Courting Megadisaster:
Bui Dam May Cause Havoc
Stories by Mike Anane, reprinted from Environment Reporter by permission.

The largest of the only two populations of Hippopotamus Amphibious left in Ghana would soon be wiped off the surface of the earth, if the government goes ahead with its plan of constructing the country's third hydroelectricity dam on the Black Volta river at the Bui gorge located in the Bui National park.

Meandering through some of the last shreds of pristine intact forests that the country can boast of, the Black Volta also flows through the magnificent Bui national park in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. It is a protected area of the Guinea Savannah, which is home to a stunning collection of many globally endangered amphibious, lions and various primates.

According to a study conducted by this writer, the 400 megawatts Bui dam if constructed "very soon" as disclosed recently by Ghana's Vice-president, Prof. Atta Mills, a greater part of the 1800km national park with all its spectacular landscape, treasures and diversity of species will be submerged underwater forever. Most disturbing is the fate of the only two populations of black hippopotamus who -- according to local residents and park wardens -- number about 140-150 in the whole park.

Contrary to widely held beliefs by the dam backers that the hippos and the other endangered species will be relocated when construction of the dam begins, zoologist interviewed contend that the hippos in particular cannot survive anywhere outside the Bui national park due to its unique nature. Moreover the country's game and wildlife department is even too broke to afford the cost involved in rescuing the animals at Bui and sending them to the supposed "safe havens."

"We don't even have the men and funds to capture the crocodile that has strayed into part of the Odaw river that flows under the bridge at "circle" in Accra, how can we ever capture and transport hippos and lions from the Bui game reserve" an official of the game and wildlife department told me in an interview.

Besides ringing the death knell for the black hippos, the Bui dam project will also set in motion other serious environmental impacts such as changing the natural flow regime of the river, banks and further reduce downstream habitat adversely.

A survey of the diverse species found at the Bui National park and the black volta river in the northwestern part of Ghana, conducted by scientists from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland recently, also reveal that the black volta river abounds with forty six species of fish from seventeen families all of economic importance. They reveal that with the damming of the river these native fish communities would also be destroyed over long distances downstream as a result of physical barriers that will block fish migration routes along the Black Volta and destroy forests used as spawning grounds for fish. Many fish populations are likely to be heavily reduced and some species may disappear from the river entirely, this would be compounded by increased pollution and changes to water temperature from the project that would damage the Black Volta fisheries.

The Bui national park also contains diverse communities of many animals groups characteristic of both grassland and forests. Since all the forested areas are within the flood plain of the river, the hydroelectricity project that aims to dam the rivers at Bui will completely, destroy all the riverine, forest habitat within the park thus drowning the diverse animal groups.

What's more, the Bui dam when constructed is expected to alter the health and welfare of hundreds of people to be resettled for the project. These people who will still be relying on the reservoir waters for their daily activities will be at increased risk from a number of dangerous diseases which are expected to increase in the area. Despite this fact, the government is woefully unprepared to deal with these risks as the Akosombo dam (the country's first dam) has shown.

The most serious threat with this project will be schistosomiasis (bilharzia), which could become established in the Bui reservoir area, with snails, insects and other animals serving as vectors for this parasitic disease. The bitter truth is that, the magnitude of the global incidence of schistosomiasis is directly connected with the construction of dams and irrigation projects. In Ghana, thousands of people living along the volta river at Akosombo are dying slowly of bilharzia or schistosomiasis. The worst bilharzia prone areas include Ada and English - Kenya, a village on an island near Ada. So far a number of non-resident visitors who flock to Ada on weekends to swim in the river volta have been infected. Not only do they pass blood in their urine but have also ended up with strange forms of paralysis due to bilharzia which affected their spinal cord, an unusual development in medical history which continues to baffle local doctors.

As usual, the recent announcement by Ghana's Vice-president Atta Mills that the ruling National Democratic government will go on with the Bui dam construction was hailed by most people who will not directly be affected by the dam. They also, will probably never hear of the hazards and negative effects such as the obliteration of many villages, and fertile farm lands, forced relocation, irreversible loss of critical wildlife habitat and other social problems. For many environmentalists however, the Vice-president's announcement has set in motion heated environmental controversy.

Already, environmentalists and scientists including eco-film producers have been trooping in daily to the proposed dam site in the northwestern part of Ghana. Their aim is to film and collect data on what would soon become one of the biggest crimes against the planet and a violation of the biodiversity protection principle of Agenda 21, the Rio Earth Summit's blueprint for sustainable development to which Ghana is a signatory.

Given the personal involvement of Ghana's Vice-president and the high priority that the proposed project is so far enjoying, indications are that the government is poised to approve of the plans for the construction of the Bui dam project.

Having been shunned by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other multilateral agencies as a result of the obvious irreparable adverse impact on local people and the environment, the government is now having to court private foreign investors.

Mr. Adom who is a member of the proposed Bui planning committee further disclosed that over twelve foreign investors from Russia, Sweden, Japan, Australia and other countries have already submitted proposals to the Ministry of Mines and Energy in respect of the construction of the Bui Dam. By the end of March 1999, a technical committee hopes to short list the investors and the selected investor would construct the dam, produce the power and sell it.

Ghana's history of dam building is full of tragedies, many of which center around resettling people, and the accompanying health hazards. A case in point is the Akosombo dam, with an area of 8,300 square kilometres. The Akosombo reservoir in Ghana almost as big as Lebanon resulted in the relocation of almost 80,000 people whose homes and farmlands were inundated by the reservoir.

After almost three decades of the construction of the Kpong and Akosombo dams, communities are still embroiled in legal tussles with the Volta River Authority over compensation.

