Shirt Task Force succeeded in its aim of bringing this problem to the attention of the international community through the article distributed by Associated Press submitted by Art Max.

Click for Google links.

Following is our own report on the visit by Sandra Wilson, SKU's environmental officer.

Above left: AP journalist Art Max taking notes at Totope Above right: House now abandoned because of the sea encroachment  Bottom: Local fisherman being interviewed by AP journalist Art Max

In recent times climate change seems to be top on the world agenda. Scientists have made observations that a rise in sea levels could be a consequence of warming of the earth surface due to the increase of carbon dioxide and other climate gases trapped in the atmosphere.

Forests which serve as sinks for these gases are reducing at an alarming rate. In Ghana about 70% of the original forest cover has been removed. Most of these forest cover has been removed due to bushfires started deliberately for land clearance for subsistence farming and charcoal production; a major source of energy for cooking.

The Kyoto Protocol which has set binding targets for 37 developed nations to reduce green house gases comes to an end in 2012. There have been previous negotiations towards the establishment of a deal that will replace the Kyoto Protocol. This has led to the hosting of one of such meetings in Accra from the 21st – 27th of August in Accra.

On the 20th and 25th of August 2008 members of the SKU Team together with some officials who were participating in the climate change talks in Accra paid a visit to some communities along the coast of Ada. Stuart Gold gave a briefing on some past activities of SKU. He mentioned that the communities we were visiting gives a good example of the effects of sea level rise on coastal communities and their livelihood. The three communities we visited along the Ada coast are Alavanyo, Pute and Totope. The Totope village community appears to be the community closest to the sea and being squeezed between the sea and the Songor Lagoon is the most vulnerable. Alavanyo and Pute villages are a bit further from the sea and so have a longer time before they are taken over by the sea. According to the residents almost half of the houses in Totope have been washed away. The stories that were told were that of hopelessness for the future as most of the young people have left.

We had the opportunity to interview some members of the community. The villagers feared that in the next ten years their entire village would be buried by the sea. Yearly between June and July when the storms are at their height the sea encroaches further onto the land.

The main plan of the people at the moment is to move to a piece of land behind the Songor lagoon but they have no financial means of acquiring the land and also building new houses. They said the traditional leaders of the land where they intend to relocate need to be paid compensation to the equivalent of $45,000 (USD).

At the moment they had to use refuse which is deposited from the sea at the shores of the village to fill parts of the Songor lagoon in order to get some land in order to move further from the encroaching sea. The Songor lagoon which seasonally evaporates to produce salt which serves as an alternative livelihood faces threat of completely drying up because of the continuous filling up with refuse to provide land for the people.

Looking inland to the Songor Lagoon - sand littered with plastic trash washed in from the sea from Accra and Tema.

One old member of the community said formerly they were into crop farming as well but now the soil is very salty which makes it impossible to farm. They only have the chance to fish but presently they harvest very little. Many members of the community commented that twenty years ago the sea was very far of; the villagers had to climb trees before they could see a boat returning from fishing but now the water is taking over their property.

House built on top of landfill made by laying sand over collected plastic trash.

The issues that are of concern to the communities are that the sea is gradually taking over the entire land and they do not have any sustainable source of livelihood. The people need a new stable land where they can move to and an alternative livelihood since their major livelihood asset the sea can no longer support them.

House in Totope that has been abandoned.  The floor level is now one metre higher than it was 2 years ago.

Interviews

INTERVIEW 1:
Occupation:     Fisherman/ Unit Committee Secretary
Locality: Totope 
Educational Background:   Basic                                 

How long have you been living in this locality?

I was born here and I am about 45 years old now. We have much elderly people like 80 years to 100 years who were all born here.

Have you noticed a rise in sea level?

Yes

Have you noticed any changes in this community as a result of the rising sea?

Yes. Periodically, every year the sea is sometimes rough and splash to the lagoon. That is why we have this huge accumulation of the sea sand.

Can you describe some of the changes you have noticed in this community?

When I was young about 10 years old I used to run about 4 miles before I will see the sea shore or climbed a coconut tree to see fishermen returning but now the sea is so close (about 10 meters). Some buildings are in the sea and the lagoon has drawn back because of sea sands. Because of the sea salt, trees cannot grow along the shores and most of the coconut trees are washed away by the sea.

Has it had any influence on your activities?

