Accra in danger as waste disposal site nears full capacity

These days the colour variations make the refuse bins an attractive sight, at least, until its contents come to mind. Imagine collecting all the refuse in your house, putting it into your blue Zoomlion waste bin and hoping that soon (and very soon) the collectors would come around. Then, the soon turns into hours, days and, oh no, weeks? Before long the unwelcomed visitors start trooping in, from houseflies to bees, pests, other insects and, yuck, cockroaches. And they do not come alone, they come with their annoyingly buzzing songs of dirt praise.

What you go do? Accra Mayor, what should we do?

I am not writing a fiction oh, fellow Ghanaians, at least if you have been reading this blog you would have noticed that I do more of information dissemination. This is what has started in our nation's capital.

An environmental crisis is starring its ugly face at Accra. If a new waste disposal site is not developed by December, residents may have their refuse bins sitting in front of their houses for days. And oh, residents of Teshie are already experiencing this for the past three weeks. Is your community next? I hope not.

Sources indicate that the city's main and only waste disposal site, the Saba landfill site, is about to get full. Ironically, out of the 2200 tons of waste generated daily in the city, only 700 is collected. (This represents about 31.8%, though some research papers indicate Accra's waste collection is between 70-80%).  Nonetheless, please don't imagine what would have been been the situation if our waste collection efficiency was very high. I bet that buzzing sound will be our daily lullaby.

According to the Mayor, Mr. Alfred Vanderpuije, a team is working on a finding new land fill site that will be effectively and scientifically managed. And if the "visitors" have already began their march, Mr. Mayor says you should report to your sub-metro office.

As they continue their search, Zoomlion is already working on a compost plant that should be completed by the end of August. Mr. Lawrence Laryea, the Operations Manager, said the plant will be able to process 300 tons of waste on an eight hour shift. Indeed that is good news.

But I guess the better news I want to share is this, Reduce Domestic Waste. In my next post, I will tell you how. 

Until then, think green, save Accra!

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UN Secretary-General's Message on the World Environment Day - June 5 2011

Nearly 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the world is once again on the road to Rio – the site of the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.  Much has changed in the past two decades, geopolitically and environmentally.  Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Latin America – and, increasingly, in Africa – have risen from poverty.  Yet, evidence is also accumulating of profound and potentially irreversible changes in the ability of the planet to sustain our progress.  

Rapid economic growth has come with costs that traditionally rarely feature in national accounting.  These range from atmospheric and water pollution to degraded fisheries and forests, all of which impact prosperity and human well-being.  The theme of World Environment Day this year, “Forests: Nature at Your Service”, emphasizes the multi-trillion dollar value of these and other ecosystems to society – especially the poor.

Despite growing global awareness of the dangers of environmental decline – including climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification – progress since the Earth Summit has been too slow.  We will not build a just and equitable world unless we give equal weight to all three pillars of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental.  To sustainably reduce poverty, guarantee food and nutrition security and provide decent employment for growing populations, we must make the most intelligent use of our natural capital.

India, the global host of World Environment Day in 2011, is among a growing number of countries working to address the pressures of ecological change.  It is also helping to pioneer a better assessment of the economic value of nature-based services, with the assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.  India’s Rural Employment Act and the country’s encouragement of renewable energy are significant examples of how to scale up green growth and accelerate the transition to a green economy.

No single day can transform development onto a sustainable path.  But on the road to Rio +20, this year’s World Environment Day can send a message that those with influence in government and the private sector can – and must – take the necessary steps that will fulfill the promise of the Earth Summit.  The global public is watching, and expects nothing less.

-United Nations Environment Programme June 2, 1022

Related articles

• Happy World Environment Day! (energyrefuge.com)
• World Environment Day 2011: First Impressions & Second Chances in India (treehugger.com)

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21 Days of Yellow Care 2011

Image via Wikipedia

"What do we use weedicides for, precisely we use it to kill plants and any living plant that you pour weedicide on dies and it does not only die. It means that little plants or seeds that are even on the ground, they are also destroyed all together….Strong winds will carry that away, water will erode the rest away and then it remains the hardcore sand or stone which cannot sustain plant life so the use of agro-chemicals are very detrimental to the environment’’.

These were the words of the Ashanti Regional Deputy Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr. James Ware. He was speaking at the launch in Kumasi of MTN’s annual community service initiative, known as the ‘21 days of yellow care’. 

During this year's programme MTN hopes to plant nine thousand trees nationwide with the support of Forestry Commission, Friends Water and River Bodies as well as Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

Why has this become necessary?

Worldwide, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than 130 thousand square kilometers of the world’s forest are lost annually to deforestation.

