Whenever we drive or ride on highways, we test how fast our cars or bikes can speed, and boast of how faster we reach our destinations but not even for a moment do we spare a thought about how the highways might have been constructed.
While we continue to advocate for good roads and other infrastructure as citizens, the environment bares the impact of the construction activities.
The impact of construction activities on the environment has been recognised in developed countries, but the situation appears to be different in many developing countries including Ghana as most contractors often cause havoc to the environment with impunity.
In most instances, trees by highways and forest reserves are cut down by contractors during road construction, while streams and other water bodies are mostly contaminated without any environmental sustainability measures.
The cost to the environment
A recent visit to the North East, Savannah and Upper West Regions where a good number of road construction works are ongoing saw a number of trees by the road destroyed. The roads include the Nalerigu to Bunkpurugu and Wulugu to Kpasenkpe roads.
“You can imagine the number of trees that will be affected in the construction process considering that this year is the ‘Year of Roads’ according to the government,” Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa, an environmental activist said.
Whenever the issue of environmental destruction arises, as a country we turn to focus only on illegal lumbering, illegal mining and charcoal processing without any attention paid to the impact of road construction works” he said.
“When roads are being constructed the first thing we see is bulldozers clearing the land and we lose a large number of trees every year to road construction so if you multiply it by 10 to 20 years and the kind of roads we had then it will tell you the magnitude of the harm we are causing to our environment.”
Permit
The construction industry would continue to impact the physical environment as long as the citizens yearn for infrastructure development. This would assume huge environmental significance with the rapid growth in population and the attendant implications for natural resources.
In light of the growing phenomenon, state institutions which are mandated to protect the environment often face herculean tasks as some contractors destroy the environment for construction works.
Kwasi Darko, the Northern Region Director of Urban Roads, in an interview said contractors are supposed to seek permits from institutions mandated for preserving and managing the environment before they fell trees to pave the way for their construction activities.
“If they are granted permission, the Forestry Commission can take stock of the affected trees and ask them to pay so that they can use the money to replant.”
He said in instances where the construction project is a special road project such as the Sinohydro, an environmental sustainability assessment is conducted to ascertain the impact of the project on the environment.
“The issue is really worrying and we need to pay much attention to it, some contractors just clear the trees without considering the negative impact on the environment, “he said.
Reforestation policy
In 2019, residents of Sandema in the Upper East Region fiercely protested against a road expansion project over concerns that iconic trees that had beautified the town were going to be destroyed.
According to the residents, though there was the need to expand the road and fix its poor state to reduce accidents, it would be good for authorities to undertake the road project without endangering the trees.
Nana Osei-Darkwa said such a bold decision taken by the residents was the best way to ensure that the environment was not endangered, saying “Let’s all emulate the decision the people of Sandema took to protect the environment since protecting the environment is a collective responsibility”.
He proposed to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to initiate a policy that would ensure the allocation of a certain percentage of contractors’ fees to re-invest into replanting trees that they cut down to make way for road constructions and other building projects.
“If the ministry takes up this suggestion we will get a huge sum of money because contractors earn a huge sum of money, one contractor can earn over 100 million dollars and if we are allocating even 0.5 per cent of that for tree planting, I think collectively we will have a pool to do a lot because that is one of the best ways government can make money to restore the depleting environment,” he said.
Climate change
The phenomenon is having a toll on the vegetative cover of the country, particularly Northern Ghana as the few forest reserves and economic trees such as shea, which constitutes about 90 per cent of the ecology is being destroyed.
With the rampant destruction of the vegetation through indiscriminate feeling, many have raised concerns that if the menace is not immediately checked by authorities, the area would soon lose its already depleted vegetation, worsening the climate change situation.
The Forestry Commission estimates that about 6.6 million hectares of Ghana’s 8.2 hectares of forest trees have been depleted over the years through indiscriminate human activities.
Currently, the country’s remaining forest cover of 1.6 million hectares is threatened by illegal mining, lumbering and other human activities.
Way forward
The call for sustainable construction is very necessary because of the significant contribution to environmental sustainability and the fight against climate change.
The rate at which trees especially economic trees are being destroyed for construction projects without replanting was alarming and if not checked by authorities, the country would soon lose its already depleted vegetation, worsening climate change in the process.
By: Mohammed Fugu
This report was completed as part of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development‘s 2023 Climate Change Fellowship with funding support from the Centre for Investigative Journalism’s Climate Change in News Media project.