Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

We have the laws but how is our environment? The disconnect between Ghana’s environmental commitments and institutional capacity to manage urban floods and wetlands

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study assessed Ghana’s national and international environmental commitments, laws and policies and the stakeholders’ capacity to protect and manage the wetlands of a metropolis, Kumasi. The methods adopted included field surveys, desk studies (literature review), and interviews with various stakeholders. The results show that despite the sprawling urbanisation, patches of wetlands exist with relatively high diversity. The study further reveals that Ghana is a signatory to many international environmental conventions and treaties irrespective of the required obligations and commitments. However, the translation of the obligations of these conventions and treaties into local laws and policies, their implementation and enforcement have been woefully inadequate. Institutions mandated to oversee these processes are under-resourced or undermined by a multitude of issues. Whilst the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and its planning and hydrological units have the personnel and technical competence to deal with wetland issues, the National Disaster Management Organisation, on the contrary, has the financial and logistical support without the needed technical competence to manage wetland and flood challenges. For a developing country like Ghana, an integrated and collaborative approach between stakeholders is advocated based on a model that focuses on social and technical management of floods and wetlands for implementation by these stakeholders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Aabeyir R, Aduah MS (2014) Assessment of encroachment of urban streams: a case study of WA municipality. J Nat Resour Dev 4:10–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Abass K, Buor D, Afriyie K, Dumedah G, Segbefi AY, Guodaar L et al (2020) Urban sprawl and green space depletion: Implications for flood incidence in Kumasi, Ghana. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 51:101915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adjei BA, Mensah L (2015) Ghana’s efforts at environmental enforcement networks: legal and institutional structures. environmental enforcement networks. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp 419–429

    Google Scholar 

  • African Development Bank (2022) Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2022—the economic power of Africa’s cities. https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/africas-urbanisation-dynamics-2022-economic-power-africas-cities

  • Agbevade A (2020) The political settlement of local economic development in Ghana’s local governance system. Asian J Soc Sci Manage Technol 2(4):165–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Akmalah E, Griggs VA (2010) Integrated flood management model engaging stakeholder to overcome institutional problems in Jakarta. https://lib.itenas.ac.id/kti/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/D01-E-Akmalah-Integrated.pdf

  • Akobundu IO, Agyakwa CW (1998) Handbook of West African weeds, 2nd edn. Ibadan, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

    Google Scholar 

  • Amo M, Bih FK, Agyemang AJ, Gyamfi AT, Mensah M (2017) Investigation into acquisition and development of wetlands in built environment industry: a case study in Kumasi metropolis. Int J Civ Eng Constr Estate Manage 5(4):1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Aniah P, Yelfaanibe A (2016) Learning from the past: the role of sacred groves and shrines in environmental management in the Bongo District of Ghana. Environ Earth Sci 75(10):1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asante WA, Acheampong E, Boateng K, Adda J (2017) The implications of land tenure and ownership regimes on sustainable mangrove management and conservation in two Ramsar sites in Ghana. Forest Policy Econ 85(1):65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asomani-Boateng R (2019) Urban wetland planning and management in Ghana: a disappointing implementation. Wetlands 39(2):251–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asumadu G, Quaigrain R, Owusu-Manu D, Edwards DJ, Oduro-Ofori E, Kukah ASK, Nsafoah SK (2022) Analysis of risks factors associated with construction projects in urban wetlands ecosystem. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol: 1–13

  • Attuquayefio DK, Gbogbo F (2001) Prospects of conserving wetlands along the Mukwe Lagoon at Nungua in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. West Afr J Appl Ecol 2:65–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Attuquayefio DK (1999) Muni-Pamadze Ramsar site management plan. Ghana coastal wetland management project. Report prepared for Ghana Wildlife Department, 93p

  • Baruah P (2020) Potential of urban wetlands for ecotourism development—a case of deepor beel, Guwahati. Nat Environ Pollut Technol 19(2):611–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brook R, Dávila J (2000) The peri-urban interface: a tale of two cities. School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales and Development Planning Unit, University College London. 251 + vii pp

  • Burns MJ, Fletcher TD, Walsh CJ, Ladson AR, Hatt BE (2012) Hydrologic shortcomings of conventional urban stormwater management and opportunities for reform. Landscape Urban Plan 105(3):230–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campion BB, Owusu-Boateng G (2013) The political ecology of wetlands in Kumasi, Ghana. Int J Environ Bioenergy 7(2):108–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Campion BB, Venzke J-F (2011) Rainfall variability, floods and adaptations of the urban poor to flooding in Kumasi, Ghana. Nat Hazards 65(3):1895–1911

