Ghana risks importing water over illegal mining

He made the comments at the launch  of the 5th Forestry Week and Greening Ghana Day in Accra last week under the theme ‘Forests and Water for Sustaining Lives and Livelihoods.'

Distraction of the country's forest belt by illegal miners could force Ghana to import water from it neighbours in the near future, Deputy Chief of Staff Johnny Osei Kofi has said.

He made the comments at the launch  of the 5th Forestry Week and Greening Ghana Day in Accra last week under the theme ‘Forests and Water for Sustaining Lives and Livelihoods.'

According to the deputy chief of staff, if nothing is done about the indiscriminate distraction of Ghana's forest, water bodies may dry up which will lead to water shortage.

“We must do something or we will be importing drinking water,” he said, adding “If care is not taken, we will be importing water in the next five years; or we will have to go the expensive way of using sea water,” he said. 

“We must do this to save our forests and water-bodies; if we don’t act fast, in five years water resources in this country will suffer,” he added.

Water volume across West Africa has dropped by 30 percent, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, attributing the challenge to climate change patterns and human factors such as farming and illegal mining along river bodies, among others.

"We are facing challenges with our water bodies principally because there is climate change," Dr Addo Ampofo, Director of CSIR-Water Research Institute said.

According to him, Ghana is experiencing dry periods than before, adding that Ghana's originally 70 percent water cover has seen 30 percent reduction over the last 30 years.

He cautioned that most of the country's water bodies may dry up in the coming years.