2012 GHANA GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION GGA AND GHANA GEOGRAPHY

2012 GHANA GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION (GGA) AND GHANA GEOGRAPHY TEACHER’S ASSOCIATION (GGTA) ANNUAL CONFERENCE TOPIC: “…NOW I KNOW THE LAW”: EMPOWERING MINING COMMUNITIES BY AN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO IN THE TARKWANSUAEM MUNICIPALITY OF WESTERN REGION, GHANA PRESENTER: YAW ASAMOAH DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL PLANNING, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST yawasamoah 1@gmail. com

BACKGROUND “If the news media in effect have become a fourth branch of government…, then the NGOs are the fifth branch… but never has this community (NGOs) had so many legal tools at its disposal or as many friends in high places as it does today” - Cutler, in Knight and Bates (1995, p. 190) - • The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) – the “Earth Summit”, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil marked the introduction of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in environmental governance.

BACKGROUND CONT’D. • Role of NGOs – documented in the UN’s Agenda 21 – one major agreements of the Earth Summit (Rechkemmer, 2006). • An NGO as “ any private organisation that pursues activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development” (World Bank, 1995).

BACKGROUND CONT’D. • NGOs in Ghana – “Nnoboa System” or self- help groups and private voluntary agencies. • Why? – due to the downward trend of the socio-economic and political situations in the 1970 s (International Centre for Not-for-profit Law (ICNL), n. d. ). • In 1988, PNDC Law 207 allowed NGOs in Ghana’s environmental management (www. wds. worldbank. org)

PROBLEM STATEMENT Mining in Ghana is over a century (Akabzaa & Darimani, 2001). The district – highest concentration of mining companies in Africa (Akabzaa and Darimani, 2001; WACAM, 2008). In spite of the benefits of the sector, it comes with several problems. RESOURCE CURSE? – maybe.

PROBLEM STATEMENT CONT’D. Who cares? The Wassa Association of Communities Affected be Mining (WACAM) and others do. Who/what is WACAM? An NGO formed in 1992. WACAM’s activities in line with the national policy on environmental management? WACAM’s impact on environmental management?

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: The Abilities Model (Kruse, 1999); by INTRAC, UK INTERNAL DIMENSIONS EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS ABILITY TO BE: GOVERNANACE LEADERSHIP IDENTITY ABILITY TO RELATE: STANDING LINKAGES RESPONSIVENESS ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE ABILITY TO ORGANISE: HUMAN RESOURCES SYSTEMS FINANCES ABILITY TO DO: RELEVANCE EFFECTIVENESS SUSTAINABILTY

METHODOLOGY • Research philosophy ü Interpretive. ü Social constructivism – peoples construct their social world (Creswell, 2007; Mertens, 2005). • Data source – primary (FGDs, IDI, observation) & secondary • Research participants – WACAM stuff, government agencies, opinion leaders, residents.

METHODOLOGY CONT’D. Sampling procedure – purposive & snowball. Sample size – 77 (35 male, 42 female), Research instruments ü FGDs – 8, four in each community ü IDI – 11 Study communities – Odumase and Teberebe

Map of Tarkwa-Nsuem showing study communities

MAIN FINDINGS Environmental condition of the study communities: ü pollution (air, water, soil, noise); ü deforestation; ü abandonment of mine pits; and ü dumping of rock waste on fertile lands

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. “. . I swear our environment is really destroyed. Our lands, rivers, “good air”, etc. are all gone” “Even now, as am talking with you, when they blast the rocks at 13: 30, you will feel the smoke (fumes) that will come out. It’s really bad!” “A rock from the blast site cut through my roof and entered my room. So our lives are in danger in this community” – Opinion leader, Odumase

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. Water/rivers have been polluted: “It’s serious oo! When you put the water in a saucepan, there is rusting of the saucepan over a short period. When you cook with the water, the food becomes dark. For instance when you put a peeled plantain in the water, it becomes dark. We can even demonstrate it to you now. It’s amazing. Something serious should be done about these things” – FGD Participant, Odumase