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobbinah PB, Korah PI, Bardoe JB, Darkwah RM, Nunbogu AM (2022) Contested urban spaces in unplanned urbanization: wetlands under siege. Cities 121:103489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook CDK (1996) Aquatic plant book, 2nd, revised. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Civil Engineering (2016) UNICEF assessment of wastewater treatment plants in Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi

    Google Scholar 

  • DuToit MJ, Preez C, Cilliers SS (2021) Plant diversity and conservation of wetlands along a rural-urban gradient. Bothalia. https://doi.org/10.38201/btha.abc.v51.i1.4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fobil JN, Atuguba RA (2004) Ghana: changing urban environmental ills in slum communities. Int J Environ Policy Law 34(4–5):206–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner RC, Connolly KD, Bamba A (2009) African wetlands of international importance: Assessment of benefits associated with designations under the Ramsar convention. Georgetown Int Environ Law Rev 21:257

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghana Environmental Protection Council (1989). Ghana environmental action plan, vol. 1. 106.

  • Ghana Statistical Service (2021). 2020 population and housing census: summary report of final results. Accra, Ghana

  • Government of Ghana (1992) The constitution of the republic of Ghana. Asempa Publishers, Accra

    Google Scholar 

  • Griebenow G, Kishore S (2009) Mainstreaming environment and climate change in the implementation of poverty reduction strategies. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Haflinger E, Scholz H (1980a) Grassweeds 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd, Basle

    Google Scholar 

  • Haflinger E, Scholz H (1980b) Grassweeds 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd, Basle

    Google Scholar 

  • Haflinger E, Kuhn U, Hamet-Ahti L, Cook CDK, Faden R, Speta F (1982) Monocot Weeds 3. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd, Basle

    Google Scholar 

  • Heal KV, Hepburn DA, Lunn RJ (2006) Sediment management in sustainable urban drainage system ponds. Water Sci Technol 53(10):219–227. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2006.315

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrigs P (2020) Africapolis: understanding the dynamics of urbanization in Africa: field actions science reports. J Field Actions (Special Issue 22), 18–23.

  • Hens L, Boon EK (1999) Institutional, legal, and economic instruments in Ghana’s environmental policy. Environ Manage 24(3):337–351

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herslund L, Lund DH, Jorgensen G, Mguni P, Kombe WJ, Yeshitela K (2015) Towards climate change resilient cities in Africa—initiating adaptation in Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa. In: Pauleit S, Coly A, Fohlmeister S, Gasparini P, Jorgensen G, Kabisch S, Kombe WJ, Lindley S, Simonis I, Yeshitela K (eds) Urban vulnerability and climate change in Africa, a multidisciplinary approach. Springer, Switzerland, pp 319–348

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hsu A, Emerson J, Levy M, de Sherbinin A, Johnson L, Malik O, Schwartz J, Jaiteh M (2014) The 2014 environmental performance index. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabisch S, Jean-Baptiste N, John R, Kombe WJ (2015) Assessing social vulnerability of households and communities in flood prone urban areas. In: Pauleit S, Coly A, Fohlmeister S, Gasparini P, Jorgensen G, Kabisch S, Kombe WJ, Lindley S, Simonis I, Yeshitela K (eds) Urban vulnerability and climate change in Africa, a multidisciplinary approach. Springer, Switzerland, pp 197–228p

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Korah PI, Cobbinah PB (2017) Juggling through Ghanaian urbanisation: flood hazard mapping of Kumasi. GeoJournal 82(6):1195–1212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuusaana ED, Ahmed A, Campion BB, Dongzagla A (2021) Characterisation and typology of urban wetlands in Ghana: implications for the governance of urban commons in secondary cities in Africa. Urban Governance 1(1):38–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lant CL (1994) The role of property rights in economic research on U.S. wetlands policy. Ecol Econ 11(1):27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-8009(94)90047-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Environment and Science (2002) National biodiversity strategy for Ghana. Ministry of Environment and Science, Ghana, p 55

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (2012) Ghana forest and wildlife policy, 36p

  • Ministry of Lands and Forestry (1999a) Managing Ghana’s wetlands: a national wetlands conservation strategy. Accra

  • Ministry of Lands and Forestry (1999b) National Land Policy. Accra

  • Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, (2013). Riparian buffer zone policy for managing freshwater bodies in Ghana. 30p.

