Weeds threaten aquatic life in Volta (Dec 10, back page)
Weeds threaten aquatic life in Volta
Story: Seth J. Bokpe, Sogakope
AQUATIC life and the generation of hydro-electric energy at the Kpong Dam are said to be severely threatened by an invasion of aquatic weeds in the area.
Communities along the dam also face crisis, as fishing, river transport and water supply to those communities are hampered by the aquatic weeds, identified as “invasive aquatic weeds”.
The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Jonathan Allotey, drew attention to the problems in a speech read on his behalf at the annual workshop on the Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weeds at Sogakope in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The project, under the auspices of the EPA, is aimed at integrating biological, manual and mechanical methods of water weed control for optimum effect to help reduce the incidence of bilharzia, as well as improve fishing, river transport and water supply in the concerned communities.
The workshop was expected to provide the platform for participants to bring to the fore the achievements and challenges encountered during the past few years and also set a new agenda for the way forward.
Participants came from the North and South Tongu districts of the Volta Region, Dangme East and West of the Greater Accra Region, Lower Manya and Asuogyaman of the Eastern Region and the Jomoro District of the Western Region.
It was the general view that Ghana had to confront the emergence of the hazard of the invasive aquatic weeds in the country’s water bodies.
The EPA has estimated that the Ghana side of the lower Tano River alone harboured floating water weed infestation that exceeded 5,000 hectares in 2008, while the Kpong head pond had in excess of 1,500 hectares of mixed floating and submerged vegetation.
According to the EPA, even though the presence of water weeds in the country’s water bodies remained an asset in terms of giving oxygen to fish and other organisms in water, helping to clean water through the removal of dirt and also serving as breeding ground for fish, overgrown weeds had a lot of associated problems.
The weeds, especially Kariba, caused rapid water loss and quick drying of water bodies, hindered the movement of boats and canoes, provided breeding ground for mosquitoes and inhibited the use of a variety of fishing gear, thereby reducing fishing activities and ultimately causing socio-economic hardship in the communities involved.
Turbines for generating electricity also risked being entangled by the masses of floating weeds.
Mr Allotey said the need to safeguard the country’s water resources underscored the importance of those resources in keeping the nation alive, providing social integration, peace-building and socio-economic development among communities.
He noted that as part of efforts to deal with the problem in the past three years, 18 community water weed committees had been formed to mobilise communities for the manual removal of weeds, in addition to the delivery of 10 fibre-glass local boats to district assemblies and the printing of operational manuals that facilitated aquatic weed harvesting and compost production.
The South Tongu District Co-ordinating Director, Mr E.K. Deffor, called on the participants to devise and review strategies that would help deal with the common enemy of the districts concerned to preserve the livelihood of the people.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Ghana provided funding for the project.
Story: Seth J. Bokpe, Sogakope
AQUATIC life and the generation of hydro-electric energy at the Kpong Dam are said to be severely threatened by an invasion of aquatic weeds in the area.
Communities along the dam also face crisis, as fishing, river transport and water supply to those communities are hampered by the aquatic weeds, identified as “invasive aquatic weeds”.
The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Jonathan Allotey, drew attention to the problems in a speech read on his behalf at the annual workshop on the Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weeds at Sogakope in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The project, under the auspices of the EPA, is aimed at integrating biological, manual and mechanical methods of water weed control for optimum effect to help reduce the incidence of bilharzia, as well as improve fishing, river transport and water supply in the concerned communities.
The workshop was expected to provide the platform for participants to bring to the fore the achievements and challenges encountered during the past few years and also set a new agenda for the way forward.
Participants came from the North and South Tongu districts of the Volta Region, Dangme East and West of the Greater Accra Region, Lower Manya and Asuogyaman of the Eastern Region and the Jomoro District of the Western Region.
It was the general view that Ghana had to confront the emergence of the hazard of the invasive aquatic weeds in the country’s water bodies.
The EPA has estimated that the Ghana side of the lower Tano River alone harboured floating water weed infestation that exceeded 5,000 hectares in 2008, while the Kpong head pond had in excess of 1,500 hectares of mixed floating and submerged vegetation.
According to the EPA, even though the presence of water weeds in the country’s water bodies remained an asset in terms of giving oxygen to fish and other organisms in water, helping to clean water through the removal of dirt and also serving as breeding ground for fish, overgrown weeds had a lot of associated problems.
The weeds, especially Kariba, caused rapid water loss and quick drying of water bodies, hindered the movement of boats and canoes, provided breeding ground for mosquitoes and inhibited the use of a variety of fishing gear, thereby reducing fishing activities and ultimately causing socio-economic hardship in the communities involved.
Turbines for generating electricity also risked being entangled by the masses of floating weeds.
Mr Allotey said the need to safeguard the country’s water resources underscored the importance of those resources in keeping the nation alive, providing social integration, peace-building and socio-economic development among communities.
He noted that as part of efforts to deal with the problem in the past three years, 18 community water weed committees had been formed to mobilise communities for the manual removal of weeds, in addition to the delivery of 10 fibre-glass local boats to district assemblies and the printing of operational manuals that facilitated aquatic weed harvesting and compost production.
The South Tongu District Co-ordinating Director, Mr E.K. Deffor, called on the participants to devise and review strategies that would help deal with the common enemy of the districts concerned to preserve the livelihood of the people.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Ghana provided funding for the project.
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