This accounts for 20 per cent of global greenhouse emissions which contribute to global warming.

Back home in Ghana, the situation is worse. Half of our 238,533 square kilometers of land is prone to disaster. 

Out of 8.3 million hectares of high forest that existed in the past ten years, only 1.8 million hectares is available now. The country loses 70,000 of its forest cover annually.

The lost has been attributed to bad farming practices such as the use of use of agriculture chemicals, bush fires, logging, and mining among others. 


At this rate, Ghana is definitely on the brink of an environmental disaster if nothing is done to curb the rapid deforestation and degradation of the environment, and this must prompt all Ghanaians to change our attitudes towards the environment.  

While I join the Kumasi Metro Chief Executive, Samuel Sarpong, to commend MTN staff for their volunteerism, I entreat all of us to support the green revolution and join the tree planting exercise when it reaches our doorsteps.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

Think green, stay safe!

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Fantastic Environmental Music Video by Wanlov The Kubolor - For The River

Not the official lyrics - my version!

Abi we day speak pidgin? Ok, make we go..

Dis b de korus

I wan go bof......For the river...

I wan hold my hand up..........for the river

But eno dey anymore for the river

e full of borla, e turn to gutter.........

*Now make u feel the borla rap - eday b kɛkɛ* 

I dey kae de way den we dey swim

For the rivers plus wanna friends

After den we dey fetch water

Take go cook den we dey chop better

But somtin happen.....

Plastics come...

Rivers turns into drastic dumps

Sewage and electronic waste

Sweet river, kai, toxic taste.

*KORUS*

River Pra.....emu ayɛ fȋȋ

River ƆdƆ,... ewo mudzi

River Volta....ɛmɛ [f]odi

River Densu.....very nasty

Oh wanna rivers, I dey wonder how we go survive

*KORUS*

I say I wan go boff for the river..

De END

#Wanvlov, @museke, we need more of these. Ghanaians we need a change of attitude!

WFP Executive Director Hails Women As Secret Weapon In Fight Against Hunger

WFP Executive Director Hails Women As Secret Weapon In Fight Against Hunger

US$1.64 million capacity building on climate change

The University of Ghana and the Open Society Institute have launched a US$1.64 million project aimed at building capacity to meet the climate change challenges in Ghana. 

In an address during the project launch, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, underscored the fact that African leaders who have been attending conferences on climate change have been usually poorly informed on issues, adding that there was a communication gap between researchers and policy makers. 

 

Professor Yaa Ntiamoah-Baidu, acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University and the project lead, disclosed the project would be delivered through four inter-connected approaches with a focus on training and human resource development, building climate change adaptation research capacity, information dissemination and influencing policy through general public awareness, among others. 

I implore all Ghanaians to offer full support for the project.

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Poisoning the poor – Electronic Waste in Ghana | Greenpeace International

Poisoning the poor – Electronic Waste in Ghana | Greenpeace International

Mining and manufacturing firms in Ghana operate below environmental standards

A 2009 study into the operations of 60 major mining and manufacturing firms in Ghana have revealed the low level of adherence to environmental standards in the country. The study, which was carried out from January to December by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rated the companies on a five-color coded scheme: red for poor performance up to gold for excellent. 

The companies were measured on how they met the legal requirements in hazardous waste management, toxic releases and non-toxic releases and monitoring and reporting. The rest are environmental best practice, community complaints and corporate social responsibility. Apart from Abosso Goldfields and Ghana Manganese, all other companies including AngloGold Ashanti, Coca Cola and Guinness Ghana Breweries were rated red. The two companies scored orange.

As I listened to Joy FM (99.7) I got a bit worried about this whole exercise. A representative of one of the mining companies which rated red challenged the outcomes, indicating that they have periodically submitted reports and liaised with the EPA on their operations and that if there were problems the EPA would have drawn their attention. So they cannot understand how that report can be true. However, one of the mining directors at the EPA insisted that the results of the study could not have been flawed given the fact that the companies themselves responded to assessment questions, which when compared to the standards fell short.

Another area of concern to me: The EPA says the initiative is aimed at naming and shaming the guilty companies so they would step up their game. What is the meaning of this? Residents in these mining communities have long been suffering from the effects of chemicals and hazardous waste which have been discharged into river bodies and on land surfaces. Many people have lost their livelihoods and sometimes lives, and the EPA is talking about naming and shaming. Is this enough?

