Who does the Dam Damn!

Abdallah Smith

Professor Murphy

Africa’s Development in a Global Context

April 19th 2012

WHO DOES THE DAM DAMN?

Negative Impacts on Local Communities Caused by the Akosombo Dam

SECTION I:

            When plans were first initiated in 1914 to construct Akosombo dam, it was destined to become the major source of Ghana’s electrical energy. The hydropower-plant was going to produce electricity for the whole country augmenting development and consequently leading to modernization. However, as is the case with other mega-dams built across the developing world, there have been some negative impacts that have surfaced over the years due to the dams existence. Social, economic, agricultural and environmental problems have risen due to the dams presence. The purpose of this paper is to highlight and examine the negative consequences of the Akosombo dams existence to local communities around the dam; That the Akosombo Dam has aided the degradation of local livelihoods, who benefit very little from the dam. Even though it is quite impossible at this juncture in time to remove the dam, my paper looks to research the extent to which the dam has affected livelihood of the local population and environment. With the current discourse on climate change, and the impact of developmental projects, like the Akosombo dam, it has become imperative to actually realize the extent to which these mega-projects have negative impacts on surrounding regions.

            For the first section of my paper, I will present a Literature review that will discuss the major resources that I would be using to cover the impacts of dams development locally, socially, environmentally and agriculturally as well (to some extent), identifying the variables that would be constantly appearing throughout my research. Variables of the paper will most likely include local populations, environmental standards, soil fertility, social issues etc. The next section of my paper will focus specifically on the case study of Akosombo dam providing information on the context of its construction and discussing the negative impacts of the dams existence on the variables discussed above. Fourth section of the paper will cover my discussion on what could have been done better or differently at least, and discuss our duty to socio-environmental justice for the resettled communities from an equity perspective. My personal position on the dams existence will be voiced throughout the paper, but will be much more pronounced in this section at which I will draw on what moral obligations we have to socio-environmental justice. Finally, the fifth section of my paper will be the conclusion, at which point I would argue for the dawn of the solar age of energy production, haven already shown the empirically negative aspects of the dam, and summarize on the discussions we have had throughout the paper. My paper doesn’t look to answer questions on development policy, but rather to show that states should look at mega-developmental projects with the lenses of socio-environmental equity to ensure justice for the communities most harshly affected.

SECTION II:

- Literature Review -

            In my literature review I will be drawing from different authors perspectives on the impacts of large dams on the indigenous populations that are situated around the dam. The main source that I derived the impacts of dams on the local populations was from Patrick McCully’s work Silenced Rivers. Other arguments made by other authors look to supplement the argument made by McCully, such as William Jobin, David Brokensha and Singh. The gist of these arguments all stem from the notion that developmental projects, especially in the developing world, usually adversely affect the local populations located in the project site. The variables I will touch on will be social, economic, health and environmental impacts of these mega developmental projects on these indigenous people. McCully explains that his decision to research on dams was influenced by the deceitfulness of the builders of the Sardar Sarovar Dam who exploited the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

            “A conservative estimate of worldwide dam evictees ... would be around 60 million - more than the entire population of the United Kingdom [McCully, 2001; 67].” McCully argues that even this staggering statistic is possibly false, because it only considers the reservoir oustees and not those deprived of land and livelihood, or those forced to move because of the ecological impacts of the dam. For the indigenous populations forced off their land, McCully argues that there is a trauma of resettlement because of the spiritual and traditional ties these populations have to the land. In Brokensha and Scudder’s essay on resettlement they agree with McCully on the trauma associated with upheaval from homelands. “Love of birthplace, no matter how inhospitable it may appear to strangers, quite possibly is a universal human characteristics,” they go on further to identify the close relationship between the indigenous and the land they live on [Rubin & Warren, 1968; 25]. However, they disagree with McCully that all members of the culture are adamant to relocation, but rather suggesting that some actually welcomed relocation, but this was usually undermined with doubts and suspicions toward the government. While McCully leads the argument against the continued construction of dams, William Jobin in his book provides the other argument suggesting that more dams are needed. “Despite the growing and increasingly vocal opposition to these water projects, our increasing populations and rising water-consumption rates make more dams inevitable [Jobin, 1999;1].” However, in his preface, Jobin also agrees on the inequity involved with the indigenous people being torn from their land, but his response is for better preparation rather than less dams. Dam projects do provide the benefits Jobin talks about, but there are the negative impacts on local economies that are overlooked.

