Ramsar sites, wetlands must be saved at all costs

Wetlands are vital and indispensable for human survival as they supply freshwater, food, ensure flood control and climate change mitigation.

Despite supplying all our fresh water, they have for years been degraded and converted to other uses.

The situation created the need to protect and conserve wetlands worldwide due to their ecological importance and increasing threats from human activities through the wise use and management of wetlands.

This led to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, a treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation to conserve and wisely use wetlands and their resources.

Environmental and waterfowl conservationists first proposed the idea of an international treaty to safeguard wetlands in the 1960s.

The Ramsar Convention was formally adopted on February 2, 1971, in the city of Ramsar, Iran, hence its name.

The primary goal was to create a framework for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, which serve as critical habitats for biodiversity.

The convention officially entered into force on December 21, 1975, and since then, it has evolved to encompass a broader focus on wetland ecosystems, incorporating sustainable development and the conservation of biodiversity.

The objectives of the Ramsar Convention, to which Ghana is a signatory, are to, among others, ensure the protection of wetlands, their restoration and responsible management to maintain their ecological character.

Ramsar sites are designated internationally under the Ramsar Convention, recognising their ecological, cultural and socio-economic value.

These sites are chosen to protect globally significant wetland habitats and to support vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species or provide critical habitats for such species.

Fortunately, Ghana has six designated Ramsar sites — five wetlands along the coast and one in the Ashanti Region, namely the Densu Delta, Sakumono and Songor Ramsar sites in the Greater Accra Region; Keta Lagoon in the Volta Region, Owabi in Greater Kumasi and Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site in the Central Region. 

Ghana, as a contracting party to the Ramsar Convention, has therefore committed to working towards the wise use of all wetlands and water resources in its territory through national plans, policies and legislation, management actions, and public education.

That is why the Daily Graphic is worried that for years these sites have faced severe encroachment by developers, which portends disaster for the country.

The development suggests that either people are oblivious of the importance of the sites or they do not really care about them.

Indeed, the destruction of Ramsar sites or wetlands spells doom for people living in their vicinity and has a telling effect on the ecology of the area and, by extension, the entire country.

The Sakumo Lagoon, Densu Delta, Owabi and others are wetlands of international significance under the Ramsar Convention, which means their existence not only benefits Ghana but also the international community.

It is the reason everything must be done to protect these sites. 

The Daily Graphic notes that many attempts have been made to stop encroachment on these sites.

For instance, early last year, the Ramsar sites located within the Tema Metropolitan, Tema West Municipal, Ablekuma West Municipal and the Weija-Gbawe Municipal assemblies were declared security zones by the Greater Accra Regional Security Council.

However, despite the demolition of structures, the encroachment continued unabated.

Just a few weeks ago, and last week Tuesday, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, also led a demolition exercise in the Ramsar sites in Accra.

We urge the minister not to compromise on the task but to ensure that any illegal structure is pulled down.

Not only that, owners of such structures must be made to pay for the demolition through all legal means possible.

We also urge the courts to hand down punitive sanctions to recalcitrant developers who appear before them to serve as a deterrent to others.

The Ramsar sites are wholly owned by the government, and they are meant to protect the surrounding areas against floods and pollution.

Citizens are now too familiar with the rampant flooding with the slightest rainfall because of the wanton destruction of our wetlands, which have been designed to take up excess water.

The country must do everything possible to protect what is left of our wetlands and Ramsar sites while we urge the government to declare other sites across the country also security zones to ward off potential encroachers.

Our wetlands must be saved for posterity.