Harvesting tree stumps from Volta Lake

Even though the removal of aged tree stumps in Ghana’s only man-made lake promises to generate a lot of economic benefits, fisherfolk along the lake think their livelihood is at stake.

Since April 27,  2010, when the government signed an agreement with a Canadian company for the second phase of the removal of the tree stumps from the Volta Lake, the Ghana National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council noted that concerns of fisherfolk whose lives depended on the water needed to be addressed before the project would commence.

However, the project  started, and according to Clark Sustainable Resource Development Limited, the company executing the project, tree stumps worth millions of Ghana cedis have been harvested, transformed into lumber and exported to markets in United States, Belgium, Italy and other European countries.   

The Chairman of the National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council, Mr Vincent Kaledzi, says the project will disturb fish production.

“We have been recording incidence of fish dying since the project started,” stated a disturbed Mr Kaledzi. 

Deceit

He alleged that the fishermen were had been deceived that the project was to remove a few tree stumps to clear the path for easy navigation on the lake and also reduce the incident of boat accidents.

“Though there is an agreement in place. The fishing community was not educated on the actual contract.  What the company is doing could not have been done in Canada.”  

Mr Kaledzi explained that the tree stumps did not only serve as breeding, nursery and feeding grounds for fish in the lake but also prevented trawling and dragging of fish nets, as well as protected the fauna in the lake against predators.

He insisted there were environmental issues that needed to be addressed as the chemicals used by the machines for the harvesting polluted the water. 

“We are not looking at the environmental degradation aspect. The quality of the water which is a source of drinking water is at stake,” said Mr Kaledzi.

Company’s response

At the commencement of the project, the Communications Director, Reverend Kafui Johnson, said: "we are in constant touch with the Environmental Protection Agency and other research institutions, and should our activities have a negative impact on fish stocks in the lake, we would immediately vary our methods to ensure the fishing industry is not jeopardised." 

The project's research and development manager, Mr Peter Milne, said every caution had been taken to prevent any fluid leakages and if they did occur, they would be contained within the barge, while the fuel depot was also secured against seepage of fuels into the soil and lake.

Environmental and Social Supervisor of Clark Resources, Godfred Asare, told the Daily Graphic that harvesting started in September 2012 at Sedorm in the Asuogyaman District. 

He explained that the project had been categorised into two phases covering a 15-year period and a 10-year renewal.

Mr Asare said the project kicked off with assessing the trees in the water, consultation with the communities and test harvesting. 

 He said many of the trees were unusable because of the long period they had been in the water.

“Once we remove the trees and they are not good, we share it between two communities Adwosu and Akyekyeamanfrom”, but the good ones were milled and sold on the local market for the manufacture of furniture or exported.

The trees had to pass a density test, moisture content and tree species but because the trees had been in water for a long time, it was difficult to identify the type of tree (which was important) before value could be placed on it.

He said a stumpage fee was paid on each tree stump removed from the lake to the Forestry Commission.

EPA’s response 

The Environmental Protection Agency said monitoring of the area as of June 2013 did not reveal “any significant changes in the water quality from the baseline values.”

When the Daily Graphic asked about the fishermen’s concern over fish deaths, the EPA said, “We have neither received any reports  of any specified fishes dying nor has our monitoring revealed any such incidence as a result of the removal of the tree stumps.”

The authority further stated that it was not uncommon to have a few dead fishes floating on the lake in several locations long before permit was granted to the company.

“No massive fish kills have been reported on the Volta Lake. It is only when mass dying of fish occurs that it could be attributed to an aggravated cause or some drastic change in the environment”. 

Addressing challenge

The disagreement between the company and the fishing community has currently resulted in the halt of the project. 

To resolve the issue amicably, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Innusah Fuseini, has constituted an inter-ministerial committee with a term of reference of monitoring the strategy for the timber harvesting to ensure that Clerk Resources complied with the agreement.

“The social and environmental issues must be met without violation. You are expected to carry out your task professionally and also produce a quarterly update,” the minister said at the inauguration of the committee.

Number of fishermen

For people along the lake, fishing comes as a natural means of livelihood. Records show that about 71,861 fishermen make a living on the Volta Lake.

Dr Mamaa Entsua-Mensah of the Water Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who has done extensive work on the Volta Lake, identified 1, 232 villages along the lake.

She said fisherfolk and their families in Ghana and especially in the Volta basin, were often considered to be among the poorest of the poor. 

“It is true that material conditions in rural fishing villages often compare unfavourably with those found in agricultural communities.”

Volta Lake 

Ghana’s main water body, the Lake Volta, is 25 kilometres wide and extends behind the Akosombo Dam which produces electricity for Ghana.

The Volta Lake, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, was created in 1964 and provides water for domestic and industrial use.

Apart from fishing in the lake, it has remained a major water transport system used to ferry both people and goods.

But submerged tree stumps have, over the years, posed a serious threat to transportation on the lake as several fatal boat disasters have been recorded. 

The lake contributes to 85 per cent of the country’s inland fish production and 16 per cent of natural fish output.

However, in recent times, there have been concerns over the dwindling fish stock.

A survey carried out in 2000 by the Directorate of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, now the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, estimated that there were more than 100 species of fish in the lake.

Conclusion 

The Volta Lake is a very important resource as a result of its economic and social contribution.

However, the  issue of harvesting the 40-year-old trees from the lake seems to be affecting both the fisherfolk, whose livelihood depend on the trees, and  the operations of the company which has a contract to harvest the trees.

If not properly resolved, the  disagreement has a potential of affecting future investments.

Writer’s email: emelia.ennin@graphic.com.gh