            “In almost all cases, the diversity of fish species will drop. Furthermore, local people invariably have less access to fish than before as reservoir fishing requires different skills and equipment, and more capital, than river fishing [McCully; 153].” McCully then explains that rural peoples ability to access fish is directly linked to their lives. Fishing economies after the dam has been constructed, according the McCully, become saturated by competition from other resettled peoples who are pushed into the farming industry due to lack of available land for farming [McCully; 152]. The resettled communities are usually subjected to government led initiatives to reallocate land for agriculture, but with the obligation to different agricultural techniques [Rubin & Warren; 30]. Brokensha and Scudder agree with this assessment that government intentions to improve the system of agriculture to enable locals capability to transition from subsistence to cash economy [Rubin & Warren; 30]. In Satyajit Singh’s paper on dams in India he argues that there is an emphasis for indigenous groups to focus on more efficient mechanized forms of agricultural production [Singh, 1990; 561]. McCully backs the disgust of Singh by discussing how livelihoods of the resettled groups aren’t provided by authorities. Compensations for McCully don’t do enough to ensure reasonable income for the relocated groups who were sustainably living in their previous homes. Often, it is observed that employment opportunities for evictees are limited because the dam employment is discontinued after the dam is built, increased unskilled labour in resettlement communities reduces the wages and increases competition for limited jobs [McCully; 79]. The case of compensation for farmers usually falls short for the resettled farmer because it doesn’t replace their main source of livelihood in their previous home.

            “Long reservoirs, which not only destroy forest but also become physical barriers. Deforestation of steep, hilly land reduces agricultural productivity because of soil erosion,” Jobin associates deforestation to the clearing of land for new reservoirs and irrigated farms consequently leading to ecological degradation [Jobin; 21]. The ecological degradation mainly refers to the soil erosion, but authors argue different causes of soil erosion, some associating it to the soil salinity and others from deforestation. Jobin argues for soil degradation through the process of deforestation suggesting that top soils are exposed once there is little vegetation to prevent wind and water run-off from sweeping away the fertility of the top soil [Jobin; 22]. While McCully argues that irrigation waters contain dissolved salts flushed out of rocks and soils, evaporation then occurs leaving large concentrations of salt in the irrigated. Absence of good drainage increases the water-table raising the salt to the crops and soil that absorbs the salt, which swells the soil making the soil impermeable to water and oxygen [McCully; 168]. Another contributing factor to soil degradation is the intensive and unsustainable farming or over-grazing that indigenous farmers partake in because of lack of accessible land and economic opportunity [Jobin; 22]. Other than the degradation of the soil and land in general, there is also the increase in human degradation for the communities settled around the dam.

            Singh argues that dams are also a huge contributor to major health issues in local communities, claiming the increase of water-borne disease are directly associated with dams/ reservoirs. Almost all the authors agree with Singh’s assessment. Jobin is the only author who attributes large dam projects to positive health care opportunities claiming that health planners try and reduce the case of malaria (other diseases) by contributing to the resettlement of communities to account for safer cleaner environments and that improvements of infrastructure centered on the dam makes the indigenous communities better exposed to health care opportunities [Jobin; 30]. McCully is more pessimistic arguing that the realization of reducing health issues is usually unfounded. The first health risk of the dam is related to the incoming workers who carry diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, AIDS, etc. that affect the indigenous people whose immune systems are ill-prepared to the exposure to new diseases [[McCully; 86]. Schistosomiasis and malaria, for McCully, is also associated with dams since they create habitats for bilharzia snails and mosquitos [McCully; 90]. Brokensha and Scudder agree with McCully pessimisms and add that trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) increased with dams and also bacillary dysentery that contributed to majority of child deaths North of the Zambesi after dam presence.

            McCully was really the inspiration behind the research study I did on the Akosombo dam, and other authors provided volumes of information and critical opinions that I could feed off, during my assessment of the dam. There has been extensive studies on the issue of dams and their negative impacts socially, economically, and environmentally, but there are a few gaps in the study specifically to do with impacts on indigenous people. In the excitement of development projects, its usually the local communities that are caused injustice.

