Ghana's water bodies under threat - Water consultant

Mr Minta Afosa Aboagye, a consultant on water resources, has said the nation's water bodies are under threat due to the unregulated behaviour of people around such bodies and the effects of climate change.

He said the role of all stakeholders, including civil society organisations and the district assemblies, are essential in the management of the situation as the current status of such valuable water resources is continually on the decline.

Mr Aboagye, who is also a former Director of Water at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, was speaking at a recent workshop organised by the Water Resources Commission, and the Development Institute, a Non Governmental Organisation.

The workshop held at the Water Resource Commission, was on the theme:

"Sustainable water resource management".

Mr Aboagye said the issue of sustainable water management is a global one and Ghana is not excluded as many of our water bodies are on the verge of extinction and the Volta River is also under threat.

Mr Aboagye said organising the workshop was necessary as there was the need for all stakeholders to create more awareness on the essence of sustainable water management around our rivers, lakes lagoons and ground water.

"There was the need to enforce the existing bye-laws concerning our water resources," he said adding that, not only are the activities of man harming them but more so the effect of climate change is equally having an impact on such resources too.

Mr Aboagye said "the strict enforcement of each district assembly's bye-laws on pollution is a necessary step in protecting our water resources as our population would continue to grow and hence there shall be an increased demand for water for both domestic and commercial concerns."

He said though the effects of mining in certain catchment areas and deforestation has been discussed over the years, and the impact has been felt in certain communities, such activities are still on-going in other areas of the society hence the need to intensify efforts at halting such activities.

Mr Aboagye said it was also important for the bye-laws to be enforced to halt the use of insecticides and fertilizers by some farmers around some prominent water resources.

The workshop was attended by civil society organisations, assembly members and other stakeholders of water resource management.

Topics discussed by participants included: the ADAPTS approach to the Integrated Water Resource Management; socio- economics of water for local development; funding for water resource management; and strategies for sustainable water resource management.