By Hagar Sey
The Sakumɔ Ramsar Site is fast becoming a dumping site. This is because residents keep dumping refuse into the portion of the lagoon which is meant to protect Sakumono Village from flooding when it rains.
In an interview with GBC News, a Community Leader of the Sakumɔnɔ Village, Joseph Teyetsu, said the area requires filling with sea sand to protect the Community from flooding, but lack of financial support to undertake this project has compelled them to dump refuse at the Ramsar Site.
The Sakumɔ Ramsar Site, which covers about one thousand four hundred hectares, is situated along the Accra-Tema coastline. It serves as a natural solution to the recent climate emergency, as it contains mangroves that sequester more than 60 percent of carbon emissions from the atmosphere.
However, the natural reserve is gradually losing its beauty and is becoming a dumping site for the Sakumɔnɔ Community and an open defecation area for some residents.
The Community started dumping at the site in 2005, but into a waste management agency’s container; however, with time, both residents of the Community and door-to-door refuse collectors turned the Lagoon and Ramsar Site into a permanent dumping site, in addition to the two waste collection containers available, which are overflowing with garbage.
A Manager at the dumping site, Ekow Agyiri, said although the Community intends to reclaim the dumping site, the cost involved is hampering their efforts. According to him, the door-to-door refuse collectors have been asked to stop dumping at the site, but they are adamant.
A Fisherman who is also a resident of the Community, Abraham Ayornu, said the dumping of refuse at the Ramsar Site is affecting fishing activities. He explained that most of the time, their motors get stuck with rubbish at sea, making it difficult for them to sail.