SECTION III:

-  Decision to Build -

            The planned construction of the Akosombo dam stretches to the period before independence was gained, as far back as 1914. Gold Coast Government at the time were looking into the possibility to exploit the vast endowment of bauxite that had been discovered. In Robert W. Steel’s essay The Volta Dam: Its Prospects and Problems in the book Dams in Africa he discusses the advent of the bauxite discovery by Sir Arthur Kitson the Director of the Geological Survey of the Gold Coast [Steel, 1968; 63]. The indirect rule of the British meant that Ghanaians still had a say in the affairs that run their country, but more to do with the local affairs. Macro policies that were very much economical in scope and to do with natural resource exploitation was the forte of the British setup in the Gold Coast. After the independence was gained on March 6, 1957, Kwame Nkrumah sought financial support for the dam, in what was Steel’s words “cornerstone- of the Seven Year Development Plan, designed to cover the period from 1963-1970 [Steel, 1968; 63].” The project was to commence industrial support of the aluminum reserves in the country, but the post-independence period brought global decline in aluminum prices and severely dampened international interest in the dam project. Coupled with the depreciating price of aluminum, was foreign uncertainty about the stability of the new Ghanaian government politically and financially. In Gareth Austin’s paper on factor endowments in Africa he suggest that domestic scarcity of capital could be solved by foreign investment, but due to host government economic policies, and fears of security of investment it usually deters foreign investors to African states [Austin, 2008; 596].

            The project was saved by the renewed report on the construction of the dam by the Kaiser Corporation of California. “The Kaiser report modified the project in various ways and suggested some very important savings, including a new and more economical dam at Akosombo... from .. originally selected Ajena [Steel, 1968; 63].” The revised plan for the construction of the dam at Akosombo was widely accepted by all parties involved including the USA, the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development and Britain. In the RCEER Guide to Electric Power in Ghana they address the reconfiguration of the plans by the Kaiser Corporation. The dams relocation at Akosombo was advantageous because of the decreased width of the gorge which was 2,100 feet compared to 3,740 feet  at the Ajena site [RCEER, 2005; 24]. An important point to note is that the Ghana government agreed to finance the beginning construction of the project through the periods of 1958-62, expending about 25 million Pounds Sterling according to Steel [Steel; 65]. January 1961, the project was given the thumbs up by the Kennedy administration, and the Italian consortium, Impregilo begun construction two months later.

            Officially the project started in 1962, and the first phase of the project was to install four generating units with a total energy capacity of 588MW, which was completed in 1965 [RCEER;24]. Two additional generating units were installed to support the initial four and the generating capacity of the entire dam according the RCEER was 912MW. Steel reflects on the purpose of the dam “purpose of this generation has always been directed towards the production of aluminum... Ghana could in fact become one of the world’s major producers of bauxite [Steel; 65].” Ghana’s intention to industrialized after independence were very much centered on the construction of the Akosombo dam, with the hope that bauxite extortion could finance a booming  aluminum industry sector for the country, supporting development and modernization for the newly formed African state. The production of large amounts low-cost energy would spur an industrial revolution in Ghana segwaying into other industrial sectors and a transformation from a largely agrarian economy to a manufacturing. The Volta River Authority were charged with the responsibility of generating low-cost electricity from the water power capacity of the Volta river, and most of this electricity served the aluminium smelter company Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) [RCEER; 26]. By 1972, the VRA had agreed a deal to supply neighboring Togo and Benin with electricity from the hydroelectric dam, connected by a transmission line  from Akosombo to Lome (Togo).

            There were other prospects of the dam other than aluminium industrial capacity and energy hegemony in West African region. Steel highlights other aspects of the dams construction “fisheries, irrigation, navigation, and the exploitation of new resources [Steel; 70].” The dams creation of a large water body would increase the potential of fisheries to be developed at the dam, also increasing the protein in Ghanaians diet and a transformation of the indigenous peoples local economies for the better. Irrigation systems could potentially create more availability of water on the Accra plains which were considered some of the driest in West Africa, allowing for a more constant and reliable source of water from the dam to support agricultural production of crops such as sugarcane. Navigation along the river, would complement major industries, with the ability to move ferries upstream and further connect to railway lines that connect to Tamale, Bolgatanga, Ouagadougou and Niamey [Steel;72]. With increased communication lines crossing to neighboring countries the sphere of Ghana’s trade would incorporate a larger area for economic activities.  One major expected consequence of the dams construction was the diversification of the economy from the single-crop production of cocoa. Diversification of the economy would enable the government to not rely on the fluctuating global prices of cocoa for the majority of wealth created in the West African state.