  • Mintah F, Amoako C, Adarkwah KK (2021) The fate of urban wetlands in Kumasi: analysis of customary governance and spatio-temporal changes. Land Use Policy 111:105787

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Development Planning Commission (2005) Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) (2006–2009). National Development Planning Commission, Accra

    Google Scholar 

  • Nero BF, Callo-Concha D, Denich M (2019) Increasing urbanization and the role of green spaces in urban climate resilience in Africa. In: Haltermann, Tischler (eds) Environmental change and African societies: climate and culture, vol 5. Brill Publishers, pp 265–295

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Niemelä J (1999) Ecology and urban planning. Biodivers Conserv 8(1):119–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ntiamoa-Baidu Y (1991) Conservation of coastal lagoons in Ghana: the traditional approach. Landsc Urban Plan 20(1–3):41–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ntiamoa-Baidu Y (2008) Indigenous beliefs and biodiversity conservation: the effectiveness of sacred groves, taboos and totems in Ghana for habitat and species conservation. J Study Religion Nat Culture 2(3):309–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD, SWAC (2020) Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2020: Africapolis, Mapping a New Urban Geography, West African Studies. OECD Publishing, Paris

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Okley BL (2004) Legislation and implementation of international environmental law by African countries: a case study of Ghana. LLM Theses and Essays, University of Georgia, Paper 38

  • Orloci L (1978) Multivariate analysis in vegetation research. Dr W. Junk b.v., Publishers. The Hague, p 451

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter G, Young E (1998) Decentralized environmental management and popular participation in coastal Ghana. J Int Dev 10(4):515–526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2010) Laws and institutions; reviewing laws and institutions for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Ramsar handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, vol 3, 4th edn. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2008) Healthy wetlands, healthy people. 10th meeting of the conference of the contracting parties to the convention on wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) Changwon, Republic of Korea, 28 Oct–4 Nov 2008.

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2012) 11th meeting of the conference of the parties to the convention on wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) “Wetlands: home and destination” Bucharest, Romania, 6–13 July 2012

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2018). 13th meeting conference of the parties to the convention on wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future”, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  • Roy AH, Wenger SJ, Fletcher TD, Walsh CJ, Ladson AR, Shuster WD, Thurston HW, Brown RR (2008) Impediments and solutions to sustainable, watershed-scale urban stormwater management: lessons from Australia and the United States. Environ Manage 42(2):344–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-008-9119-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sakané N, Alvarez M, Becker M, Böhme B, Handa C, Kamiri HW et al (2011) Classification, characterisation, and use of small wetlands in East Africa. Wetlands 31(6):1103–1116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shutes B, Ellis JB, Revitt DM, Scholes LNL (2005) Constructed wetlands in UK urban surface drainage systems. Water Sci Technol 51(9):31–37

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sims KRE, Schuetz J (2009) Environmental regulation and land use change: do local wetlands bylaws slow the conversion of open space to residential uses? Reg Sci Urban Econ 39(4):409–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takyi SA, Aponsah O, Darko G, Peprah C, Azerigyik RA, Mawuko GK, Chiga AA (2022) Urbanization against ecologically sensitive areas: effects of land use activities on surface water bodies in the Kumasi metropolis. Int J Urban Sustain Dev 14(1):460–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN-Habitat, (2009) Ghana urban profile. UN-Habitat Regional and Information Office, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • UN-Habitat (2014). The state of African cities 2014: re-imagining sustainable urban transitions. Kenya, ISBN Number (Volume): 978-92-1-132598-0. http://www.unhabitat.org

  • UN-Habitat (2022). World cities report 2022: envisaging the future of cities. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Nairobi. https://unhabitat.org/wcr/

  • UNICEF and World Health Organization (2015) 25 years progress in sanitation and drinking water. 2015 Update and MDG assessment. WHO Press, 80p

    Google Scholar 

  • Water Resources Commission (2008) Final draft buffer zone policy for managing river basins in Ghana. Water Resources Commission: Ghana

  • Wendling ZA, Emerson JW, Esty DC, Levy MA, de Sherbinin A et al (2018) 2018 environmental performance index. Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikum WA, Shanholtzer GF (1978) Application of the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale for vegetation analysis in land development studies. Environ Manage 2(4):323–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yiwo E, Jato-Espino D, Garracedo P, de Brito MM (2022) Multi-stakeholder perception on flood management in Ghana: Analysis of drivers and potential solutions, with a focus on surface permeability. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 76:102990

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the several individuals who assisted with data collection.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Benjamin Betey Campion

  2. Department of Forest Resources Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Bertrand Festus Nero

  3. Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

    Esinam Attipoe

Authors
  1. Benjamin Betey Campion
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bertrand Festus Nero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Esinam Attipoe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

BBC, BFN and EA conceived, and designed the study, collected the data, analysed and wrote the paper. All reviewed and agreed on its content.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bertrand Festus Nero.

Ethics declarations

Competing interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interest to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 34 KB)

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 16 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Campion, B.B., Nero, B.F. & Attipoe, E. We have the laws but how is our environment? The disconnect between Ghana’s environmental commitments and institutional capacity to manage urban floods and wetlands. Wetlands Ecol Manage (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-09986-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-09986-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation