Between Accra and Tema lies a lagoon where wading birds from Europe spend the northern winter. Around it, builders are laying foundations.
The Sakumo Lagoon and its surrounding wetlands were designated a Ramsar site in 1992, recognised under the international Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. The site lies near Sakumono and Tema, along the coast of Greater Accra.
What the wetland does
Wetlands are more than empty land. The Sakumono site supports fish, crabs and other species that local people harvest. It shelters resident and migratory birds, including waders that travel from Europe to spend the northern winter in West Africa. It also acts as a natural sponge, absorbing floodwater during heavy rains and releasing it slowly.
Encroachment
As Accra and Tema have grown, land around the lagoon has become valuable. Developers and individuals have built houses and other structures within and on the edges of the protected area. Critics say weak enforcement, disputed land ownership and pressure for housing have allowed the encroachment to continue.
Government agencies have at times demolished structures and announced plans to protect the site, but building has continued.
Flooding
When wetlands are filled and built on, floodwater has fewer places to go. Residents of nearby communities have suffered from flooding in the rainy season, and environmental experts have linked this in part to the loss of wetland areas.
The convention
The Ramsar Convention is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, where it was signed in 1971. World Wetlands Day, marked each year on 2 February, commemorates the signing.
Other Ramsar sites
Ghana has several other Ramsar sites, including the Densu Delta, Songor, Keta Lagoon and Muni-Pomadze on the coast and Owabi near Kumasi. Each faces pressures from development, pollution and sand mining.
What can be done
Environmental groups call for clear demarcation of the site boundaries, enforcement against illegal building, restoration of damaged areas and education of residents about the value of wetlands. Some have suggested ecotourism, such as birdwatching, as a way to give the site economic value while protecting it.
A test for the city
The Sakumono Ramsar site is a test of whether Greater Accra can grow without destroying the natural systems that protect it.
The birds that arrive each year from Europe are counted by researchers. So are the new walls along the lagoon’s edge.