-  Resettlement Negative Socio-Economic Impacts -

            The Volta River Authority were charged with the responsibility of resettling the 80,000 residence in the surrounding areas around the construction of the Akosombo dam. The magnitude of the Akosombo project must be realized considering that it was, at the time, largest man-made lake covering 3,275 square miles [Chambers, 1970; 10]. The problems of resettlement discussed by Robert Chambers in his work The Volta Resettlement Experience stem from the sporadic distribution of the people within the flood basin. “Of some 740 groups, there was only one town (Kete Krachi) of over 4000 persons, while 600 groups had populations less than 100 [Chambers, 1970; 11].” Other from the sporadic distribution of the groups within the flood basin, there was diversity in linguistic in the communities, an example of one small community hosting 8 different languages. The tasks of the government once the plans to begin construction were passed was identifying, compensating and resettling the people who were to be displaced by the lake [Chambers; 12]. The calculated commitment to compensation for the displaced inhabitants was little over 2 million pound sterling (including land, cocoa, private buildings etc) with a policy of resettlement through self-help, guided by incentives. A revised resettlement compensation was calculated and added to approximately 4million pounds sterling [Chambers; 16]. However, the policy of resettlement through self-help guided by incentives underwent considerable transformation by the Ghana government, because of experiences elsewhere in Tema and Frafra. The new policy, heavily supported by Nkrumah, would need more financial backing as people saw the settlers having to leave their lands as sacrificing for the greater good. The social welfare department that had aided the resettlement of folk in the Tema harbor area wanted to increase the living standard of those resettling in the Volta operation. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture sought to transform the traditional agricultural methods of the resetters to fit the Seven year developmental plan by encouraging modern methods of agriculture [Chambers; 22]. However, all the plans for the uneducated settlers by the Social Welfare Department and Nkrumah administration met some serious problems.

            In Chambers work on the resettlement at Lake Volta he presents some of the inconveniences for the new settlers. The houses accumulated so much heat during the day, and lost that heat during the night resulting in fluctuating house temperatures compared to the mud huts the settlers used to reside in. “The honeycombs, designed to allow free circulation of air, also let in water when it rained and dust when the wind blew,” due to this occurrence a number of the roofs ripped off, resulting in many of the people to leave the homes to find shelter elsewhere [Chambers;33]. The major problem of the new houses, identified by Chambers, was the single room allocation of the house with many polygamous men complaining about overcrowding of households due to amount of wives under one roof [Chambers; 38]. All the core houses initially developed by the government were left in their core stage, so settlers decided to attach makeshift rooms to the houses to create more space. In general, the Social Welfare Department and VRA had gotten tired of dealing with the social welfare aspect of the resettlement, usually tied down my financial constraints. In F.K Yeboah’s essay Mitigative Actions Taken by the VRA on Dam affected Communities he highlights how the habitants of the inundated land had lost ancestral land, traditional groves, farm lands, and their religious grounds. Yeboah then provides some stats on the compensation for the resettled “1,300 houses, 82 school blocks, 46 markets 146 public latrines,” and compensation was initially only paid for farmlands, crops, and economic trees destroyed by the lake [Gordon & Amatekpor, 1999; 129]. By the latter stages of the 1960s, there was slack pace of house completion and the VRA had sold off major construction equipment to other government agencies to handle building  leaving many houses incomplete[Chambers; 41]. At this juncture, the program for resettlement had shifted its attention from social welfare to economic development in the new communities.            

            The social impacts of the Akosombo dam can be linked to the economic downturn for these resettled communities. Previous economic activities centered around fishing on the Volta river was drastically changed to capital intensive forms of agriculture that the settlers needed extensive training on. In Chambers work it discusses the drawbacks of mechanized cultivation. The settlers were unsure of the machinery, suspicious of the agricultural staff so preferred to farm when they weren’t present, the staff themselves were under trained to deal with the settlers and after the tractor services weren’t free to the settlers they opted out of the mechanization scheme [Chambers; 45]. The situation with the livestock was no better. “Severe cuts of imports  in 1964-66 resulted in much greater demand for local foodstuffs,” but the inadequacies of the agricultural program resulted in under supplied livestock, which the government had to heavily subsidies [Chambers; 46]. The major problem economically for the settlers was that in their previous settlements they had been able to subsist for themselves, but now they were forced into a new environment, climate and agricultural practices that they had no familiarity. The whole resettlement process had become a social and economic fiasco, and the issue was exacerbated by the effects on the environment.