I would always compare Ghana to the developed countries. When BP spilled oiled in the Gulf of Mexico, the company was not brought into the limelight to be shamed. Instead they were forced to pay for the damages and correct or mitigate the effects of the disaster. I believe those companies should be held accountable in one way or the other. The Minister of Environment, Ms. Sherry Ayittey, upon reading the report, has only threatened to withdraw the licences of companies that do not comply with the standards after sometime. We all know that may never happen. Think of this: does the minister really have the courage to withdraw the licence of a company like AngloGold Ashanti? The politicians and analysts will be quick to calculate how much Ghana will loose in taxes and royalties, and draw our attention to how the nation will be christened as an investor-Unfriendly country.

So the question is 'What do we do when these so called business giants hurt our environment'?

Over to you.

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This is how it starts

Not very long ago, I wrote about Ghana's oil find and the dispute surrounding which company (ExxonMobil or Cnooc) the government should approve to acquire Kosmos' stake.

Bad news

This morning I rather heard very disturbing news again from Cape Three Point, one of the oil fields. A militant group calling itself CAPE MILITIA has already emerged.

Their mission

This group posing as the official mouthpiece of the unemployed youth in the area believe the majority of the proceeds from the oil should be used to develop the area first, before other parts of the country.

"You realize that already as the oil companies have started polluting our sea with toxic substances and the only way to demand justice is to resort to militancy because through their actions and inactions, the Kosmos group and the others are just like the usual multinational oil companies that do not factor local inhabitants in their scheme of operation," a group member told Today newspaper. 

The group also claims that resorting to militant action is the only way to mitigate these likely environmental hazards and other associated casualties that may befall residents. their actions will be geared toward.

Their strategy?

According to the leader, they hold their daily meetings at Agona Nkwanta, where they engage in the training and the use of fire arms at a village near the Ghana Rubber Estates Plantation at Nkwanta. 

The group leader disclosed that they have identified some pipelines under the seabed and will soon start attacking them and threatened to start targeting rig and non-oil facilities, like bridges, buildings belonging to oil companies in the area if they are not assured of equal opportunities.

One fisherman, Opanyin Mbere, was sure that his children had joined the group because they had seen and felt the atrocities meted out to them by the find of the Black Gold (oil). 

"Now when I go to sea I have no catch because all the fishes are attracted by the lights from the rigs; then we are told not to fish along the rigs, how should I feed my family, if the cause of my children can bring some hope, huh am in full support," Opanyin Mbere noted.

What do we do?

You know what I think?...I believe Opanyin Mbere is just one of the many people who has vividly described what they are going through. As much as these people do have a point, I absolutely condemn the resort to militant action. The fact is that the grievances of these people have been communicated to the government. We have all read about the Kosmos oil spill and other environmental issues. My question, and theirs I believe is "What has been done or what is being done?"

Look at the way British Petroleum (BP) was queried for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Two lessons here: It did not take militant action to "correct this error", and the US government was there to protect the interest of its citizens. 

I hope one the militants is reading this, as well as a member of our government.

God help Ghana!

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Helping Villagers in Ghana Gain Access to Clean Water

Today, October 15 2010 is Blog Action Day, specially dedicated to Water. I decided to draw attention to some good efforts by two organisations to help rural Ghanaians access safe drinking water. The first is Water for Ghana, an organisation committed to providing clean water to villagers.  According to the organisation, they help villagers in Ghana build their own source of clean water. "Right now, the only water they have is dirty. Adults and children alike use this dirty water to drink, cook with and bathe in. They often get sick as a result.", their website reports. So far they have provided water tanks for some villagers in the Wester and Eastern regions, notably from the Adenya, Grumisa, Dekoto and Adanse communities. Watch a compilation of videos and photos from the organisation.

I also took note of some efforts by a group of MIT students who have helped a researcher build a factory that could provide water filters for 1 million people in northern Ghana. The news article reports that, "In January, Susan Murcott, four students, a factory consultant and local workers spent one month building the factory, as well as the kilns and other manufacturing equipment. The construction also involved testing the production capabilities of the site to ensure that the filters could be produced through an unusual technique that Murcott learned a decade ago while researching household filters made in Nicaragua by nonprofit Potters for Peace." 

UNICEF reports that nearly 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. The problem is particularly dire in Ghana, where diarrhea causes 25 percent of all deaths of children below the age of five each year.  In northern Ghana, the figure is even higher, where about half the population get its water from wells, ponds and streams that often contain disease-causing microorganisms. Part of the problem is that large, centralized water filtration and sanitation systems aren’t designed to reach remote areas like northern Ghana.

Hence we welcome the efforts of Susan and her colleagues who are doing this marvelous job of providing filters for the northern communities.

Again, today is Blog Action Day and as I leave you, remember that  you can help in your own small way by contributing via donations and volunteering to such laudable projects. 

God bless Water for Ghana, Susan and her group, Blog Action Day....and you!

  

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