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dam-l FIAN alert on Bui Dam, Ghana/LS
The following is from the group FIAN (a Europe-based NGO that deals with
issues of food security), about the proposed Bui Dam in Ghana.
For more info, please contact Simone Pingel at FIAN:
<spingel@ix.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>
Urgent Action
Concerning:
About 30,000 people in the Brong-Ahafo-Region, Northwest Ghana, are
threatened with losing their land and the right to feed oneself due to the
construction of the hydroelectricity Bui-dam.
Background:
With the construction of Ghana's third hydroelectricity dam, a population
of approximately 30,000 people have to fear relocation or a decline in
essential fishing grounds as well as an increase in dangerous diseases.
The country's first hydroelectricity dam, the Akosombo-dam in Southeast
Ghana, was built in 1966. The disastrous consequences of unfair
compensation and resettlement which followed the construction and the
recent power rationing due to too little water in the Akosombo dam are
still fresh in the minds of Ghanaians. The majority of the 80,000 people,
who were relocated, have never been provided with compensation, neither in
money nor in the provision of adequate land.
The proposed Bui-dam will be located in the Bui National Park and the total
area of land to be flooded fluctuates from about 17,800 hectares to 68,500
hectares, depending upon the final decision taken on the dam's elevation.
The Dokokyina village situated within the park will be submerged by the dam
flood. Depending upon the total area to be flooded, the number of directly
affected inhabitants will vary from 652 to 4433 people. No satisfactorily
resettlement or compensation plan for these people has so far been drafted.
Furthermore, the government has not taken into account the destruction of
means of subsistence faced by some 30,000 people's means of subsistence.
These communities are scattered around the national park. They will face
considerable problems due to a severe decline in the economically important
fish resources. These are likely to be heavily reduced, and some species
may disappear from the river entirely, as a consequence of the increased
pollution and changes in water temperature resulting from the dams'
construction. The population's basic food income will thus diminish and
threaten their right to feed themselves.
The dominant ethnic group in the area is the Mafi, fisherfolk, who live in
close solidarity with their sacred land and are dependent on its resources.
Traditional values and the respect for nature are a main concern for the
Mafi as well as other ethnic groups located in the region.
The construction of the Bui-dam in Ghana could end as another shortsighted
investment poject. Power supply from the already established dams has been
anything but reliable. Environmentalists have been left searching for the
logic behind the government's avowed determination to go ahead with the
construction of the Bui-dam due to long periods of droughts in the
sub-region with too little water to power the turbines. Moreover, as a
result of the obvious irreparable adverse impact on local people and the
environment, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have shunned
the project.
Reason for the urgent action:
The establishment of the Bui-dam would threaten the means of subsistence of
up to 30,000 people, through the submergence and the destruction of the
fishing resources.
The memorandum of understanding between the government and private
investors, which are: Brown and Root (UK); Alstom Hydro Limited (UK); Grupo
Dragados SA of Spain and Hyundai of South Korea, was signed on October,
15th, 1999 and the construction of the dam will start soon.
Although the dam construction was planned from 2001 it is reported that
some work has already been carried out without the promised social and
environmental impact assessment.
An international protest letter addressed to the President of Ghana will
pressurise him to establish a satisfactory resettlement and compensation
plan for all communities affected by the proposed dam before the
construction work commences, in order to protect their right to feed
themselves.
Proposed action:
Please send a polite letter to the President of Ghana, Mr. Jerry Rawlings,
in which you ask him not to start the construction of the dam before
detailed proposals about the compensation have been implemented. Request
him to make sure that adequate land is given to the people living within
the national park as well as to the population scattered around the park
which has to leave the area due to diminishing fish resources and the
increase of dangerous diseases. Furthermore, ask him to inform us about any
measures he has undertaken in this regard.
Addresses:
President of Ghana
The Minister
Jerry Rawlings
Ministry of Mines and Energy
P.O.Box 1627
P.O.Box 40
The Castle, Osu
Stadium
Accra
Accra
Ghana
Ghana
Honorable President
Jerry Rawlings
The Castle, Osu
P.O.Box 1627
Accra
Ghana
Honorable President,
Recently, I have been informed about the threats to the right to feed
themselves of the communities living in the submergence area of the
Bui-dam. According to my information, a minimum of 652 people will lose all
access to land and depending upon the flood area up to 30,000 will see
their access to resources partly or fully destroyed.
The withdrawal of the World Bank and the European Investment Bank from the
project
due to the expected irreparable impact on local people and the environment,
clearly indicates the level of international concern surrounding it.
Previous experiences with the Akosombo-dam have not been encouraging. The
majority of the 80,000 people relocated were not provided with any kind of
compensation.
As a State Party to the African Charter on Human Rights, Ghana has the
obligation to ensure that “All people shall have the right to their
economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom
and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind".
(Article 22)
More specifically Article 21.2 states that “In case of spoliation the
dispossessed people shall have the right to the lawful recovery of its
property as well as to an adequate compensation".
Furthermore, Ghana is a member of the United Nations and therefore agrees
with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
consequently must protect the right to adequate food for all parts of its
population.
As a person working internationally for the human right to feed oneself, I
would like to ask you to:
- ensure that adequate rehabilitation through the provision of equivalent
land or fair
financial compensation is given to the people within the national park
as well as to the
population scattered around the park, whom will also face considerable
problems due to
a fundamental decline in fish resources; their basic foodstuffs.
- make sure that the investors submit a comprehensive environmental and
social
impact assessement before starting the construction work on the Bui-dam
Please keep me updated on the measures you intend to take in this matter.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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