-  The Neglected Environment -

            There are the more obvious consequences of the dams construction and its effects on the environment, but there are also the longer term effects that take time to become a reality for those locals affected by the degradation of the environment. As discussed above the environment seems to always be a victim of developmental projects across the globe, and the Akosombo dam is no exception. What we find with the Akosombo example is deforestation, soil erosion, growth of aquatic weeds, and siltation.

            The first issue of deforestation arises with the very construction of the dam itself, and the clearing of land for the mega-project which covers 3.6% of Ghana’s surface area according to the Center for Columbia River History report. The next issue of deforestation becomes problematic with the resettlement of communities and the clearing of agricultural land for farming and grazing. In Yonatan Girmay’s research on the Akosombo and Kpong Dams he highlights the problem of permanent conversion of forest land to agricultural lands, mostly due to slash and burn processes [Girmay, 1992; 33]. Coupled with the need for agricultural land for the resettled populations is the increase of the population in the area, there intensifying pressures on land to sustain the livelihoods of more people. Consequentially “increased population pressure, combined with poverty and landlessness with uncontrolled human settlement, lack of awareness of forest fires and demand for fire wood,” all increase the rate of deforestation in the surrounding areas according the Girmay [Girmay;33].

            In Titriku’s paper on Agriculture at the Volta Basin he discusses the consequences of deforestation. The major problem for both Titriku and Girmay is the increased rate of soil erosion and decrease in soil fertility caused by deforestation. The soil fertility directly affects the livelihoods of the locals because it reduces the yield of the crops grown [Gordon & Amatekpor, 1999; 113]. The practices of the local in agricultural practices can also be blamed for the decline in soil fertility and increased rate of soil erosion, because of rash bush burning which then reduces the efficiency of cultivation practices. Titriku provides some statistical support for his claim of reduced soil productivity stating that “yield estimates for cassava in Atebubu... is 9.40 metric tons/hectare and for maize 0.83 metric ton/hectare. Under optimum conditions of climate and soil type yields of 25-20 tons/ hectare  could be obtained for cassava and 4.5 ton/hectare for maize [Gordon & Amatekpor; 114].” Another environmental consequence of deforestation is siltation. Siltation is defined by Girmay as sedimentation of stream-bed as a result of accumulation of particles [Girmay; 5]. The problem with siltation is that it replaces the water in the river with sedimentary particles, reducing water volumes, and therefore changing the river ecology. Coupled with this consequence is the reduction of the dams capacity to produce electricity, because of the decrease in water volume that the dam’s turbines can process. Siltation effectively reduces the lifespan of the dam. However, the dams existence also reduced the lifespan of the river, due to the hydrological effects caused by the Akosombo. In Honorable Adjei Minister of Lands and Forestry statement he pleads that “The Volta Lake itself, with an area of 8,500 square kilometers, is our most important inland water resource..Thus the health and sustainability of the resources of the Volta Basin have profound effects on the entire population of Ghana [Gordon & Amatekpor; 16].”

            One other environmental problem that has been introduced by the Akosombo dam existence, is the increase in aquatic weeds. The enclosed Volta basin provides a perfect habitat for these problematic plant lifeforms. The aquatic weeds are associated with the aquatic snail which provide a catalyst for the birth of the disease, bilharzia [Girmay; 45]. Coupled with poor sanitation and lack of pure drinking water source, the surrounding communities are very vulnerable to these diseases, especially at the lower Volta. The problems created by the aquatic weed will direct us toward the next negative impact caused by the Akosombo dam for local communities.

- Health Issues for Local Communities -

            The major disease that was inflicted on the local people by the creation of the Akosombo dam was urinary bilharzia. The Ewe fishing people who had settled on the southwestern shores, because of its gentle slopes were suitable for “beaching their boats,” were also sharing a home with the bilharzia snails which had rapidly settled on the lake [Jobin, 1999; 278]. The seriousness of the disease, now epidemic, had affected over 80% of the people by 1970 [Jobin; 278]. The Ewe fishing community had uprooted from their coastal homes, because of the potential of fish commerce at the Volta lake now home to many fresh fish. The Volta Lake (among other African lakes) had the habitat requirements of the bilharzia snail. According to William Jobin “if shores contain sufficient vegetation, the snail populations have food and protection from predators, thus the snails will flourish [Jobin; 280].” The Dam had created the perfect conditions for the breeding and supporting of bilharzia snail populations, and not enough was done by the VRA to predict and plan appropriately for the problem caused by the urinary bilharzia disease.