As a result of the difficulties of establishing new lives in unfamiliar areas together with conflicts over land, about three-quarters of those who were resettled, continue to live and farm near the edge of the Akosombo reservoir. This situation has led to rapid clearing of the steep hillsides along the dam resulting in deforestation soil erosion and accelerated siltation of the reservoir.

Some of these risks awaiting the Bui dam include the relocation of over 2,500 people and the inundation of a greater portion of the 1800sq. kilometres of the protected Bui National park and also too little water in drought years to fully power the turbines.

Pledges by the government that the investors will submit a comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment before starting the construction work on the Bui has been dismissed by environmentalists as a joke, since "EIA's have never worked in this country. Moreover the effects of surface mining for gold in Ghana's western region is there for all to see. Didn't those mining firms submit EIA's to the Environmental Protection Agency?" asked Mr. Joshua Awuku Apaw, Head of information of the Green Earth Organisation, a non-governmental based in Accra.

In an area of mass decommissioning of dams all over the world and the long periods of droughts in the sub-region with too little water to turn turbines, environmentalists have been left searching for the logic behind the government's avowed determination to go ahead with the construction of the Bui dam come what may. Moreover the disastrous consequences of unfair compensation and resettlement which followed the Akosombo dam and the recent power rationing due to too little water in the Akosombo dam are still fresh in the minds of Ghanaians.

In an interaction with newsmen recently, Mr.Alex Papanko, Brong Ahafo Regional Area Manager of Volta River Authority's Nothern Electricity department disclosed that the VRA has identified sixteen potential sites for the production of hydro-electricity and that more rivers will be damned throughout the country.

The need for a credible energy efficiency policy in Ghana cannot be underestimated and its not too late to tap the solar energy potential in the country and the considerable wind resources along our lengthy coasts.

Meanwhile, scientists predict that by the year 2,000 (next year) if the current abuse of the planet continues more than 100 species of fauna and flora will disappear daily.

As the survival of these species is inextricably bound up with our own, the black hippo and all the other endangered species at Bui cannot be swept unto the rubbish dump of history, the Bui dam must therefore be abandoned.

Stop the Bui Dam

Over the years, dams have been touted as miracles of engineering for their role in providing electricity, drinking water and irrigation of lands etc.

But the host of environment, social, technical and economic problems plaguing the industry are not so well known to many people who applaud such decisions by governments. These damages include the uprooting of human communities from lands they have owned for generations and forced resettlement somewhere else. In addition are the loss of riparian and terrestrial wildlife habitat due to the flooding and erosion and the disruption of ecosystems due to the equalized water temperatures and reversal of seasonal flow patterns. Furthermore is the premature loss of reservoir capacity due to silt accumulation at unexpectedly high rates, the degradation of downstream riverbanks and beds which requires expensive mitigation measures and the cost of resettling and maintaining large human populations.

These issues of cost, environmental damage and energy insecurity have led to a rising decommissioning of dams in most parts of the world and a search for more efficient, safe and cost effective alternative forms of energy supply such as solar and windmills.

Reeling from the devastating effects of power rationing and some of the above mentioned problems unleashed on Ghanaians by the Akosombo dam, one would have thought that the government will be serious in its search for alternative sources of energy but indications are that the government learnt nothing and forgot nothing. It is against this background that the recent announcement by the Vice-President that the government will be constructing the Bui Dam has come as a shock to many local and international environmentalists.

Finding a solution to the energy crisis confronting the country is a welcome move but solving it in a way that will harm the Black Volta's ecosystem and exacerbate poverty in the area is indeed a poor bargain.

The Black Volta flows through some of the most pristine intact forests left in Ghana, with the construction of the dam, the area's spectacular natural treasures will be ruined forever.

Bui national park contains diverse communities of many animal groups characteristic of both grasslands and forests since all of the forested areas are within the flood plain of the river, the hydroelectric project will completely destroy all the riverine forest habitats within the park.

Perhaps what is most disturbing is the fact that the only two Hippopotamus amphibious populations left in Ghana will be driven into extinction vortex and a host of diseases unleashed on the poor people who are least equipped to deal with it.

The need for alternative sources of energy cannot be underestimated and it is not too late to tap the solar energy potential in the country and considerable resources along our lengthy coast. As a matter of fact, the use of these renewable alternative sources of energy can compliment the already existing grid power in rural electrification, water supply and other appropriate areas. These resources will offer more secure sources of energy supply. In Kenya which has a limited national electricity grid, more households now get their electricity from the sun.

In a last ditch effort to save the river and the poor black hippos, the Environment Reporter is calling on all to support the "Stop the Bui Dam" Campaign. Saving the hippos is a high priority because they are so unique.

Indeed, persuading third world governments to abandon plans to build water development schemes can be an uphill task. But every effort must be made by local and international groups to do so. If necessary, we should resort to non-violent direct action at the dam site when construction begins.

People should no longer allow hydro-developers to trample on their rights and deprive them of their livelihoods, their lands and their rivers for the benefit of corporate profits, bureaucratic and political careers.

After nearly three decades since the Akosombo dam began, communities that were relocated are still fighting for compensation particularly for the loss of fertile farm lands and buildings. But it's obvious that these dam-affected people have been long abandoned and forgotten.

The usual talk that the dam will alleviate acute unemployment in the area does not hold water if anything at all, this will be short lived as once the rains begin to fail, and power rationing sets in, millions of workers are going to be laid off as Akosombo has shown.

Indeed, the Bui dam, if constructed soon as the Vice-President indicated, will be an ecological disaster and a veritable text book example of wasted taxpayer money.

Join the "Stop the Bui Dam" Campaign now!