Alcoa under pressure in Ghana and Trinidad

Alcoa under pressure in Ghana and Trinidad

7th August 2006

The world's largest alumininum producer maybe about to endanger an African forest reserve of considerable biological significance, and impose a smelter on a wilderness area in Trinidad. But it won't get its way without a struggle…

Price Tag On Atewa Forest

Frederick Asdiamah, Public Agenda (Accra)

7th August 2006

Information reaching Public Agenda suggest that ALCOA; a multinational bauxite mining company could be given the green light to mine bauxite in the Atewa Forest Reserve.
In June this year, Conservation International (CI) constituted a team of 22 local and international scientists to carry out a three-week biodiversity survey at the reserve at ALCOA's request to enable the company to evaluate the reserve's biological riches and determine the right technology to be used for future exploitation.
Preliminary findings from the survey have shown that the reserve has common and endangered species of great significance to local communities. Apart from its tourism potential, the Atewa forest has streams which serve as sources of drinking water for the communities living around it. It also has acacia trees usually used as chewing sticks, and serves as sources of income for the women who legally harvest it for sale.
Interestingly, but equally disturbing is the fact that the forest reserve is located on the land of the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, who is an ardent environmentalist and has been preaching sustainable development and the need to preserve the environment for future generations.
Curiously, the local and international scientists categorically failed to tell the government not to allow mining in the reserve. They only told the government to be cautious in opening up the reserve for any future exploration.
Professor Alfred Oteng Yeboah, Deputy Director-General of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research who briefed the press on the outcome of the study underscored the need for the government to protect the reserve, stressing that "Ghana has an obligation to protect her biodiversity thus, if we have to do any development, we ought to think." He lamented, "as a nation, we do not appear to have standards as far as environmental decisions are concerned", pointing out that it is imperative for government to make decisions that are in the interest of biodiversity. The forest has a huge presence of biodiversity that has relative importance to the lives of the local people; hence, its exploitation poses a threat to the very life of the people who depend on its resources.
Commenting on the findings, he pointed out that, globally, knowledge about amphibians is declining, therefore, if Ghana is home to 18 species of amphibians, as the research indicated, then we ought to protect them. If ALCOA is given the green light to mine bauxite in forest, it would destroy one of the world's few remaining natural forests and its rich biological resources. According to Conservation International (CI), the Atewa Forest Reserve is considered one of eight biodiversity hotspots in Africa - a hub of rare and unique species. A recent study conducted by CI's Ghana office revealed that Atewa is home to many species of flora and fauna originally thought to be extinct.
Like all hotspots, Atewa is subject to a myriad of threats, including illegal timber harvesting, bush-meat hunting, farming and mining explorations, the researchers concluded.
Potentially, the reserve's rich resources could put the government in a very difficult situation on whether or not to exploit the bauxite. Obviously, the nation must weigh the benefits of mining the bauxite at the reserve against its tourism potential, bearing in mind the contribution tourism now brings to the national kitty.
Meanwhile, government can draw inspiration from the example of forward-thinking nations who recognized their biodiversity as a competitive advantage and are investing to protect it. With support from CI, those nations are implementing conservation strategies that drive economic growth. The benefits are reaching even the remotest of their populations.
In 1997, communities in the Richtersveld region of South Africa moved to protect their remaining natural and cultural resources which had been plundered and, in some places, destroyed by diamond mines and overgrazing. They sought to create a conservancy, where they could safeguard biodiversity and create economic opportunities for their communities. This was done with support from Conservation International (CI), the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency, EcoAfrica, the Global Environment Facility, and others.
After almost ten years of pursuing that agenda at the expense of diamond mining, the Richtersveld Community Conservancy protects some 39,500 acres of the mountainous desert, part of southern Africa's Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspot, and helps ensure local ownership of the land for future generations. Each year, this vegetation blooms in a spectacular display that attracts tourists from around the globe. The case of Atewa is simpler, given the abundant vegetation and biological resources available. All the country needs to do to boost its tourism earnings is to harness the potential of her natural resources.