Yes. Our catch has reduced tremendously because the sea has drawn nearer. We got a lot of fish in the past but now you buy so much petrol and go fishing and catch virtually nothing.

Has it had any effects on your property?

Parts of our buildings are in the sea and these culverts you see in the lagoon area is the third road that has been constructed. Two roads have been washed away by the sea and if no action is taken this place will be gone in 10 years.

Have there been any changes in your fish yields?

Yes. We have no land to build or farm because we are boxed in by the sea and lagoon, flooding the lands with salt water. Now we can’t get a good catch, we cannot farm and we can’t send our children to school because of poverty. Most people here have moved to Cameroon.

Have there been changes in your fish sizes?

Now we get the smaller fishes more than the big ones. The quantities of both the smaller fishes and big ones have reduced.

Have there been changes in the varieties of fish caught?

Now we do not get the ‘Helen’ fish. We also no longer get the mollusc family in large quantities as before. We get ‘opoku’ (tuna) fish also in very small quantities and sometimes we go about 30 miles to cast our nets which was not so in the past.

Are there any efforts underway to address the impacts of climate change in this area?

We have no power to stop these changes. We have not received any help from the authorities. Road construction has stopped because the authorities think the sea will extend further. We hope there will be some sea defence in the future.

Do you have access to weather forecasting or hazard warning?

We have no access to weather forecast and climate change education.

INTERVIEW 2:
Occupation:  Fisherman/ Assembly man
Locality: Pute
Educational Background:  Secondary

How long have you been living in this locality?

I was born here 33 years ago and have lived here throughout my life

Have you noticed a rise in sea level?

We have experienced erosion of the cost

Have you noticed any changes in this community as a result of the rising sea?

Yes. The shore was far of but because of sea erosion it is very close now. The lagoon was very big in the past but is drying up now.

Can you describe some of the changes you have noticed in this community?

The sea is sometimes rough for a month and no-one can fish. The sea water sometimes extends to our settlements and enters into our shops and school

Has the rise in sea level had any influence on your activities?

Yes. Because of the salt water there is no farming activity here and also in Totope because our soils are salty.

Have you noticed any changes in your fish yields?

Yes. It is difficult for the community to catch plenty fish in present times. We fish with smaller vessels and get little because of the competition with larger vessels at Tema harbour. We have to go further to the Tema harbour and Cameroon

Have there been changes in fish sizes?

No. We still get the various sizes but in smaller quantities

Have there been changes in the varieties of fish caught?

No. Only quantities reduce seasonally.

Are there any efforts underway to address the impacts of climate change in this area?

Yes. We stopped taking sand from our shores for construction work which facilitated the sea extension. We also stopped moulding blocks by the sea.

Do you have access to weather forecasting or hazard warning?

We hear only weather forecast not climate change in general on Radio Ada. We have no education about climate change.

INTERVIEW 3:
Occupation:  Fisherman/ Farmer
Locality: Alavanyo
Educational Background: Basic

How long have you been staying in this locality?

I have lived here for 30 years and I started fishing at the age of 8.

Have you noticed any rise in sea level?

Yes

Have you noticed any changes in this community as a result of the rising sea?

When I was young the sea shores were far of but now it is closer to our settlements

Can you describe some of the changes you have noticed in this community?

Along the shores in the past, were lots of coconut trees but the sea has extended and wiped off all those trees.

Has the rise in sea level had any effect on your activities?

Yes. There were many fishermen in the past but because the catch is poor, many have withdrawn and some go to school.

Has it had any effects on your property?

Yes. Lots of land and property is wiped away and if we do not take measures there will be disaster because the sea continues to extend.

Have there been changes in your fish yields?

In the past we did not need to light a lamp because the catch was good but now to bring the fishes closer we light a lamp and now the fishes are realising and going away.

Have there been changes in your fish sizes?

The sizes have not changed, neither the variety but the quantities have reduced. Some days our effort is in vain as we return with no catch.

Has the changing weather pattern affected the varieties of fish caught?

No

Are there any efforts underway to address the impacts of climate change in this area?

We will be deceiving you if we say we have knowledge of how to combat this problem. We think critically daily on how to solve this problem. We only hope and pray that God will bring some people who are experts to help us.

Do you have access to weather forecasting or hazard warning?

No. We have no access to weather forecasting.

The shrinking strip of beach squeezed between the sea and the Songor Lagoon on which the village of Totope is perched.