Abstract
In Greater Accra, Ghana, pressures on formerly undeveloped land increase with rising demand for land as a resource for housing development. Land–water interactions create a waterscape inflicted by risk: ongoing development negatively impacts downstream communities as it reduces the natural capacity of local wetlands to regulate high discharge levels and eventually leads to flooding. The absence of water and sanitation infrastructure exacerbates flood-related risks, and the conversion of land surface changes ecosystem functions, which further contributes to flooding and water pollution. The purpose of this contribution is to explore material and spatial socionatural land–water interactions that are shaping the Densu Delta waterscape. Dynamics in space in the waterscape are explored through the lens of competition over land- and water-use control at different sites along the flow of the lower Densu Delta. In the case study area, urban development is both a cause of flood risk and a driver of risk reduction. As well-off areas gradually become served with basic infrastructure, less affluent communities along the road also experience less flooding and improved access to coping strategies. Competition over access to land thus often becomes a struggle over infrastructure. As a result of these ongoing processes, the nature of competition over land and water (use) is constantly changing in space, time and scale. Both land and water are unstable, fluid resources. The results show that competition between actors over the ownership of land is played out at a local level, between traditional authorities and individuals. Competition over the use of land by contrast is played out between local interest groups interested in further development on the one hand and, on the other hand, governmental authorities at city and national level intending to preserve the land from being developed. International interests including ecosystem conservation, investment in land for development and industrial production mediate the competition over both land and the use of water.
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Notes
- 1.
I use the definition by Wisner et al. of risk as ‘a compound function of the natural hazard and the number of people, characterized by their varying degrees of vulnerability to that specific hazard, who occupy the space and time of exposure to the hazard event’ (Wisner et al. 2004).
- 2.
Changes in land use from rural to urban have created an imbalance in the management of the reservoir and thus spurred competition over land-and water-use control. The construction and management of the dam has changed local opportunities and necessities of land use, for instance by enabling irrigated agriculture and housing development in areas that had previously been exposed to regular flooding. In combination with rising demand for (and thus economic value of) land for development, this has led to the emergence of control over land as a resource for development as an object of competition among and between traditional and governmental authorities.
- 3.
Compare, for instance, Tetegu’s residents’ statement that ‘flooding is not a problem’ with their ongoing activities in constructing a river wall and with the academic literature presenting the area as highly flood-prone Nyarko (2000).
- 4.
In general, local interest groups act in the interest of certain individuals, on a short term basis, whereas official government actions represent national and long-term interests. The main interests of local actors are access to affordable and safe land for housing purposes and economic gains from land plot sales, respectively. National- and city-level interests are the protection of residents from environmental hazards and the fostering of socio-economic development.
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Acknowledgments
This research has been (partly) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the (project funding) reference number 01 LN 1316 A and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung under the funding reference number P105800. The paper is a contribution to THESys Summer School. I would like to thank Esinam Attipoe, Esther Dansu-Wiredu, Martin Oteng-Ababio and Kofi Owusu for their invaluable comments in interpreting my findings and all interview partners in the Densu Delta for sharing their knowledge and experiences with me.
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Frick, F. (2016). Travelling Through the Densu Delta: Location, Place and Space in the Waterscape. In: Niewöhner, J., et al. Land Use Competition. Human-Environment Interactions, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33628-2_20
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