TY - JOUR
T1 - Impacts of Ghana’s Bui dam hydroelectricity project on the livelihood of downstream non-resettled communities
AU - Owusu, Kwadwo
AU - Asiedu, Alex Boakye
AU - Yankson, Paul William Kojo
AU - Boafo, Yaw Agyeman
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/3/1
Y1 - 2019/3/1
N2 - Ghana’s socio-economic development, since independence, has been driven by the Akosombo and Kpong dams that provide water (for domestic, agriculture and industrial use) and hydroelectricity. It was hoped that with these past experiences, the Ghana government would be in a better position to manage the livelihood issues of the newly built Bui hydroelectricity dam better. Using a modified political ecology framework, this study examined the implications of the Bui dam project on the livelihoods of the downstream communities, which have received limited scholarly attention. Results from 158 household questionnaire interviews, corroborated by in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders and focus group discussions indicate a complete lack of compensation package of any form for affected downstream communities. Fishing and farming, the dominant livelihood strategies of the households interviewed, have become unproductive and unsustainable leading to reduced incomes. Additionally, the unregulated activities of small-scale gold miners (galamsey) in the river bed which were made possible after the Bui dam’s construction were cited by most interviewees and focus group discussants for its negative impacts on human and ecological health. In a nutshell, existing livelihoods systems of downstream non-resettled communities post the Bui dam construction have been severely disrupted. Addressing the present challenges facing downstream communities in an integrative and participatory manner should be the top priority of the dam planners and implementers especially the Bui Power Authority and the District Assemblies.
AB - Ghana’s socio-economic development, since independence, has been driven by the Akosombo and Kpong dams that provide water (for domestic, agriculture and industrial use) and hydroelectricity. It was hoped that with these past experiences, the Ghana government would be in a better position to manage the livelihood issues of the newly built Bui hydroelectricity dam better. Using a modified political ecology framework, this study examined the implications of the Bui dam project on the livelihoods of the downstream communities, which have received limited scholarly attention. Results from 158 household questionnaire interviews, corroborated by in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders and focus group discussions indicate a complete lack of compensation package of any form for affected downstream communities. Fishing and farming, the dominant livelihood strategies of the households interviewed, have become unproductive and unsustainable leading to reduced incomes. Additionally, the unregulated activities of small-scale gold miners (galamsey) in the river bed which were made possible after the Bui dam’s construction were cited by most interviewees and focus group discussants for its negative impacts on human and ecological health. In a nutshell, existing livelihoods systems of downstream non-resettled communities post the Bui dam construction have been severely disrupted. Addressing the present challenges facing downstream communities in an integrative and participatory manner should be the top priority of the dam planners and implementers especially the Bui Power Authority and the District Assemblies.
KW - Black Volta
KW - Bui Dam
KW - Downstream communities
KW - Hydroelectricity
KW - Political ecology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048035283&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11625-018-0588-8
DO - 10.1007/s11625-018-0588-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85048035283
SN - 1862-4065
VL - 14
SP - 487
EP - 499
JO - Sustainability Science
JF - Sustainability Science
IS - 2
ER -