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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: GHANA COASTAL EROSION
HEADLINE: Ghana’s Coastal Communities Threatened by Erosion, Sand Harvesting
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 12/29/2021 at 1:40pm
BYLINE: Senanu Tord
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Fuvemeh, Ghana
VIDEOGRAPHER: Senanu Tord
VIDEO EDITOR: Tord, Rob Raffaele
SCRIPT EDITORS: Schearf, wpm
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:26
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
Tidal waves and coastal erosion have submerged an entire fishing community on Ghana's eastern coast. Many villagers had already been relocated from past tidal waves and have petitioned the government for a permanent solution. Senanu Tord reports from the village of Fuvemeh in Ghana.
((NARRATOR))
The RC Primary School lays in ruins after what authorities say in November was the largest tidal wave to ever hit Ghana’s eastern coast.
It was the third re-location of the school further inland after two previous ones were completely submerged along with the Fuvemeh village fishing community.
No matter how many times the villagers move further from the shore, flooding and coastal erosion have brought it right back.
((Knowledge Dewornu, Fuvemeh Community Leader (English, 24 secs))
“So, it started in 1997 and it did not destroy all the land, it destroyed part of it. And in 2016, it also destroyed part of it again and 2018 it destroyed all
the land at Fuvemeh, so you can't see anybody at Fuvemeh now. So, these are the villages near Fuvemeh, which is now being destroyed by the sea again.”
((NARRATOR))
The once thriving fishing village of 2,500 people has been reduced to a few hundred who are struggling to keep their heads above water.
A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) study says 37 percent of Ghana’s eastern coastal land was lost from erosion and flooding between 2005 and 2017.
((NARRATOR))
Authorities blame rising seas from climate change as well as human activities, such as building dams and ports and harvesting sand from beaches to sell for use in construction.
((Emmanuel Gemegah, Keta Municipal Chief Executive (English, ?? secs))
“So as the chairman of the MUSEC, the Municipality Security Council, we held a meeting, and we came out with an order which seeks to ban the fetching of the sand from the beaches until further notice.”
((NARRATOR))
In a meeting with authorities, Fuvemeh villagers said the ban was not enough.
They called for building a sea defense wall, as has been done on some other areas of the coast.
((Seji Saji Amedonu, National Disaster Management Organization (English, 12 secs))
“The whole shore of Ghana, from Axim to Aflao, that protection needs to be done. Because if we protect one particular place and leave the others, the devastation will continue.”
((NARRATOR))
While all coastal West Africa suffers from erosion, Ghanaian experts say their country’s long coastline – almost 550 kilometers (340 miles) - makes it most vulnerable.
The University of Cape Coast’s Center for Coastal Management says every year Ghana loses an average two meters of land to the sea.
((Senanu Tord, for VOA News, Fuvemeh Village, Ghana.))
NewsML Media TopicsEnvironment
Topic TagsGhana
coastal
erosion
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 29, 2021 14:49 EST
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media