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. Public agencies – perceived as incompetent Hence WACAM – 1992, TNM Knowledge of WACAM in the communities ü Some section of the communities and DSW – an ENGO. ü EPA and some community members – not an ENGO. ü “As far as I am concerned, WACAM is not an environmental NGO; it’s a civil right activist”. – EPA Officer.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. WACAM builds capacities of residents on their right to clean environment and mining laws: “. . . even though am not a lawyer, I have a lot of knowledge about law, thanks to WACAM. They always organise workshops for us to educate us the laws of Ghana, our rights as Ghanaians, and mining laws. As you can see pasted on the wall ‘What is Law? ’ Am not a lawyer, yet I learn these things. So now I know the law”. – FGD Participant, Odumase

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. “. . . They came with some soldiers to beat us up some time ago. A man was shot, and I was severely beaten such that I had blood clotting in my lower abdomen. It was WACAM that publicized the case for us. . . Just this Wednesday through the intervention of WACAM, the case of the man who was shot by the soldiers has been published for everyone to see. . . Had it not been WACAM, you will be there and soldiers will come and beat you to death. But now, since we have been educated to know our rights, we can also standing against them” – FGD Participant, Teberebie

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. WACAM’s “Abilities” ü Ability To Be Ø Governance – well organised Ø Leadership – consultative and participatory Ø Identity – makes environmental identity well known to staff “We are one big environmental advocacy NGO in the country with much interest in mining and the plight of mining communities. That is why WACAM is mentioned anytime there is environmental problem, especially about mining” – Staff, WACAM.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. ü Ability To Organise Ø Human resources – well trained staff Ø Systems and procedures – have well structured time-table to carry out projects Ø Financial and material resources – raise both internal and external funds Ø Material assets – well furnished office

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. ü Ability to Relate (Linkages) Ø Standing – residents, as well as the DSW have confidence in the operations of WACAM Ø Alliance – relates well with other organisations and agencies, e. g. FIAN, NCOM, DSW, etc. “. . . we also go through various documents that have been submitted to us by the various communities to ascertain the truth behind what they have in the annual reports”. – Municipal Director, DSW Responsiveness – environment and mining.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. ü Ability to Do (Performance) Ø Relevance – to mining communities. Ø Effectiveness – WACAM have been able to achieve some objectives it has set out for itself – from the point of view of the NGO itself and other stakeholders. “. . . once we have the communities empowered and know that agencies like EPA have the responsibility to give feedback and the communities hold EPA accountable, then the objective that we set for ourselves has been realised. For us, we assess ourselves against such improvements”. – ED, WACAM

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. “. . . At first there were so much discomforting effects as a result of the mining, but now things have changed. The intensity of these environmental problems – dust, blast and noise has reduced”. – Opinion Leader, Teberebie Ø Sustainability – youth and women development, developing institutional collaborations, and development of intellectual capabilities.

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. Challenges WACAM faced ü Inadequate staff ü Insufficient funding ü Opposition from EPA and some residents Just yesterday, some farmers whose farms were taken over by the mining company about three years ago went for demonstration, but they were blocked by some residents of this town - Opinion leader, Odumase)

MAIN FINDINGS CONT’D. As we have said already, not all the people in the community side with WACAM. . . Even when they (possibly referring to the other community members) see you with us, they will be calling us names like “mansootwefo”(litigants). This is because the company knows that WACAM is an organization that reveals the secrets of the mining companies, so when they come from work, they tell the members of the community that if they join WACAM, the company will not help them. So it has made even elders of the town to be against WACAM. Even when there is anything to be shared among the community members and you are seen to be a sympathizer of WACAM, they won’t give you. They will have a way to prevent you from enjoying whatever it is at stake - (Participant, FGD, Teberebie)

RECOMMENDATIONS Donor agencies should deem it fit to sponsor WACAM/ENGOs to sustain the environment Healthy ties between WACAM, like-minded (E)NGOs, government agencies, esp. EPA and local communities (E)NGO should build capacities of local residents instead of hand-outs (E)NGOs should employ people with the right qualifications

THANK YOU ALL DR. K. B. ANTWI DR. O. AKYEAMPONG DR. E. K. AMENUMEY MR. D. OWUSU-KORANTENG