            Other health problems were associated to the resettlement communities adjacent to the Volta lake, such as cholera, river blindness and malaria. In Girmay’s research study on the impacts of the Akosombo dam, he identifies two resettlement communities plagued with the problem of cholera and river blindness “53.3% of Labolabo and 47.7% of Senchi population have identified that cholera is the major environmental health problem [Girmay; 35].” In the resettled communities, Girmay attributes the problem of cholera to the poor sanitation and waste disposal facilities available to the local population, accelerated by the lack of safe drinking water resources. For the Senchi residence 47.5% regarded that Onchocerciasis, or River blindness, as the major environmental health problem. According to Gordon et al “this disease is characterized by the depigmentation of the skin, nodules in the eye lesions that may lead to blindness. It is transmitted form man to man by the bite of the blackfly, which breeds in rapidly flowing streams and rivers [Gordon, 1999; 30].” Even though the creation of the dam has considerably reduced the spread of the disease, it still persists in surrounding areas to the dam. Another water related disease that has been on the increase since the dams construction is malaria. At the Mepe community 82.7% of  the respondents suffered periodic attack from malaria before Akosombo, but afterward this increased to 98.7% [Boakye, 2001; 22]. According to Girmay “stagnant water and swampy areas are perfect breeding grounds for malaria mosquitos [36].” The Volta Lake provides a perfect breeding ground for malaria due to its stagnancy. Attempts to control malaria involve the spraying of insecticides that have horrible adverse effects on the environment and human health.

            These are just the water-borne disease affiliated to the construction of the dam, but there are other diseases such as Yellow fever and dengue that affected resettled communities. For the purpose of my research I will not delve into these external health issues. In the next section of my paper I will contemplate whats steps could have been taken to avoid the problems caused by the Dam, and support the moral ethics of protecting local communities and ecosystems for the livelihood of mankind.

SECTION IV:

- Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve -

            When we see all the negative consequences caused by the Akosombo dam we need to ask if a better job could have been done for the resettled communities, especially with the health and socio-economic effects. I ask these questions because of my beliefs in the Deep Ecology movement. Deep Ecologist are biocentric egalitarians with specific interests in social issues [Derr & McNamara, 2003; xx]. I believe that elitist in developing countries benefit from the development projects like the Akosombo dam, while local populations suffer the consequences, especially with loss of cultural practices. Arne Naess is the pioneer of the Deep Ecology movement and in his essay he talks about a need to “Live and let live,” to preserve biodiversity in culture, animal and plant life, also emphasizing the need to reject the anti-class posture which exploits and suppresses certain marginal groups like the indigenous people around Akosombo [Pojman & P. Pojman, 2001; 216].

            My first should’ve for the horrific resettlement program the VRA haplessly construed, would have been to focus on a resettlement of the cultural practices of the local populations. As discussed above the VRA had their mindsets on transforming the cultural practices of the resettling groups to more modern agricultural methods. Instead of spending on heavy machinery and training of the locals, there should have been cleared land made readily available for the resettled groups, and a reasonable initial income for them to restart their traditional practices in the new territory. In Chambers paper on the resettlement at the Volta he claims that two adverse situations occurred “either settlers were short of land, or their participation in the mechanized agricultural program was unsatisfactory and unpredictable [Chambers; 243].”  In areas north of the Akosombo, such as Afram Plains, were access to land was not a problem, settlers had taken part in traditional agricultural practices completely neglecting the mechanized program and sustaining a livelihood for themselves [Chambers; 243]. Ensuring that these relocated people had a sustainable livelihood that they were familiar with would’ve helped with the settling in process, and also set in motion the wheels for developing an economy in the community.

            Another problem that could’ve been better handled was the situation of soil erosion caused by deforestation. It is only recently that the VRA has engaged in programs to access the extent of damage to the environment, and have started projects of a-forestation. Settlers should have been informed on the consequences of deforestation, and the VRA should have taken steps to recover lost forests to the construction of Akosombo by planting elsewhere. The VRA has now collaborated with the Forestry department to declare areas around the Adjena Gorge as protected lands [Gordon &Amatekpor; 27]. Farmers are now being encouraged to plant fruit trees on these steep regions around the dam to ensure some sort of livelihood and sustainability. If the VRA had calculated the advent of deforestation they could have prevented the large extent of soil erosion that has subtracted from the productivity of the land. Many of the problems were foreseen by the Dam Authorities, but in some cases lack of funding affected their ability to handle the situation, in particular this relates to the access to information.

