International groups join calls on gov’t not to allow bauxite mining in Atewa Forest

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been advised to reconsider government’s decision to give out the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region to Chinese for bauxite mining.

According to the organisations, Ghana risks suffering long-term disadvantages if it proceeds to mine bauxite in the Atewa Forest.

The organisations indicated that though the country would make some profit from mining bauxite, it was also necessary to appreciate that the Atewa Forest is an important water source for most of the river bodies in the country.

They say Ghana may only end up sacrificing irreplaceable forest and water sources for 5 million people for Chinese-linked bauxite mine.

According to them, despite vehement opposition from local communities and international conservation organisations, the Ghanaian government seems determined to proceed with a destructive bauxite mine in the Atewa Forest– a globally important ecosystem that harbours extraordinary wildlife and provides water for 5 million people.

The groups say the recent decision by the government to send bulldozers in to start clearing access roads shows that the authorities have decided to go ahead with the controversial project.

They mentioned that if completed, the mine would destroy the forest – one of the world’s Key Biodiversity Areas and home to more than 100 globally threatened species.

Designated as a Forest Reserve in 1926, the groups in a statement noted that, the Atewa forest is also a critical water source, housing the headwaters of the Birim, Densu and Ayensu rivers, which provide water to local communities as well as millions of people downstream, including the capital city of Ghana, Accra.

“Despite the government’s assertions, bauxite mining would forever destroy the Atewa forest, leaving extinct species and dried up water sources in its wake, said a Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu.

The organisations with over 15 million supporters worldwide, are thus calling on the Ghanaian government to abandon plans to mine the forest, and instead declare it a National Park.

They indicated that over 20,000 people have already signed a petition calling on the government to declare Atewa Forest a National Park.

“It is still not too late for the government to stop this disastrous mine in its tracks and instead champion Ghana’s incredibly rich natural heritage and the interests of the five million Ghanaians who depend on Atewa Forest for their water,” he added.

Unlike Ghana’s existing bauxite mine at Awaso, which locals describe as a “desert of red mud,” Atewa Forest is teeming with life, home to at least 50 mammal species, more than 1,000 species of plants, and at least 230 species of birds and more than 570 butterflies – some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LFmOamsviSy0PzEpJWf7317IhZDVciOi”]Mining Atewa Forest for bauxite, the main ingredient in aluminium, would push a number of species even closer to extinction, including the endangered white-naped mangabey, the critically endangered Togo slippery frog, and the Afia Birago puddle frog, which was only discovered in 2017.

The government’s decision to start tearing down the forest comes just a month after a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which highlighted the threat posed to humanity by the rapid loss of biodiversity, called for urgent global action to reverse the trend.

A recent Global Forest Watch report also estimated that there had been a 60 per cent increase in Ghana’s tropical primary rain forest loss in 2018 compared to 2017, the highest in the world.

“The recent UN biodiversity report was crystal clear: protect wildlife or all life on Earth will suffer, including humans,” said Russ Mittermeier, GWC’s Chief Conservation Officer and chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group.

“The government of Ghana has a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate that it is committed to preserving the country’s natural life support system and ecosystems that are critical for the health of the global environment by preventing mining in the Atewa Forest and instead designating it a national park.”

In 2016, A Rocha and partners published a report that showed that protecting Atewa Forest as a national park with a well-managed buffer zone around it – rather than mining it for bauxite has higher economic value for the country for over 25 years, with tremendous benefits to communities both upstream and down.

A recent US government report concluded that “given the scale, duration, and potential significant and permanent impact of Ghana’s Integrated Bauxite Plan on the Atewa Forest Reserve and water supply of over 5 million people, it is critical to evaluate a range of development and management options (including … alternatives to mining) to protect drinking water and other ecosystem services.”

Funds from the bauxite mine will be used to repay the Chinese company, Sinohydro, for infrastructure projects in Ghana.

SRK Consulting, a global company with offices in Europe and the US, has been contracted to develop the mine plan, with initial reports due this month.

“The Ghanaian government must prioritize what is invaluable for the people of Ghana. Atewa Forest is the crown jewel of the country’s biodiversity and the water towers for three major river systems,” said Frederick Kwame Kumah, WWF Africa Region Director.

“Bauxite mining in Atewa will cause unimaginable destruction to the forest and river ecosystems and directly impact people’s basic livelihoods.”

Simon Stuart, Synchronicity Earth’s Director of Strategic Conservation added “if mining proceeds in the Atewa Forest, not only will we seal the fate of several species, including two endemic frogs, but we also set the appalling precedent that mining can proceed in hugely important places for biodiversity without an Environmental Impact Assessment. We call on the Government of Ghana to cancel this project and to stop the damage before it is too late.”