            From the very start of the resettlement program there was a significant lack of information on most issues concerning the local populations. Chambers discusses the problem of finding the villages around the dam suggesting that locals, like Konkomba yam farmers, often had other homes making it difficult for the Authorities to account who lived in which village. Lack of information on the fisheries has lead to over-density of fishermen on the lake. Gordon argues that increased density of fishermen on the depleting lake (because of reduced rainfall) will lead to the collapse of the fishing industry [Gordon; 83]. The increase in fishermen can be directly related to the push factor away from agriculture due to lack of access to land, and pull factor of increased fish in the Volta Lake. However, if there had been extensive research on aquaculture sector, then the VRA could have implemented legislation that outlawed over fishing, and supplied fishermen with capture technologies that reduced impact on the fish population in the lake. There are many more issues that could have been easily resolved if the the information was analyzed beforehand, but eagerness of politicians to deliver mega-developmental projects like the Akosombo dam usually overlook the drawbacks to local communities such as Senchi, or Mpe.

-  Duty for Socio-Environmental Justice -

            The development craze of the Nkrumah administration lead to the inadequate and underfunded resettlement campaign that left local populations vulnerable to the myriad of problems discussed above. Nkrumah and the VRA hadn’t taken into account the injustice to the indigenous who were made to sacrifice their livelihoods for the betterment of living standards of the more affluent populations in Accra. I believe that if they had looked at the development project with the lens of socio-environmental justice that Deep Ecologist vie for, there would have been better results in regards to the resettlement program.

            In Bullard’s essay on environmental justice he discusses three principle equities that could be applied to ensuring that injustices don’t occur, as they so often do, with developmental projects such as the Akosombo dam. (1) Procedural equity generally refers to fairness in the regulations, evaluation criteria, and application are imposed in non-discriminatory way [Pojman; 645]. We see that there is a thorough lack of fairness with the implication of private property laws, because even though resettled populations were provided with compensation their livelihoods were never ensured and land was never made accessible to them as they were in their previous properties. (2) Geographic equity refers to the location of communities and their nearness to environmental hazards [Pojman;645]. We find that the VRA had unsuccessfully taken the spatial configuration of the resettlement communities into consideration, because they were open to improper sanitation, landfills and many diseases associated to the dams existence, such as the bilharzia blindness. (3) Social equity refers to the role of sociological dimensions such as “race ethnicity class culture lifestyles and political power in environmental decision making [Pojman; 647].” In the Akosombo case, we find that culture and lifestyles was seriously overlooked for the resettlement communities who were uprooted from their traditional homes and culture, and forced into communities that they were unsatisfied and unsuited for.

            Ghanaian state failed in its duty to provide and protect for its citizens in dealing with the Akosombo Dam project. The western developmental hasn’t advanced the prospects of increased standard of living for all in Ghana, so we must question its viability to the Ghanaian landscape. Is there some other path to prosperity for all?

SECTION V:

-  Solar Age Conclusion -

            I strongly believe in the potential for African states to lead the world into the new age of solar energy. The problem with western societies and renewable energy is transferring all the industrial inertia surrounding coal plants to renewable industries. For places like Ghana we don’t have that strong dependence on coal industries that is fueling climate change and adversely affecting the globe, but we do have a lot of sun. The western models of development, such as mega-dams, have significantly affected the livelihoods of local communities to the point were we must question the dams presence. Solar energy produced photovoltaic cells might cause some issues with location, but they would reduce the amount of injustice associated with current development projects of today.

            In this paper we have discussed the discourse on the impacts of dams on local communities, and researched the empirical data that supports the negative impacts. The paper was meant to provide evidence on the issues surrounding the construction of the dam and its impact on local populations particularly to do with resettlement and livelihoods. As an advocate for Socio-environmental justice I do not support the construction of dams due to magnitude of injustices it causes mostly in the developing world. Hopefully there would be more research into the African states such as Ghana pioneering the dawn of the solar age, and its possibilities. We do have to ask the question for energy production, since it is the key to the future prosperity of posterity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1.  McCully, Patrick. Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams. London: Zed, 2001. Print.

2.  Ruben, Neville, and William M. Warren. Dams in Africa: An Inter-disciplinary Study of Man-made Lakes in Africa:. London: Cass, 1968. Print.

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